Easy Tortilla Soup

Cooking with T.S.E

I’ve been trying a lot of new recipes since we are home more. By more, I mean I don’t ever remember us being in our house for this length of time in our 7 years of marriage. While I typically cook at least 3-4 nights a week in our normal life, staying at home for this period of time has really had me searching for new recipes to try. We still aren't very familiar with the German takeout restaurants in the area so that has left me preparing food for every meal for the last 6 weeks. My husband and I are not picky, we will literally eat anything, but we definitely have a taste for yummy food. Now, there are plenty of recipes I’ve tried and won’t make again. Whether it’s the amount of weird ingredients, the difficulty or length of time it takes to prepare, or the overall taste, there are some recipes you try and you think, "That was fine, but I don't need to do that again."

Out of the last 5 new recipes I’ve tried, this is the ONLY one I will be adding to our rotation. The last one to be added to the rotation was green enchiladas and my husband literally asks for enchiladas as soon as the leftover enchiladas have left the fridge. We could probably eat Mexican every day of the week, so I love that this soup is Mexican flavor but something different than enchiladas or taco salad. Here is the best part of the recipe, it is EASY. My husband is quite possibly one of the worst cooks in the world (so much so that if I died I think he would starve). He watched me make this and even HE said he could do it. That’s where the “easy” part of the name comes in. It’s so easy my husband could do it. 

*Scroll to the bottom for the recipe card!*

The prep for this recipe is pretty much as easy as it gets. But, first let’s talk about some tips and

ways you can make it your own! First and most importantly is the beer. In my opinion, you get bonus points if you use German beer because then it’s like German-Mexican Soup and that’s just silly to me. Ok, but for realz you can use whatever type of beer you have on hand (I probably wouldn't use one with too much flavor). Next, a personal secret of mine is the lime tortilla chips. I think the lime brings a much better flavor than regular tortilla chips when you crumble them as your topping. I also use them to top off my Mexican salad!

Next tip is in regards to the Rotel. If you like your tortilla with a little bit of kick, then substitute a can of hot Rotel instead of original. If you want it with less heat then use two cans of the mild. You can really change this up to your personal heat preference! Also keep in mind, outside of the Rotel, you can really use any brand, these are just what I found at the commissary here in Germany.

Ok, so here is the hardest part! Chop the onion. You will literally be crying with tears of joy for how easy this recipe is, or maybe it's just the onion? JOKING! Please excuse my corny jokes and grab that can of corn. That's the last one, I promise. Drain your corn and black beans. Put everything except the cheese and tortilla chips in your crock pot (leave out the avocado and cilantro too). My favorite part of this recipe is that I don't have to do any preparing with the chicken. You just literally put your raw chicken breast in the crockpot with everything else and press go!

Don't forget to sprinkle everything with a package of taco seasoning (you can also choose a spicier version here to add more heat!). I mix everything up in the crockpot and it should look like your chicken is in a Mexican bubble bath (shown below).

Cook in the crockpot on low for 8 hours or on high for 4 hours. I absolutely love getting to the end of the day and not having to worry about what is for dinner when I have something in the crockpot. ALL HAIL to the crockpot. When your time is up on the crockpot, pull out the chicken and shred. Then put it back in and stir it up! It's that easy!

I serve my Easy Tortilla Soup with cornbread, and you can add a yummy mojito or marg to make it a whole experience! Enjoy and drop me a comment if you decide to make it!! I would love to hear how it goes!

XO,

Theresa

First 15 Books of 2020

I love books and I have always loved reading. Reading has been a beautiful escape in a lonely time. If you've read my other posts, than you know that I bought A LOT of books to read when I finished business school at the end of 2018. This picture shows you all of the books that I bought and had plans to read! While I love reading a physical book, I have found that when traveling and reading in bed after my husband goes to bed, it is way easier to read on the kindle app on my phone or listen to an audio book rented through the library. So, while I have this incredible stack of books to read, I am shocked to say that out of the 15 books I finished in the first three months of the year, I only read ONE physical book... say what?! If you are like my former self, you are going to be like, OK Theresa, I do NOT have time to read that many books. I hear you and that's exactly why I am writing this recap! I will give you the full list of the books I read and give you my top 3 to add to your list!

