Turkey Tortilla Soup for Pressure Cooker

As a young mother, I made it a point to serve supper every evening at the table. Whether my husband was traveling for work, or not, our little ones got accustomed to eating with silverware, tablecloths, and candles. In fact, I had been told that a common family meal becomes a party as soon as candles are lit on the table. Candles encourage people to linger and talk. Really! Try it some time!

In our family, I basically did the talking — actually I did the reading. I read out loud every evening, which turned into one of our favorite traditions. Once the kids outgrew the “Little House” books, we turned toward historical fiction, and eventually home school books. We all learned together, no one was in a hurry to leave the table, and the television didn’t become an immediate magnet after supper.

Food traditions are also a wonderful way to encourage families to eat together — probably the most familiar here in the States is Pizza on Friday and Taco Tuesday. HOWEVER, some times I like to shake things up a bit. That’s when tortilla soup makes a pretty amazing substitute for tacos. Made in a pressure cooker, this soup will be on the table in about a half hour — just as quick as tacos.

My favorite way to make the soup is with a turkey tenderloin and home canned turkey bone broth. If the turkey tenderloins are large, either cut them into halves (so the pieces are about the size of your fist), or add a minute or two to cooking time. Chicken breasts and broth can be easily swapped in for turkey with minimal change in flavor. In fact, last week I decided to use ham bone broth instead, and no one knew the difference.

I use jalapeño peppers from our garden that were seeded and de-ribbed and stashed in the freezer, but a can of diced green chilies works fine as a substitute. Most of the other ingredients are easily stored in the pantry for the next evening you need a quick, delicious supper — whether it’s Tuesday, or not.

The salt amount in this recipe is for pink himalayan salt, which seems to have a less “sharp” saltiness. What I like to do is under-salt a tiny bit so that I can sprinkle a few flakes of chipotle salt on top of the soup before serving. The brand I use is Falksalt. It just adds the extra PUNCH that catapults this into “Spectacular Soup” category.

It has taken about a dozen times making turkey tortilla soup before getting pictures taken. And even then, I have to stop and eat some.

If you happen to have leftovers, turkey tortilla soup freezes beautifully. Reheating on the stovetop is the best option, since beans and microwaves have a somewhat explosive relationship.

Toppings are according to personal taste — avocado, shredded cheese, cilantro, lime, sour cream, tortilla chips — whatever you like, or have on hand. Just know that this soup can stand on its own. It really does not need fancy toppings.

Try this soup tonight instead of tacos!

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