holy jalapeno!

I love anything and everything spicy and until I made this soup I thought nothing could be too spicy for me. Holy jalapeno was I wrong! Here's what I did based on this recipe.

Mexican-Inspired Vegetable Soup (the holy jalapeno version)

Ingredients:
2 c. frozen green beans, broken into bite size pieces
3 cloves garlic, minced (from a jar)
2 small zucchini, cubed
14 oz can diced tomatoes, with jalapeno peppers
1/2 medium yellow onion, chopped
1 green bell pepper, chopped
5 tomatillos, chopped
2 jalapeno peppers, sliced (include each and every seed!)
1 medium poblano chile, finely chopped (again include every seed)
1 t. dried oregano
1/2 t. ground cumin
6 c. chicken broth
1/2 c. roasted red peppers, water-packed (about 2 peppers)
2 T. canned chipotle peppers in adobo sauce
1/2 c. fresh cilantro, chopped
juice from 2 limes
light sour cream

Instructions:

Place green beans, garlic, zucchini, tomatoes, onion, green pepper, tomatillos, jalapenos and poblano into a large pot. Add the oregano, cumin and broth. Puree roasted peppers with chipotle in adobo sauce in a food processor (or blender;) Stir into soup. Cover and bring to a boil over high heat; reduce heat to low, and simmer, partly covered, for about 10 minutes.

Stir in cilantro and lime juice. Serve in bowl. Taste, choke and then add a 1/2 T. light sour cream to calm things down. holy jalapeno!

To go with the soup, I made Tomato-Herb Focaccia from my Taste of Home magazine. (Feb. Mar. 2011) I used the exact same ingredients so instead of repeating them (which can be found by clicking on the link) I'll just skim through the directions instead.

I used a food processor to mix the proofed yeast, olive oil and other dry ingredients. Instead of kneading for 6-8 minutes (I don't knead) I simply pulsed the food processor for 25 seconds. (much quicker and less muscle.) I turned the dough out to a floured surface, rolled it into a ball, placed it in a bowl and let it rise for 45 minutes (until it doubled in size.)

Then punch down dough and let rest 10 minutes or until you're done chasing the kids around the house trying to get them to quit fighting!

Shape into a rectangle and place on your newest favorite kitchen gadget. How have I lived without this thing all these years?!

If you haven't had a chance to get to Bed Bath and Beyond to buy the Professional Baking Mat than place your rectangle focaccia dough onto a greased baking sheet. Cover and let rise for 30 minutes or until doubled.With finger tips, make several dimples over top of dough. Brush dough with 1 T. olive oil, arrange tomatoes over top and sprinkle with the cheese. Go heavy on the cheese if you want your kids to LOVE it. Bake at 400 for 25 minutes.

Gorgeous!

Serve with holy jalapeno soup IF YOU DARE. (I ate the H.J. soup but I made Progresso Chicken Noodle soup for the Hubs and Kids and their sensitive taste buds.)

I sweated so much after eating this serving of soup. Hopefully I burned a significant number of calories because I felt like I just worked out. I challange my sister-in-law Mili (after she has the baby, of course (aka my nephew Patrick) to try this. I think it compares in spiciness to her Aji Salsa recipe!