Leftover Magic - Chicken Tortilla Soup

Chicken Tortilla Soup

This is one of the few recipes I do that uses convenience foods.  It is also easily adapted to be a vegan recipe, just use vegetable broth instead of chicken broth and black beans instead of chicken.  This particular recipe is dairy free because we do not eat much dairy in our home due to my daughter and myself being allergic to cow milk and my husband being lactose intolerant.  Yes these are very different things.  Basically we can have goat cheese products and he can't.  But he is fine with yogurt made with cow milk most of the time and we are not.  So on with the recipe.

This is something I made that uses leftovers - hence a leftover magic recipe.   Homemade chicken broth, which I make from the bones from a chicken I cooked previously as well as veg scraps I kept in the freezer for just such an occasion.  I will discuss my broth making in another post soon, I promise.  You are getting this post today, because this is dinner today.

The other leftovers that are featured in this are the bits of chicken meat that were left from that chicken I mentioned cooking earlier as well as tortilla chips that had gone stale and no one was going to eat any other way.

I don't measure these things.  It is based on personal taste and what you have on hand.

I love this recipe not just because it uses up leftovers and is cheap, but because it is super easy for busy days.

Chicken or Vegetable Broth - enough to make this a very brothy soup
olive oil 2-3T
Garlic 1-2 cloves
Onion 1-2 depending on how big a pot you are making
peppers - Pablano and/ or Bell, but any mild pepper works how much depends on how big a pot you need to make
leftover chicken meat (or a can of drained and rinsed black beans)
Salsa - I use a half cup for a typical sauce pan size pot and a half jar when making a big pot of soup
Corn - canned or frozen
fresh oregano - optional
salt and pepper as needed to taste.
Tortilla chips

Chop the onion, pepper and garlic and saute in olive oil until tender then add everything but the tortillas and bring to a boil and allow to simmer for about 10-15 min.  Break the tortilla chips up and put them in the bottom of the bowls (you can add shredded cheese if you really have to).  Ladle soup over the chips.  And you have soup.

The Big Bad Budget Basics

Okay it really isn't bad, and certainly isn't scary, but it can seem that way in the beginning.  Budgeting is an important part of everyone's life if you are living off food stamps or running a multi million dollar corporation.  This should be one of those basic skills that everyone learns. But it is personal money and no one likes to talk about their personal money habits.  It is one of the last taboo subject left.  It is easier to discuss our sex lives with our friends than our money habits or what our budgets are like.

Budgets are the foundation of how we plan our lives.  How we plan our vacations, our education, our home decorating, our wardrobes ect.  We need to get a handle on these things.  They are just a part of life and not something to be ashamed of.    I know some people want to a life so wealthy that they don't have to worry about budgets.  Well the reason the wealthy are wealthy is that they budget.  So if you really want to be like the rich - have a budget.  The wealthy that don't have a budget are not wealthy very long.

If you read Crisis Day 1 you will note that I had you go through every single expense and categorize them into 3 areas - Need, Want and Frivolous.

Need is those things that you just can not survive without or are obligated to do by a promise or to keep working.  This would be things like:

• food
• shelter
• travel to and from work
• minimum payments on debts
• dry cleaning for work clothes
• school expenses
• school supplies

Want is something that enriches your life but you might be able to cut back on or could go without during a crisis, but do not want to go without long term in your life.  This would be things like

• Date night with your partner
• special activities with the kids
• new clothes
• new car

Frivolous is those things that don't really enrich your life but you seem to spend money on anyway.  This might be:

• eating out often
• shopping to feel better
• junk food

When in Crisis Mode the Frivolous category is eliminated from the budget. for the most part.  But for long term planning there is a place for it, but at healthier levels than you might have been doing before.

First thing is to record how much money is coming in each month.  Then subtract everything you spend in a month from the need category.

Step 2 is to start building your savings.  If you have debt that is something other than a primary mortgage and a single car payment, save up enough to cover 1 full month of expenses (that is everything in that need category).    So you will assign the bulk of the money left towards the savings section at this point.

Step 3 is debt repayment. Now is time to tackle the excess debt.  Start putting extra money towards paying down your debts.  Even before you have finished step 2, put an extra $10 a month beyond the minimum payment towards the smallest debt just so you can see it go down faster.  Then when you have the minimum savings built up, the money from that had been going towards savings will go towards debt tackling the smallest debt first.  The only exception to this rule is if you have one that is 0% interest, it can be put further down the list.

