Our Verde Carnitas Soup and Recipe Variations

I occasionally like to post easy recipes I made up, my own variation or combination of other recipes.  This time I am letting you try a new one my family dubbed “Verde Carnitas Soup.”  After the primary recipe, I provide variations if you want something a little different.  

Main Ingredients:

1 - 7 oz. can Salsa Verde (the kind made with tomatillos)
2 – 14.5 oz. cans Chicken Broth
1 – 14 to 16 oz. can diced Tomatoes (drained)
1 lb. Meat (typically Pork cut into Carnitas or bite-size pieces)
         – see variations below for meat substitutions
1 cup Carrots (cut into bite size pieces)
2 cups Potatoes (cut into bite size pieces)
1 large Onion (chopped)

Spices and Herbs (to taste):

Cumin powder
Garlic minced
Cilantro torn apart

Other:

Flour
Olive Oil

Steps:

1.   Flour & brown meat in small amount of olive oil in bottom of 5 quart pan.
2.   Add other main ingredients.  Bring to boil then reduce heat and cover.  Cook until potatoes and carrots are tender.
3.   Add spices and herbs during last 10 minutes of cook time.
4.   Serve hot.  Should produce about 12 1-cup servings.

Variations:

·    Meat can be pork, beef, or poultry.  For pork, cut-up chops, rump roasts, or shoulder.  For beef, use floured stew meat, cut up flank steak, fajita meat, or pre-cooked hamburger meat without flour.  For poultry, do not flour and use: cut-up left-overs from roasted, boiled, baked chicken or turkey, or use canned chicken.

·    To make pork or beef stew, use only 1 can of beef broth instead of 2 chicken and do not drain juice from the canned tomatoes.  Then before serving, make it more like gravy by thickening with flour or corn starch, or adding some instant mashed potatoes to thicken.

·    To make a variation as chicken tortilla soup, leave out the potatoes.  If you like rice in your chicken soup, during boil add 1 cup of rice allowing 10-15 minutes more cook time in broth than on rice package for water.  Be sure to have tortilla chips, sour cream, and avocado on hand to add to soup.

If you want another quickie, but creamy soup recipe, take 20 minutes to make

Cheesy Chicken Enchilada Soup.  If you do not like peppers, try substituting 1 cup of kernel corn for the peppers.