Real Food Fridays are back! Perhaps you were starting to think that the only thing I knew how to do was bake cookies for the 12 Weeks of Christmas Treats. I’m hoping to bring back this feature on a more semi-regular basis. Now on to the recipe.

I have been making this soup forever! I got it originally from a recipe I clipped out of the newspaper back when I was in college (and that really was forever ago!). It was based on a famous Houston area restaurant’s recipe but over the years I have tweaked it and made it my own. My family loves it and I love that it is so easy to put together!

Did you know that January is National Soup Month? Well, it only makes sense since it is winter here in the U.S. and it feels so good to warm up with a hot bowl of homemade soup! (We also love this Homemade Chicken Noodle soup)

Love soup as much as I do? How about organizing a Soup Swap? The concept is simple: Make soup, get together with friends and bring your soup, swap soups into different freezable containers and take home a variety of soups to enjoy later. Easy, fun and delicious!

What’s your favorite kind of soup? I hope you’ll give this one a try too!

When I was trying to decide on this month’s fruit or vegetable for the Eating the Alphabet Challenge I was reminded of those fun sounding little things called tomatillos. Are they a fruit or a vegetable? Well, like the well-known tomatoes often called a vegetable but really a fruit, they are the same: a fruit.
They are pretty much a year-round staple here in Texas and used in many regional dishes. And I found out that they were grown as far back as 800 B.C. in Aztec cultures! Wow! Low in calories and high in anti-oxidants, they are a great choice to add to your cooking.

My mother-in-law loves to go to a produce market near where she lives where she can talk shop with the owner and wheel and deal on produce for a great price. A couple of years ago, she and my daughter made this delicious salsa to use the tomatillos and bell peppers she had picked up at that market. We just could not get enough of it! With only a few ingredients, it’s a cinch to make. I hadn’t had it in awhile and when I made it for this month’s Challenge I wondered why I don’t keep this as a staple in my refrigerator all the time! Again, I just could not get enough. I served mine with sweet potato chips because a) I’m slightly addicted lately to these chips from Terra and 2) my family had eaten up the last of our regular tortilla chips before I reminded them I needed some for my photo. Oops! Never mind, I think the slightly sweet flavor of the sweet potato chips compliments the salty sour flavor of the salsa.

Below is the recipe my mother-in-law used although I found a few online that are pretty similar so feel free to tweak it to your own preferences—it’s pretty forgiving! Also, I decided to roast instead of steam hoping to add a little bit of that roasted flavor.

Blended up–simple as that and enjoyed with chips or on just about anything you like to have salsa on.

All roasted and cooling, soon to be ready to blend up into a delcious salsa!

Isn’t all this green just gorgeous?

Cut the tomatillos in half HORIZONTALLY, so you can get some yummy roasted-ness going on.

Just five ingredients (plus salt to taste)–that’s all it takes. Simple!

These are my current favorite sweet potato chips. They’re actually pretty low in fat and calores and only a couple of ingredients. Yum! Or you could make your own.

So, what’s your family’s favorite fruit or vegetable that starts with the letter P, Q or R? Please share with us in the comments below!

Bloggers, I’d love for you to join our Eating the Alphabet Challenge. Follow us on Twitter too using the hashtag #EatingAtoZChallenge. Click here for details and to complete the form to sign up. And be sure to check out all these other fabulous blogger’s interpretations of the letter M. N or O—fruit, veggie or grain-style–this month by visiting the blogs below! I know I’m planning to try a few.