Step 4 is assign allowances. Some will probably think I am a bad person for putting this before long term savings but few people can stick to a fairly strict budget long term without some sort of treats from time to time.  Everyone in the family gets an allowance, even if you don't hand it over to the kids, this is a budgeting thing.   When we first implemented this system it was $20 to my husband who sometimes needed to each lunches with coworkers and $10 for me and $5 for each of the kids.  Now days we have a bit more of an income and one child still at home who is a teen and more active in things so it is $40 for each of us and $15 for our daughter.
This covers clothes, trips to movies, makeup, ect.  Fun things we want to do.  This is where a a great deal of the things from the frivolous category spending happens and some of the want.  You know I am a bit of an environmentalist so yes even frivolous spending can be done responsibly and we will discuss that later.
Step 5 is retirement and education savings.  Even if you don't have much left to your budget at this point you should be putting something back every month.  Even if it is just $10 for each person.  The only exception to this being step 5 is if you have a retirement program through work a traditional pension plan or 401k plan that matches, then it becomes STEP 1.

Even if your kids are 17 today and you can only put back $10 a month, it will be something and it will pay for a text book. and it is better than doing nothing and they will be happy to have one less text book to pay for.

The earlier you start on retirement the better.

Once you have paid down all of your debt except your mortgage start focusing on step 2 and step 5.  I would recommend equal amounts to both accounts until you either have 3-6 months of expenses saved or you have maxed out your annual contributions to your retirement and education savings accounts.  Then focus heavily on the account the other account.  You can also give yourself a modest increase to your allowance if there isn't anything that you need to save up for, such as a new car or a down payment on a house.
If a new car or house is in your future saving up for those would be Step 6.

Crisis Day 3

Sell Stuff

Okay, this is actually a multi day project in many cases.

Start going through your things.  Clothes that no longer fit, things that you have put away in storage and don't use.  Clean them and price them.

There are many options for selling.  You can sell things a bit at a time with online garage sales on facebook groups dedicated to that for your local area or use ebay or etsy if you have some particularly nice stuff.  Or you can look to the old fashioned yard sale.  They each have their advantages and drawbacks.  You know what fits your life and neighborhood the best.  You might surprised at what you find.  Clothes the kids can't fit anymore, toys they don't play with anymore, those earrings your mom bought you that you didn't know how to tell her that you can't wear pierced earrings anymore or those shoes you love but pinch your toes so much that you never wear them.

Trust me you can find lots of stuff to purge and sell.  This isn't near as profitable as day one and two activities, but you get to declutter as well.  And if you are paying for a storage unit to house any of this stuff, just the savings in storage fees will be worth it.  Your life will be chaos until you get it sold, but it will be worth it.

Another bonus to this step is that your things will be getting a second life and be put to use again.  This should make you feel good for environmental reasons.

Depending on the stuff you need to part with, how much you have and how you choose to sell it this can make you anywhere from $50 to $1000.    Be realistic in your expectations.  This isn't going to make you rich.  But it might pay your grocery bill this week or get you to work for the month.  Not worth doing if it means missing work, but if you have the time, so very worth doing.  If you are doing online sales, you can do one item or one lot at a time.

This is actually my least favorite step.  I much prefer long term saving methods over short term gain methods.  This really only makes my list because sometimes you really do need an influx of cash really really quickly and who doesn't need to declutter at some point anyway. And ending a storage unit bill is a way bigger deal than the bit of money you make selling off the stuff you are paying to store.

The money you get from this should be going only towards the NEED category of things on your list.  Which should be basic needs, food, shelter, and obligations for which your world would come crashing down on you if they are not paid.  You know debts and gas to get to and from work sort of obligations  This is not a time to go out and buy more stuff.

Also books left over at the end of the sale can go to the used book store.  You won't get much out of it, but there have been times that as paid for gas to get to work or the week's grocery bill.

I know it is only Day three, but you should be feeling some of the pressure easing off.  Don't forget to call someone today.
Hopefully you have turned to this point long before you needed to look into things like bankruptcy, but if things are that bad, don't be afraid to call the specialists that you need to help you.  Asking for help isn't a bad thing.  There is reason it is step two in my plan.  But borrowing money from friends and family is very bad.  If it is more than $10 because you left your wallet at home and it is going to take more than 24 hours for you to pay them back, don't do it.  It ruins relationships.  Your friends will be there to help you in more profound ways during this time that won't require worrying about paying them back.  Don't let a debt ruin a friendship, because they might not be there for you when you need them for something more important.

Crisis Day 2

I am NOT gong to post daily once this blog is going.  Weekly or twice a week maybe.  Crisis is important and if you are facing this time, you would like the information soon. It is only a few days worth of things anyway.  I promise this budgeting thing isn't something that is going to take hours out of your day every day of your life.  Crisis mode is the hardest, and the worst was yesterday.

Today you have daylight hours to work with.  So you get to call people. And you might want to do this part every week day for awhile.

Today there is someone you can call that can help you.  There is no shame in asking for help.

If you are dealing with a layoff, the person that lost their job should be calling the unemployment office about unemployment benefits.  Make sure everyone is covered on health insurance.  If the person laid off was the one providing it for the family, there is COBRA through the former employer or if you are a two income household, maybe looking into the other partner's employer providing insurance. If there is an HSA account to help pay COBRA costs, that is something else to look into.

If you are dealing with a home repair that is overwhelming that you can't pay right now, but needs doing now, talk with the people doing the repairs.  I have had a plumber be willing to let me make payments and an AC guy help me get a no interest loan.

