It’s so early in the morning that I have nothing witty to say besides what kind of person asks me to meet at 8am when they know I work from home. Don’t they know I have better things to do, like snuggle my husband dog and make a breakfast smoothie? Jeez, the nerve of some people in the corporate world….

Close up of my masterpiece

Tortilla Soup

• 32 oz. package of Swanson’s tortilla soup broth. Usually I would make my own Mexican flavored broth using tomatoes, jalapeños, onions, cumin, etc. But yesterday I tried this. It’s the shit. Such an easy shortcut.
• 1 large onion, diced
• 1 large red bell pepper, diced
• 1 large green bell pepper, diced
• 1 poblano pepper, roasted, peeled and diced. If you don’t know how to roast peppers check out this tutorial, it works with any type of pepper. Also, don’t be a little b*tch and put slice the top off and use a chopstick. Peppers have stems, just use them—you aren’t going to melt your tongs.
• 1 can cream style corn, no salt added. This sounds like a fatty ingredient, but it’s a soup that serves over 4 people, and the corn is actually low in fat. Get organic if you can.
• 1 can of peeled and diced tomatoes. Get creative. If you see something that looks cool, get it.
• 5 corn tortillas
• 1 tbs. coconut oil

the genius/timesaving broth

In a soup pot, sauté onions and bell peppers in a little bit of coconut oil until soft. Add in broth, tomatoes and corn and bring to a boil. Once it’s boiling, ad in corn tortillas, shredding them as you go. Simmer for about 20 minutes. Use a vitamix or immersion blender (or I guess just a regular blender for you plebeians), and blend until there are just a few small chunks. If you want it completely smooth, then go for it. Transfer back into the pot and add in the poblanos. I typically don’t like to blend in the poblanos in a reddish colored soup because they are so dark and turn the soup a sick ass color. Garnish with a lime wedge and avocado. Or try and make a little avocado cup with a baked scoop—but you’re basically setting yourself up for failure.

aerial view. cue the drooling

Blackened Red Snapper Tacos

• You’ll need half a filet per person, so do the math and get however much you need. Have your fish guy take the skin off for you. Or, if you’re like me and got an awkward blank stare from the fish guy when asked to remove the skin for me, just do it at home with a sharp knife. I’m 99% sure the fish peeps at HEB hate me. I don’t blame them. I ask to smell the fish, when it was brought in, from where, and if it’s really wild caught. In general, don’t buy fish that isn’t wild caught. And DON’T buy fish from Asia. Whewsh, that was a lot of explaining. Just buy the f’ng fish. Any mild whitefish works by the way. EXCEPT TILAPIA. NEVER BUY TILAPIA. #judging
• Corn tortillas. For the pic I double bagged my tacos, but don’t do this in real life. The tortillas I buy only have 110 cals for 3, so lighten it up.
• A cup of Dole Asian blends, pick out the snow peas.
• ¼ cup cotija cheese crumbled
• Any type of light vinaigrette
• Blackening spice

Coat a pan with a little bit of pam, and heat up to medium high heat. While it’s heating, season the fish on both sides w/ blackening spice, or any spice that has lots of garlic and pepper. Once it’s hot, add the snapper, and cook for about 4-5 minutes. Check after 4 minutes, if the fish wants to be flipped, it will let you. If there’s any resistance, then just wait. Cook for 3ish minutes on the other side, until the fish is cooked through and flaky. Combine the cheese, Asian mix and dressing to make a slaw. Build your taco and enjoy. You can cook the shrimp the same way, coated in the same spice!

dole Asian blends. saves time chopping lettuces