Tuscan Ribollita

Tuscan Ribollita

Recipe found on Shutterbean & slightly adapted

3 cloves garlic, minced
1 small onion, chopped
1 carrot, chopped
1 celery stalk, chopped
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 - 28 oz. can whole peeled tomatoes
3 - 15 oz. cans cannellini beans, drained
1 1/2 cups chicken or  vegetable broth
1 sprig fresh rosemary (if you have, I actually didn't have this & sprinkled in some dried Italian herbs instead)

salt & pepper to taste
1 bunch kale, roughly chopped  (I had a really HUGE bunch of kale so just used about 2 cups tightly packed)

1 cup toasted bread crumbs
grated Parmesan 

Directions:
1. In a large pot over medium heat, sauté the garlic, onion, carrot, & celery ingredients in the olive oil for 5 minutes.
2. Add the tomatoes and their juices, along with the beans, broth & rosemary.  Salt and pepper a little.  Simmer, covered until the beans break apart, about an hour. (I did a pretty hard simmer to help the beans break apart)
3. Add the kale and cook for 5 to 7 mins more. Stir in the bread crumbs and serve sprinkled with cheese.

*I found the crucial thing about this recipe is the breakdown of some of the beans therefore making this not a soup.  My beans didn't fall apart very easily so I made sure to stir a lot and had to break up some beans & my whole tomatoes on my own.  I had a can of tomatoes larger than the recipe called for so I decreased the broth.  In the end my version had a little more liquid than the pictures on her blog so I added more breadcrumbs.  All in all it thickened up a little & although it didn't look quite like her pics it was still not a soup and was super filling, hearty, and flavorful.

*Lets talk health and flavor a little....I knew this recipe was right up my alley but might bore some others.  I was worried it might be a little bland since I left out the pancetta but I was amazing and excited and how super flavorful it was!!  I think I'd like to give an extra big thanks to my onions for breaking apart as well to make this dish scrumptious!  And talk about nutrition!!!  Vitamin, mineral, antioxidant, phytochemical, and fiber packed!!!  

Wisconsin Cauliflower Soup

When I visited my family in December we ate at Zupas. I ordered the Wisconsin Cauliflower soup and fell in love! So much in love that when I got to pick were we went for a girls lunch with all the aunts & GMa (just a couple days later) I knew I had to have more soup! I also made others fall in love with this soup. So when my sister sent me the "knock-off recipe" I was excited to try it! I was also excited because this is a creamy soup so I was expecting it to be made with cream. It does have a lot of cheese in it but I used skim milk and no butter. So my soup wasn't quite the amazingness as Zupas, mostly because of the texture. I think I was too anxious to eat this soup that I didn't let my cauliflower cook long enough so my soup wasn't perfectly smooth. But if I don't compare it to Zupas it was still super delicious. Watch your portions due to the cheese but the rest is pretty great - don't use butter, cauliflower, onions, & skim milk for some healthy moves! I also used vegetable broth...that's what I had and I only eat small amounts of meat now. And vegetarians can make this soup as well.

Wisconsin Cauliflower Soup

Ingredients:
2 Tbsp Margarine Or Butter (¼ Stick)
1 medium Onion, chopped
¼ cup All-Purpose Flour
½ tsp Salt
2 cups Milk
1 can (13 ¾ to 14 ½ ounces) Chicken Broth
1 head (2 ½ pounds) Cauliflower, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 tsp Dijon Mustard
1 cup Shredded Cheddar Cheese
1 cup Pepper Jack Cheese

Directions:
In 4-quart saucepan, melt margarine or butter over medium heat. Add onion and cook until golden, about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in flour and salt; cook 2 minutes, stirring frequently. Gradually stir in milk, chicken broth, and 1 ½ cups water; add cauliflower and heat to boiling over high heat. Reduce heat to low; cover and simmer until cauliflower is tender, about 10 minutes. In blender (with center part of blender cover removed to allow steam to escape), blend cauliflower mixture at low speed in small batches until very smooth. Return cauliflower mixture to saucepan; heat over medium heat until hot, stirring occasionally. Remove saucepan from heat; stir in mustard and 1 ½ cups cheese until melted and smooth. Garnish soup with remaining cheese to serve.