At the beginning of March, I decided I was going to read all of the books that had ever been on Reese Witherspoon's Book Club Picks. As I write this in April 2020, there are currently 35 books on the list and I have finished 10. Maybe you are a big fan of Reese too and are wondering how my suggestions will differ if that's all I am reading?! Not to worry! While I do hope to finish the list as soon as possible, I am also a member of two different book clubs and can be persuaded pretty easily to add new books to my reading list, so my favorites and recommendations will certainly be different.

**Something to Note** As I share with you my preferred books in this post and future posts, I promise to always share with you in what form of media I read the book. Personally, I do not feel like there is a wrong way to read a book, but I know some people have preferences! I do a mix of reading on my kindle and listening to audio books (I use the Overdrive app with a library membership so that I don’t go bankrupt buying books) and occasionally I read a physical book. While I won’t judge you for how you choose to consume a book, I personally think the form of media you choose to read a book can completely change your experience with the book. I will always tell you in what form I read the book and also whether I feel like it helped or hurt my personal experience. 

Ok, without further ado!! 

Here are the first 15 books I read in 2020

Top 3 List (in no particular order)

Daisy Jones & The Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid

This book has been on my must read list for a LONG time (pretty much since it came out) but for some reason it kept getting moved down the list. When I committed to reading Reese’s book list, I finally decided to read it and I am sure glad I did! It is also important to note that this is the only book from Reese’s list that made it to my top 3. I actually listened to the audio version of this book and I think it really enhanced my experience. The characters in the book all have different voices in the audio version and it really brought the book to life! The format of this book is different than most as it reads like an interview which had me thinking multiple times throughout the book that I was listening to real people!

A Woman is No Man by Etaf Rum

It may be a fiction novel, but this book helped me learn so much about being an immigrant in the U.S. and about the experience in a conservative Arab marriage. The book bounce’s back and forth between the voice of Deya living in modern day Brooklyn and her mother who moved from Palestine to America as a teenager for marriage. It was incredibly thought provoking and I highly recommend it! (Read this book on my kindle app)

Hyperbole and a Half by Allie Brosh

I am definitely late to the part with this book because the author, Allie Brosh released this book in 2013 and has kind of fallen off the map since then. Regardless, I found this book extremely entertaining. I read this book on the Kindle app on my phone and because the author illustrates most of her stories with hilarious comics, I recommend you read the physical book version if you plan to read it. There are a bunch of stories in the book about the author’s dogs and if you are a pet owner, I think you will get a good chuckle from this book. 

Honorable Mentions

I gave ALL of the books I read over the last 90 days at least 3 stars so if you are an avid reader, go for it, read them all. But, I will add that there were quite a few that I gave 4 stars. These three books deserve an honorable mention because I really enjoyed them too!

Here is the full list of 15 and their links:

(in the order that I finished them and how I read them)

Before She Was Found by Heather Gudenkauf (audio)

The Ruin by Dervla McTiernan (audio)

Hyperbole and a Half by Allie Brosh (kindle app)

I Found You by Lisa Jewell (audio)

A Woman is No Man by Etaf Rum (kindle app)

The Dutch House by Ann Patchett (audio)

Summer of ‘69 by Elin Hilderbrand (audio)

The Last Guest House by Megan Miranda (audio)

Daisy Jones & The Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid (audio)

The Alienist by Caleb Carr (kindle app)

City of Girls by Elizabeth Gilbert (audio)

The Tattooist of Auschwitz by Heather Morris (physical book)

Such a Fun Age by Kiley Reid (audio)

Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman (audio)

The Lying Game by Ruth Ware (kindle app)

Curious about my outfit?! I've linked everything below for you!

T-Shirt | Jeans(new version) | Earrings(similar version) | Necklaces | Shoes (new SUPER cute version) | Lipstick 

Comment below with what you are currently reading!!!!

Xo,
Theresa

Now What Do I Do?

Surviving our emotions in this time of uncertainty.

Have you seen them? All of the recommendations of how to be successful and productive while you are forced to stay home? Well, a week ago I would have told you to read those posts and do what they recommend, but then I had a bad day, a REALLY bad day. I don't suffer from chronic anxiety and depression in the typical way, so it's not noticeable to most and I actually hesitate using those words. For me, it is self-diagnosed and most of the time it feels more life a glorified funk. Regardless, I'm writing this because maybe you too have been having some hard days in this new "what the hell is going on?!" time we are enduring.  And maybe you too are having to figure out how to manage your emotions in this time of uncertainty. 