And be sure to check out my posts from previous months:
Letter A or B-Roasted Brussels Sprouts
Letter C or D-Balsamic Parmesan Cauliflower
Letter E or F-Easy Eggplan Parmesan
Letter G or H–Ginger Garlic Broccoli
Letter I or J–Jicama, Avocado & Crab Salad
Letter K or L–Kiwi Salsa
Letter M, N or O–Mango Poblano Quesadillas
Letter P, Q, or R–Peach Pecan Muffins

I’ll admit, this week’s H-E-B/ConAgra Meal Maker Challenge, challenge was a real puzzle for me. We don’t have hot dogs nearly as much as we used to and when we do have them we, well, eat them as is–in a bun with toppings. And like last week’s Make-It-Your-Own Mini Quiches, I needed to keep the recipe within the guidelines of seven or less ingredients and 30 minutes or less time to prepare. And then I remembered that when we go to one of our favorite soup & salad restaurants my family likes to get the chowders and corn chowder is a favorite. I thought that the salty flavor of the hot dogs would add a nice contrast to the sweet corn and I was right. This chowder was a hit and we could not get enough of it! It made great leftovers too. While I used some leftover corn-on-the-cob, you can easily use frozen corn. And what I like about Hebrew National is that their hotdogs have no artificial flavors, colors, fillers or by-products so when I’m going to choose a hot dog, I’d like it to have those qualities!

Don’t forget to check out all the recipes for this week on H-E-B’s Meal Maker Challenge site and if you like mine the best, please vote for it!

Simple ingredients=wonderful flavor!

Boiling the potatoes in the broth until tender then add the corn. I used frozen corn from the cob but any frozen corn will do.

Chop the hotdogs to just under 1/2-inch size.

TIP: Add the flour to the milk and whisk together to create a “slurry”. It will be easier to incorporate into the chowder this way.

Stir in the hot dogs just before serving and warm through.

Disclosure: This post has been made possibly by H-E-B and ConAgra Foods who provided me with promotional items to facilitate my blog posts in the Meal Maker Challenge. However, all opinions are my own. I have also been compensated for my participation.

There’s nothing like a bowl full of homemade chicken soup to satisfy that comfort food craving. If you thought it was too difficult to make it from scratch, think again. All you need are a few basic ingredients (most of which I usually have on hand all the time) and some time. This is a perfect recipe to make on a Sunday afternoon. Leftovers keep well in the refrigerator and of course, you can portion it out and freeze for later too.

This recipe is one my dad makes a lot. It’s originally from a local restaurant here in Houston (Rudi Lechner’s) but I adapted it slightly to make it more to our taste. The recipe appeared in the newspaper years ago. My kids LOVE it! Now I gave it a try myself and I’m not sure why I don’t make it more often…it is SO easy!

For this soup I used the leftover Slowcooker Rotisserie Chicken that I had on hand. Did you also know you can freeze the rotisserie chicken carcass until you want to make soup? I do this all the time! I was also excited to find whole-grain egg noodles to use in my soup! My family didn’t seem to notice the difference and I actually liked them a little more than regular dumpling-style pasta. Yay for easy extra dietary fiber!

Just a few simple ingredients and some time for simmering. Couldn't be easier to make your own chicken noodle soup!

I used a mesh ball (like a tea ball but bigger) for the peppercorns and garlic.

Garlic & pepercorns in the "tea" ball. Next time I'll probably just do the peppercorns and let the garlic simmer in all the broth.

Love all the colors in the soup while it is simmering!

The holidays are a busy time of year that no one wants to think about making a complicated dinner once it comes down to just enjoying family and friends getting together. Whether it’s for a casual get together before Christmas or for Hanukkah, getting together on New Year’s Eve or sometime in between or even for a football party, this chili is easy to put together and makes a lot! And you know me, I love anything I can do ahead so when I made this I browned the beef up one day, made the chili the next and served it the third (it was one of THOSE weeks). I’m not sure about you but I think chili tastes better the second day anyway after all those spices have had a chance to settle in.

I’ll tell you, I wasn’t sure I’d find a chili that would top the one I’ve been making for years but I think this one just might have. Chili in Texas is a big deal. We have cookoffs and contests and all sorts of things centered around the best chili. It can get pretty serious to claim to have THE best chili in Texas!

What I loved about it is all the fresh veggies that go into as well. And the real surprise? The black beans. I’ll admit, I was a bit skeptical but they were a welcome addition that we all loved and even better, my kids did not pick them out! Yay! A way for them to eat beans in chili! (I know, I know, not everyone puts beans in their chili, especially if they’re from the south, but we like beans in our chili!)

