Jennifer's September Fall Soups & Cupcakes

Jennifer hosted Bunko this past September, and she treated us to some very yummy fall soups and delicious cupcakes. Here are her recipes:

Italian Sausage and Pasta Soup: Recipe here. The only change she made was to boil the pasta separately, and then add the pasta to the soup.

Spicy Chicken Tortilla Soup (Jen doubled the recipe, as it makes small servings)

2 T vegetable oil
1 small onion, chopped
4 1/2 oz canned green chilies, chopped
2 t minced garlic
15 oz canned stewed tomatoes
13 3/4 oz beef broth
10 3/4 oz canned cream of chicken soup
1 1/2 cups chicken broth
1 t salt
1 t sugar
1/2 t lemon pepper
2 t Worcestershire sauce
1 t chili powder
1 t cumin
1 t Tapitio (or Tabasco)
2 cups shredded, cooked chicken
4-8 corn tortillas, in strips
2 avocados, in chunks
2 cups grated Monterey Jack cheese

In a large pot, heat oil. Saute onion, chilies, and garlic, Add tomatoes, beef and chicken broth, cream of chicken soup, salt, sugar, lemon pepper, Worcestershire sauce, chili powder, cumin, and Tapitio. Simmer 1 hour.

To serve, combine 1/4 cup chicken, tortilla strips as desired, and several avocado chunks in each of 8 soup bowls. Pour soup into bowls. Top generously with grated cheese and serve immediately.

Beautiful Bean Salsa

2 28-oz cans of Bush's Boston Recipe Baked Beans
1 cup dried apricots, chopped
2 2.5-oz cans of chopped black olives, drained
2 10-oz packages of frozen corn, thawed
1 cup chopped red bell pepper
1 cup chopped fresh cilantro or parsley
1/2 cup chopped green onion
1/2 cup lime juice
1 T chopped jalapenos
1 t cumin

Mix all ingredients and refrigerate 1 hour to let flavors blend. Serve with tortilla chips for dipping.

Pink Champagne Cupcakes: Recipe here. She used strawberry champagne and only 1-2 drops of food coloring.

Vanilla Almond Cupcakes with Salted Caramel Buttercream: Recipe here.