When addinng cooked rice or orzo to soup....

[applecrisp]

I'm making this CL Tarascan soup (a favorite CL recipe, love the convenience), but I am modifying it a bit by adding some chicken, corn etc. Oh and its a great soup for my Freezer/Pantry Challenge of using what I have on hand.

Plus, I was thinking of adding some leftover cooked rice or possibly some orzo to it. I don't recall ever making a soup with rice or pasta in which I had leftovers, and since I know I will have leftovers for this (and likely freezing some) .... should I just add the cooked rice and/or orzo at the point when heating up each serving, (I will likely freeze some, so should I freeze sans rice/orzo), or is it not biggie toadd the orzo or rice to the whole batch. I wasn't sure if it would be better not having the rice or orzo sit in the soup for too long.

Thanks.

Here's the original recipe if anyone is interested -- it is super simple, much of it is just opening up cans. Sometimes to save time/clean-up I mash up some of the beans (I use drained black beans) with a fork rather than using a blender. If I have on hand, I also might add a bit of canned chipotle for some smokiness etc.

Tarascan Soup

This recipe came from a fantastic Mexican restaurant in Santa Barbara, California. The soup is named after the Tarascan region of Mexico.

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 cup chopped onion
4 large garlic cloves, minced
1 (28-ounce) can diced tomatoes, undrained
2 (15-ounce) cans pinto beans, undrained
2 teaspoons chili powder
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon hot sauce
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 (16-ounce) can fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
1 cup (4 ounces) shredded reduced-fat Monterey Jack cheese
16 baked tortilla chips, crushed (about 1 cup)

Heat oil in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add onion and garlic; sauté 3 minutes. Stir in tomatoes; cook 5 minutes. Place beans in a blender or food processor; process until smooth. Add beans, chili powder, cumin, hot sauce, salt, and broth to pan; bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low; cook 18 minutes. Serve with cheese and chips.

Yield: 8 servings (serving size: 1 cup soup, 2 tablespoons cheese, and about 2 tablespoons chips)

NUTRITION PER SERVING
CALORIES 266(18% from fat); FAT 5.4g (sat 2g,mono 2.3g,poly 0.6g); PROTEIN 15.4g; CHOLESTEROL 9mg; CALCIUM 212mg; SODIUM 788mg; FIBER 5.9g; IRON 3.7mg; CARBOHYDRATE 40.2g

Cooking Light, NOVEMBER 1998

Many thanks,

[Hammster]

I would not freeze it with orzo in it. Pasta has a tendency to absorb all the liquid and grow and get way mushy when left in liquid. Just add the orzo as you serve the soup. I think I'd do the same with rice.

[applecrisp]

Thanks Hammster, that's what I was thinking. If I'm in the mood for a thicker soup, I'll just add the orzo or rice as I heat up the soup.