Now, it is on the spicy side but that may have just been me. I’m a bit of a a spice wimp. If that’s a concern for you, just choose a jalapeno that is on the smaller side. The rest of my family (including the kids) had no problems with the amount of spice though, including my sometimes picky 7-year-old. I like to top it with some sour cream and cheddar cheese sometimes to help cut the heat.

And while the recipe says it will serve eight, I think it made a lot and we had enough for leftovers later in the week AND some to put in the freezer for another meal. Maybe that eight means eight hearty grown-up eaters. This chili recipe is definitely going on the to-make-again list soon!

COWBOY BEEF & BLACK BEAN CHILI

Ingredients
2 lbs. lean ground beef (95% lean)
1 Tbsp. vegetable oil
1-1/2 cups chopped onion
2 Tbsp. minced garlic
2 medium yellow bell peppers, chopped
1 large jalapeno pepper, seeded, finely chopped
1/4 cup chili powder
1 Tbsp. ground cumin
1 tsp. dried oregano leaves, crushed
1 tsp. dried thyme leaves, crushed
1/8 tsp. ground red pepper
1 can (28 oz.) crushed tomatoes, undrained
1 can (14-1/2 oz.) chili-seasoned or zesty-style diced tomatoes, undrained
1 can (14 to 14-1/2 oz.) ready-to-serve beef broth
12 oz. dark beer
1/3 cup tomato paste
1 Tbsp. honey
2 cans (15 oz. each) black beans, rinsed, drained
chopped fresh cilantro (optional)

Instructions
Brown ground beef in stockpot over medium heat 8 to10 minutes or until beef is no longer pink, breaking up into 3/4-inch crumbles. Remove from stockpot with slotted spoon. Set aside. Pour off drippings.

Heat oil in same stockpot over medium heat until hot. Add onions and garlic; cook and stir 3 to 5 minutes or until onions are tender. Add bell peppers and jalapeño; cook and stir 4 to 5 minutes or until peppers are tender.

Return beef crumbles to stockpot. Add chili powder, cumin, oregano, thyme and red pepper; cook and stir for 2 to 3 minutes. Stir in crushed tomatoes, diced tomatoes, broth, beer, tomato paste and honey; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer 45 minutes. Uncover stockpot; continue simmering 30 minutes or until thickened to desired consistency, stirring occasionally. Stir in beans; cook 5 to 10 minutes or until beans are heated through. Season with salt and black pepper, as desired. Garnish with cilantro, if desired.

Nutritional Information
Nutrition information per serving: 364 calories; 10 g fat (3 g saturated fat; 4 g monounsaturated fat); 76 mg cholesterol; 1131 mg sodium; 39 g carbohydrate; 10.6 g fiber; 34 g protein; 8.1 mg niacin; 0.8 mg vitamin B6; 2.2 mcg vitamin B12; 7.3 mg iron; 19.3 mcg selenium; 6.5 mg zinc.

All the ingredients gathered (pre-browned beef & good Texas beer from Shiner Bock)

Sauteeing the peppers, onions & jalapenos.

Use your broth to "swish out" the tomatoes left in the cans--lets you use up every bit!

Use a splatter screen to let it simmer uncovered but keep your stovetop clean! (I got mine at a discout store like Wal-mart or Target)

Chili simmering--almost ready to eat!

This is the fourth and final week of cooking that I’m doing along with nine other bloggers and the Texas Beef Council. I sure have enjoyed trying out new recipes and learning that I CAN prepare cuts of meat in different ways than I ever thought about before. I hope you’ve enjoyed this series. You can check out my previous posts by clicking on these links:

Beef Crostini with Balsamic Drizzle & Parmesan Crisps
Beef Sticky Buns
Classic Prime Rib Roast

And be sure to check out all the other bloggers shown below who are participating in this campaign!

Disclosure: I am participating in a four week campaign with the Texas Beef Council and am being compensated. All opinions are my own. Recipes are courtesy the Texas Beef Council.