3 One-Dish Dinners Under $10

Quick tortilla soup for cilantro lovers. — Photo by Threemanycooks.com

Quick Tortilla Soup
Serves 4

If you’re a cilantro lover and have some around, toss a couple of tablespoons into the finished soup. Top soup with any or all of the following: grated pepper jack or cheddar cheese, diced avocados, light sour cream or Greek yogurt, hot red pepper sauce or pickled jalapeños.

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 3 garlic clove, crushed
• 1 tablespoon chili powder
• 1 quart chicken broth or vegetable
• 1 can petite diced tomatoes (14.5 ounces)
  
• 1 can (15 ounces) black beans, drained
• 1 box (9 to 10 ounces) frozen corn
• 4 ounces tortilla strips or chips

Heat olive oil in a large heavy-bottomed pot over medium-high heat. Add onion and cook until soft, about 4 minutes. Add garlic and chili powder; cook until fragrant, about a minute longer. Add broth, tomatoes, black beans and corn; bring to a boil.  Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer partially covered, to blend flavors, about 5 minutes. To serve, place a portion of chips in each of four wide soup bowls. Ladle on a portion of soup and top as desired (see above for suggestions).

Smokey Bacon and Caramelized Onion Pizza
Serves 4

If you’d prefer to use an 11- to 12-inch, thin-crust, store-bought pizza crust, you can!  Just adjust the oven rack to lower-middle position, top as instructed and bake in a 450-degree oven until crisp and spotty brown, 12 to 15 minutes.

• 6 to 8 ounces smoked thick-cut bacon, cut into 1-inch pieces
• 1 large onion, halved and thinly sliced
• 8 ounces fresh or processed mozzarella, thinly sliced
• 1 pound store-bought refrigerated pizza dough
• Corn meal for sprinkling on pan
• Grated Parmesan cheese

Adjust oven rack to lowest position and heat oven to 450 degrees. Fry bacon in a large skillet over medium-high heat until partially rendered, 2 to 3 minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon and place on a paper towel-lined plate. Add onions to the pan; sauté, stirring frequently, until caramel brown, 10 to 12 minutes.

Meanwhile, turn dough onto a lightly floured surface. Using a dough scraper or a sharp knife, quarter dough crosswise. Working one at a time, stretch each portion into a rustic 12-inch-by-3 ½- to 4-inch rectangle; transfer to a large cornmeal-coated baking sheet. Top each pizza with a portion of the mozzarella, followed by the onions, then the bacon. Bake until cheese melts and crust is golden brown and crisp, about 12 minutes. For a darker crust, broil for 30 seconds to a minute. Sprinkle with Parmesan, cut, serve, and enjoy!

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