First, let me give you some context if you are new around here. I have been unemployed for the last six months because my husband and I moved to Germany from Louisiana with the military. For the last few months I had been traveling with my husband for his job and planning bucket list trips like to France, Italy, Morocco, and ALL the cool places but then traveling was banned and so here I am, in my house, with nothing to do. Ok, now that you are caught up (in two sentences no less),  I will get to my really bad day. I had been doing pretty well with my routine which included these daily activities:

1. Read bible

2. Workout 

3. Get outside and walk the dog

4. Make a to-do list each day

5. Keep the house tidy

6. Read 

7. Keep boundaries on things like T.V., alcohol, and sweets

You may be thinking, "Wow, your life sounds pretty boring..." It is. But more importantly, I've learned that if I have a little discipline in my life, I feel MUCH better emotionally. I've told you this list of things, not to bore you or pat myself on the back for having a tiny bit of discipline, but to tell you that even with discipline and productivity in my day, I still had a very, very dark day. So, back to the bad day....

I thought the discipline and to-do list would keep me going mentally but, on the bad day it just hit me. Why? Why am I waking up? What is my purpose? No one really likes me. My life is not important. The list goes on and on and I literally just laid on my concrete basement floor and could not find the will to stand back up. Thankfully my husband was here and helped rally me off the floor, prayed for me, and reminded me how much I am loved. But, the next day I realized I needed to find something that was going to be different and exciting in this time to keep me from ending up in a day, week, month or longer funk. I needed something to look forward to other than more normal daily routine. I need to you to promise not to judge me right now, but that something for me last week was joining TikTok. As crazy as it sounds, creating videos with my husband brought me immense joy in the last week. I've learned that creating is an incredible outlet for my energy and something I really enjoy. So what's my point in writing all this? My point is maybe in this time you don't need to be the MOST productive and maybe you won't be winning at your job or responsibilities every day, but maybe you can make it out of this without being shipped to the loony bin (they probably wouldn't let you go there anyway because it's a health risk at this point). My best recommendation is trying something new, which is extremely hard to do when you are so limited with what you are allowed to do, but I am going to give you some suggestions!!!

Here are a few things I recommend to mixing things up and trying something new.

Try a new hobby:

1. Cross Stitching

2. Puzzle while you watch TV

3. Paint by number

4. Play a board game

5. Join TikTok (I've learned a ton about social media on this new platform as an added perk!)

6. Try making a new recipe (I made enchiladas for the first time!)

7. Pick up that book you've been meaning to read.

Start a new podcast. Listen while you clean, or while taking a walk outside. Here are some of my favorites if you are new to the podcast world and don't know where to start:

1. Armchair Expert with Dax Shephard

2. Happy Hour with Jamie Ivey

3. The Popcast

4. How I Built This

5. New podcasts are being created SO fast right now, so go look at the shows on the Top Charts and pick a new one! I am going to start Unlocking Us with Brene Brown to spice it up!

Try a new workout routine! Home workouts can get really boring but there a TON of new ways to work out right now. I started joining my cousin's zoom classes (she's a personal trainer in CT). You can subscribe to a ton of online yoga classes (like CorePower Yoga or Buti Yoga). There are free apps like (SixPackin30Days or Crossrope) or just Youtube a class (my sister is trying all of the free barre classes!!).

Last but not least, STAY CONNECTED! I recommend checking on at least one friend a day. Set up a time to do a group call with your family (I've absolutely loved seeing my nephews over FaceTime in this way which I wasn't able to do with everyone's busy schedules before!). Join a new club or bible study (there are a ton of ways to meet with these groups still online). Or schedule a happy hour with a group of friends. Social distancing is 100% the wrong way to describe what we are going through right now. YES, we need to physically distance ourselves, but don't let that keep you from socializing!!! The picture below was taken before we were told to stay home, but I am jumping for joy thinking about seeing my friends face to face again.

I've found that mixing up my routine and trying new things is doing the most in helping my mood. Please, please leave a comment if you have found something to help keep you sane in this time. And, I would be HAPPY to expand more on any of the topics above (podcasts, books, new hobbies, etc.), so let me know in the comments what you want to hear more on!

Xo, 

Theresa