Good Friends and Good Food

Last night we had a dinner night with two of our good friends, Heather and Laura.

We try to get together with Heather every couple of weeks for dinner and last time we had dinner at her house. She cooked us a wonderful green and red lasagna and black forest cake that actually ended up being a white forest cake. 🙂 This time it was our turn to cook. Laura was able to join us, which was such a fun addition to our little party!

I was a little pressed for time because I planned on studying for an upcoming test all day. I debated whether I should just buy frozen pizzas and ice cream and call it a night or actually put forth the effort to make something. Thankfully Christen got out of work early and volunteered to go grocery shopping for things we needed which saved me a lot of time. What I finally settled on was fajita soup.

This is another one of those recipes where ingredients can be added or taken out or exchanged for other things. I made it vegan, but it would totally work with beef or chicken. I basically thought of anything that would go in a fajita and added it to the soup. It turned out really good!

Fajita Soup

1 green bell pepper, thinly sliced

1/2 large Vidalia onion, thinly sliced

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 tsp cumin

2 Tbsp chili powder

Sprinkle red pepper flakes

1 container button mushrooms, sliced

1/2 cup frozen corn

1 can black beans

1 can diced tomatoes

1 32 oz box vegetable stock

Jarred sliced jalapeños

Sautee bell pepper, onion and garlic with some salt and pepper in a pot until softened. Add chili powder, cumin and red pepper flakes.

Add mushrooms and cook until browned.

Add corn and allow to heat through

Drain and rinse black beans and add to pot with vegetables.

Add can of tomatoes without draining, then pour vegetable stock over everything.

Add jalapeños. I like this soup spicy, so I probably added 10-15 slices. Add more or less depending on the amount of heat you want.

Allow the soup to come to a boil, then turn the heat down to low and allow to simmer for 15 minutes. This lets all the flavors develop and come together.

While the soup simmers prepare small bowls of grated cheddar cheese, sour cream, chopped avocado, chopped scallions (white and green parts). We also set out lime chips and salsa to go with the meal.

I think it’s easiest to have someone do the hard work fun stuff (like grating cheese) for you! 🙂

Dish out soup and let everyone garnish their own however they like.

This makes for a really fun dinner party.

And it is so easy to make! I really think it would not have been any easier to pop those frozen pizzas in the oven! I even had time left over to make brownies for dessert. Try this the next time you’re pressed for time. I promise you’ll be surprised how fast you can pull together a fun dinner!