Light and Easy

After all those school years of cafeteria food, 4 college years of dining halls, and too many years of take-out, I can finally say I'd much rather cook and have a home-cooked meal than order out. Trouble is, there are plenty of days where I'm just too tired to make an elaborate meal.

Enter this soup recipe.

It's quick and simple, but not fast food, making it a perfect weeknight meal.

Santa Fe Ravioli Soup

Recipe from Cooking Light
Makes 8 1-cup servings

Ingredients:

• 2 14-ounce cans fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
  
• 1 9-ounce package fresh four-cheese ravioli
  
• 1 16-ounce jar salsa
  
• 1 15-ounce can black beans, rinsed and drained
  
• 1 cup diced cooked chicken
  
• 1 garlic clove, minced
  
• 1/4 cup low-fat sour cream
  
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro

Directions:

1. Bring broth to a boil in a large saucepan. Add ravioli; reduce heat to low, and simmer 5 minutes. Add salsa, beans, chicken, and garlic; cook 5 minutes or until heated through.
   
2. Ladle soup into bowls; top with sour cream and cilantro.

Notes from the Cook:

• Many times when I make this, I omit the chicken. If you won't want to use pre-packaged chicken, poach some chicken yourself. Then save the broth to use in this or other soups.
  
• For a vegetarian soup, replace the chicken with tofu or simply omit the chicken altogether.
  
• It's easy to change this recipe up by switching up the kind of salsa you use. Experiment with different heat levels, too. I like to use a southwest salsa because it has beans and corn in it.