How about that category in the budget of services you just can't bring yourself to cut?  Call one of them and see if they can work you a deal.  Therapists, Krav Maga and even Lawn Care have been willing to work with me and shave a few dollars off.  These people have a right to make a living too, so don't try to squeeze them just to save money, but saving $5, $10 or even $20 can make a huge difference in your ability to keep the service, especially if it is a service you need or you are looking at a situation that is a temporary set back to you life and don't want to see kids fall behind on lessons they love. Maybe it means you go a little less often for the lessons but get to pay a lower amount during this time.  But it will help.

Next start looking for alternatives to the services you use.  Maybe you can get your internet or cell phone a bit cheaper.  See what the competing services are charging and then go to your current provider and see if they are willing to match.  If not, if it won't involve breaking a contract, change services.

If you just call one or two people a day, you might be surprised how much you will have shaved off your expenses by the end of the month.

And just because sometimes it seems to need to be said - at this point you are not buying new clothes unless you are needing them for job hunting and you are not buying new tech toys, or getting your hair colored or having a professional manicure done.  This month, none of that is happening, not while you are in crisis mode.  I know it is hard and it sucks.  But the latest mp3 will be there when we introduce the allowance system soon, and in the meantime I am sure you can listen to it on youtube for just a little bit longer.

Crisis Day 1

     You know that moment.  Your world seems to have come crashing down on you.  Maybe it was loosing a partner, or loosing a job, needing a home repair that seems overwhelming or finally deciding that you really need to tackle the credit card bill that you have been ignoring for far too long.  I know how you feel.  I have been there - a few times if I am to be honest.  Having a partner that doesn't value economic security as much as I do has led to a few moments of feeling like my world was crashing down on me and helped me develop a system to get out of the situation quickly and efficiently.


Day one is the scariest.  It always seems like you are facing the reality in the late afternoon or evening and everyone that you can think to call for help are about to close or are long closed.  Asking friends and family for help is a huge strain on relationships and to be avoided at all costs, but you really need to do something so you can sleep at night and be better able to tackling the issue the next day.  This is NOT the time to go have a dinner out to discuss things with your partner.  Yes, I know folks that want to do this every time there is a crisis, having another bill to pay isn't going to help this one. Your first step is to reduce the money leaving the family and reduce how much the credit card debt is building.

Step one for me is turn off the lights in the house that are not being used then adjust the thermostat.  I know it doesn't seem like much.  Even a couple degrees change and a few lights can mean several dollars saved on the utility bill this month.  You won't see it for a few weeks, but you are doing something right this moment and that helps.  And you can feel good knowing you are doing something to help the environment while you are at it.   Tomorrow night you can even make the whole family be in one room together and have *gasp* family time and turn off even more lights and save even more money.    Winters are great around here during crisis mode as we all get to sit under blankets and cuddle on the couch while watching family friendly movies or discussing the kids day at school.  More family time is great. Lower utilities bills also very good.

Step two is to inventory the pantry, fridge and freezer and start making a meal plans.  Start scouring your cook books and the web for recipes that you can make that will allow you to buy nothing or nearly nothing for as long as possible with the food you have on hand.  If you have to buy something, make sure it is something cheap.  There might be a lot more vegetarian meals in the house the next couple of weeks and that is okay.  But it is still important that the family still get healthy meals. Good nutrition is still important, especially for the kids.  None of this living on rice and beans exclusively.  Veggies are important.  You can skip fruit from time to time, especially during the winter, but I will discuss more of that later.

Step three go through your bank statements (and credit card statements) and figure out what you are spending money on.  Classify the expenses based on needs vs. frivolous spending. You need gas to fill the car to get to work, groceries ect, but eating out isn't necessary.  You can take a lunch to work. You might have a 3rd category for things that are not a NEED but things you would hate to cut such as kids activities, gym memberships, contracts that would cost you more to get out of than to just finish ect.

Now you start building your budget.  You know what you need to spend money on and you know what you have coming in.  Line those up.  The easiest things to reduce spending on is groceries and utilities.  You can't eliminate them, but you can shave a few dollars off, and as you get used to it, you can shave more and more off.  And you have already started on those here on day one.  Not going out to eat so much will also help shave some of the gas bill too.

Oh and cook dinner in tonight, something from that meal plan.  Put the leftovers away, they can be lunch tomorrow or dinner.

So now here you are just a few hours in and have tackled the biggest projects already!  Okay, the kids might be a bit grumpy about the temperature not being exactly what they like and all having to read  books in the same room together, and your partner might not like the casserole you threw together for dinner tonight.  But you will all get better at working together at this, this was the hardest day, and you did it.  Hopefully your partner helped, and if you have teenagers they helped with the inventory and meal planning too so you were not feeling like you were completely alone trying to dig your family our of this hole.  If not, you are Superwoman or Superman.

Now you can rest well tonight because you are on your way to solving this.