Mexican Soup

Tony made this Mexican soup, which he adapted from Taste of Home: https://www.tasteofhome.com/recipes/super-fast-mexican-soup/

See notes below for his changes. This was an excellent soup.
 
Prep/Total time: 25 minutes
Serves 4
 
Ingredients
 
2 teaspoons olive oil
1 pound boneless skinless chicken thighs, cut into 3/4-inch pieces
1 tablespoon reduced-sodium taco seasoning
1 cup frozen corn
1 cup salsa [red]
1 carton (32 ounces) reduced-sodium chicken broth
 
Directions
 
In a large saucepan, heat oil over medium-high heat. Add chicken; cook and stir 6-8 minutes or until no longer pink. Stir in taco seasoning.
 
Add remaining ingredients; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, 5 minutes to allow flavors to blend. Skim fat before serving.
 
Notes:
 
Used 1.5 lbs chicken thighs, lightly salted.
 
Used 1 t chili powder, 1 t Tajin, and 1 t paprika in lieu of the taco seasoning. This was so flavorful!
 
Added minced garlic and some diced celery.
 
Added 1/2 c green salsa and  1 4-oz can diced green chili’s.
 
Added some fresh chopped parsley; and a handful of fresh spinach.
 
Added a couple of small potatoes (about 3/4 lb), diced, microwave until half cooked; then added to the pot.
 
To serve: We added some tortilla chips, crushed, and a dollop of sour cream.
 
Next time:  Will use cilantro instead of parsley. Will add beans and will double the amount of potatoes.
 
Other optional toppings: diced avocado, a fresh squeeze of lime juice, or shredded cheese.

My Seared Scallops

I made seared scallops last night (10 June 2024), which I served with a side of broccoli, and a mushroom and spinach risotto.

 
Serves 1
 
Ingredients
 
5 large sea scallops
Salt and pepper
All-purpose flour

2 T  avocado oil
1 T butter
Squeeze of fresh lemon
1 T or so white wine
 
Instructions
 
Pat dry the scallops with a paper towel to remove any excess water.
 
Place the scallops onto a plate and sprinkle with salt and pepper, and then lightly coat with the flour.
 
In a skillet on medium-high heat, add the oil and butter. Once hot, add the scallops in one layer (don’t move them until ready to flip over) and cook for 90-120 seconds; flip over and cook for another 90 seconds until they are golden brown.  You don't want to overcook the scallops. the center should be translucent. 
 
Remove the scallops to a serving dish and deglaze the pan with the wine scraping any bits to get all that yummy flavor to make a sauce. Pour over the scallops and squeeze lemon over the top.
 

Service right away with your favorite sides.

Notes:

I made a delicious mushroom risotto with spinach and parmesan to go with the scallops: 

https://sunbasket.com/recipe/mushroom-risotto-with-spinach-and-parmesan

I cut the recipe in half, which still made a lot, so have leftovers. 
 
I added one clove of garlic, chopped, when I added the onions to the pan.
 
I used chicken broth instead of water.
 
I did not add any additional salt and pepper when I added the parmesan cheese at the end (missing in the instructions).
 
What I really liked about this recipe is that it calls for adding all the water (broth) at one time, rather than a traditional risotto recipe where you add the broth a little a time until it's all absorbed. 

Artichoke and Spinach Dip

This is a popular recipe and many variations can be found. This is mine: 

1 10-oz package frozen chopped spinach, defrosted, drained very well 

2 cans whole artichoke hearts, drained well and chopped

1 clove garlic, minced 

3 T. chopped onion 

3/4 to 1 cup grated Parmesan cheese 

3/4 to 1 cup mayonnaise 

Dash or two of hot sauce

Pepper to taste 

Combine all ingredients in a bowl and stir to combine well. 

Place in a baking dish and bake for 30 minutes at 350 degrees. 

Serve with crackers. 

Notes: 

You can skip the spinach and just make it strictly an artichoke dip.

I made this recently and added a couple of ingredients (1/3rd cream cheese and a 4 oz. can of green chilies from my Jalapeño artichoke-spinach dip recipe. 

Yogurt and Spinach Dip

16 August 2018

Tony and I had a large bag of spinach that needed to be used up before it went bad. He wanted to freeze it but I suggested he make a dip, as we are going to an outdoor concert with friends (BYOB and food).

He found this recipe:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fssl_s2LiU4

Ingredients:

1 C Greek Low-fat Yogurt (we always buy whole plain yogurt, not low-fat)
1 C Frozen Spinach, thawed, chopped, drained
1 t. onion powder (Tony chopped some onion instead of using powder)
1 C Mayonnaise 
Dash of Dill
1/4 C feta cheese

Dash pepper

Serve with crackers and/or veggies.

Directions:

Combine all ingredients in a bowl; refrigerate before serving.

Notes: 

It came out great! It's light and tasty; and with it being nicely chilled, it's perfect to have on a hot summer day.

We didn't have feta in the house, so he used grated parmesan. Also, Tony sautéed the spinach with some garlic and onion; then drained it well.

18 January 2026

I made this today. I felt the mayo and yogurt was too much (cut in half) for the amount of spinach I chopped up, so I added the rest of the bag. I also added a can of chopped artichokes, drained very well, a few dashes of hot sauce and lemon juice.  I used parmesan cheese too.

Next time, I'll use less mayonnaise.

Spinach-Artichoke Stuffed Tomatoes

Monica J .Pileggi (April 2004)


8 medium sized tomatoes, tops cut off and insides scooped out
2 packages of frozen spinach, thawed and drained very, very well
1 14 oz. can artichoke hearts, also drained well
4 tablespoons light mayonnaise
2 tablespoons melted butter
2/3 cups Parmesan cheese
1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
Dash or two of hot sauce
2 tablespoons chopped onion
1 small clove garlic, minced
Dash of Mrs. Dash Oregano, Garlic, Tomato seasoning
1 tablespoon dried parsley
Salt and pepper to taste
Breadcrumbs for the topping
Olive oil

Combine all ingredients except for the breadcrumbs and olive oil. Place about 3 tablespoons in each tomato. Sprinkle with breadcrumbs on top and a dash of olive oil. I use a cooking spray, which evenly coats the breadcrumbs.

Bake at 375 degrees for 25 minutes or until cooked through.

Serves 8.