Quick Sopa Aguada

I'm all about the quick and easy recipe. With four kids who all seem to be participating in three different activities at the same time, if a recipe isn't quick then I just plain don't have time for it. But while quick is important, taste is paramount. I've seen recipe sites that trumpet these great quick recipes that only take X number of ingredients and can be made in less than15 minutes. Too many times those dishes are way too bland for my crew. I want dishes that taste like they took a long time to make and also taste like they were whipped up by a restaurant chef.

The recipe for Sopa Aguada posted by Ben over at What's Cooking? looked perfect for us. While I haven't tried it with homemade pasta yet, but I plan to try it soon. Between the onions, garlic and the fire-roasted tomatoes I used, this soup was anything but "watery". ;-)


Sopa Aguada (Pasta Soup)
Recipe by Ben at What's Cooking?

All you have to do is fry some pasta in a large pot. In the meantime blend tomato, onion and garlic and add to the pasta once it starts turning brown. Add chicken broth to make it watery (aguada means watery), salt, pepper, oregano and crushed peppers if you want to make it spicy. Cover and let it simmer until the pasta is soft. Serve with cilantro, cheese and avocado and you have your first course of the evening.

Here's what I used in my soup:
pasta (I've tried it with both dried linguine and dried spaghetti.)
onion, chopped
garlic, minced
chicken broth
fire roasted tomatoes
1 tablespoon tomato paste
red pepper flakes
salt and pepper
oregano
cilantro
avocado
cheddar cheese