From Sean and Kelly, base recipe found on epicurious.com:

Nonstick vegetable oil spray
3/4 cup chopped onion
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 teaspoon ground cumin
3/4 teaspoon chili powder
4 cups canned vegetable broth — [ I always use better than bullion — it’s the best broth by far if you can’t make your own!]
4 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro

4 6-inch-diameter corn tortillas, cut into 1/2-inch-wide strips
1 1/2 cups chopped tomatoes
2/3 cup canned black beans, rinsed, drained
2/3 cup chopped zucchini
1 1/2 tablespoons minced seeded jalapeño chili

Spray large nonstick saucepan with vegetable oil spray. Add onion and garlic; cover and cook over medium-low heat until almost tender, stirring often, about 5 minutes. Stir in tomato paste, cumin and chili powder. Add broth and 2 tablespoons cilantro; bring to boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer until flavors blend, about 15 minutes. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover; chill. Bring to simmer before continuing.)

Add tortillas, tomatoes, beans, zucchini and jalapeñp to soup. Cover; simmer until zucchini is tender, about 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.

Ladle soup into bowls. Sprinkle with remaining 2 tablespoons cilantro.

[ Note: This could have used a bit more punch — maybe including all the seeds from the jalepeno?? Also, I would add corn and perhaps some canned chiles in the future. ]

From Sean and Kelly:

3/4 cup onion, chopped
2 tb Olive Oil
1 c Rice, raw
1/4 ts Black Pepper
2 Garlic Cloves
2 1/2 c Vegetable Broth
1 1/2 ts Ground Cumin
1 Red Bell Pepper

Mince garlic. Remove seeds and dice bell pepper. In dutch oven, cook onion, garlic and raw rice in oil until onion is tender and rice is lightly browned. Add chicken broth and bring to a boil. Stir in cumin and black pepper. Cover tightly and simmer 20 minutes. Remove from heat. Stir in bell pepper. Let stand covered until all liquid is absorbed, about 5 minutes.

[ I actually sauteed the red pepper with the onion accidently, but it tasted fine. 🙂 ]

From Tamara and Vernon:

2 small cans tomato paste
smooth to bottom of bowl

1 can refried beans
smooth on top of tomatoe paste

1 pkg cheddar cheese
top of refried beans

sour cream on top

cherry tomatoes sliced in half

1 can blk olives

decorate

From Tamara and Vernon:

6 avacados mashed
1 tbs garlic
2 tbs lime juice
2 tomatos chopped
1 onion minced
1 tsp cumin
salt to taste
1 tsp cayanne pepper

[ Editor’s note: This was a lot of guacamole. We had 10 people and there was plenty left over.]

We had our Tex Mex cooking club on 6/3, so I’ll be posting the recipes as they are emailed to me. Everyone was there and we ate at our house. We had corona’s and margherita’s along with all the recipes that follow. I could have eaten just the gaucamole and layered dip with chips and been happy!