Chickpea and Lentil Stew

This is a recipe I got from Whole Foods. If you like Indian flavorings/spices, in specific garam masala, this is an easy & delicious dish to try. And as with many Indian dishes you can adjust the level of spicy to fit what you like! Or take out the chile pepper & sub with bell pepper if you want no spice at all. -- [side note: this recipe is for a crock pot but I just boiled/simmered on the stove until the lentils were cooked and it was good]

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 medium yellow onion, chopped
1 chile pepper, such as serrano or jalapeno, stemmed, seeded and chopped, more to taste
4 cloves garlic, chopped
2 teaspoons garam masala
1/4 cup sesame seeds [didn't use]
2 (15-ounce) cans garbanzo beans (chick peas) [recipe said to drain, I put the liquid in my stew]
1/2 cup dried red lentils [used green lentils, came out fine]
1 (28-ounce) can tomato puree [tomato sauce is fine]
2 cups vegetable broth
1/4 cup pitted black olives
1/2 cup yogurt

Heat olive oil in a pan and sauté the onions. Add peppers, garlic, garam masala and sesame seeds and cook until peppers begin to soften. Combine everything except the yogurt in the slow cooker and cook on low 8 to 10 hours. Add yogurt about 15 minutes before serving.

Nutrition - Per serving: 250 calories (90 from fat), 10g total fat, 1g saturated fat, 5mg cholesterol, 680mg sodium, 33g total carbohydrate (8g dietary fiber, 9g sugar), 11g protein

Lentil Chili

8 cups low-sodium vegetable broth, divided

1 medium yellow onion, chopped

1 large red bell pepper, chopped

5 cloves garlic, finely chopped

4 teaspoons salt-free chili powder

1 (16-ounce) package brown lentils (about 2 1/4 cups lentils)

2 (15-ounce) cans no-salt-added diced tomatoes

1/4 cup chopped cilantro

Bring 3/4 cup broth to a simmer in a large pot over medium-high heat. Add onion, bell pepper and garlic and cook about 8 minutes or until onion is translucent and pepper is tender. Stir in chili powder and cook 1 minute, stirring constantly. Add lentils, tomatoes and remaining 7 1/4 cups broth. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to medium-low and simmer, partially covered, 30 minutes or until lentils are almost tender. Uncover and cook 10 minutes longer. Stir in cilantro and serve.

Per serving : 120 calories (5 from fat), 0g total fat, 0g saturated fat, 0mg cholesterol, 180mg sodium, 21g total carbohydrate (7g dietary fiber, 6g sugar), 6g protein

Recipe from: Whole Foods

**********

Yum, yum!! Love this recipe and I've been eating it all week! Not sick of it at all yet. I used green lentils and they worked just fine. Major note - it took MUCH longer than the recipe states to cook. Probably ~1 hr. I also used one of those 28oz cans of tomatoes and next time I make it I'll double the red pepper.

Beef-Barley Soup

This is a recipe I tried from the Feb 05 issue of Fitness. It's a pretty basic Beef and Barley soup but the broth did come out more flavorful than I expected. There are no carrots in my pic because I don't like cooked carrots much but they are in the recipe if you like them.

Beef-Barley Soup

1/2 pound beef sirloin, cut into 2 inch cubes

salt and pepper

1 tsp olive oil

2 carrots, sliced

1 large onion, chopped, about 1 cup (I used 2 shallots)

1 cup mushrooms, sliced

5 garlic gloves, smashed and chopped

1/2 cup red wine (*or* wine substitutions include non-alcoholic wine, beef broth/stock, diluted red wine vinegar, red grape juice diluted with red wine vinegar or rice vinegar, or tomato juice)

6 cups beef broth

1 can (14 1/2 oz) chopped tomatoes (recipes called for drained, I put the liquid in the soup for extra flavor)

2 sprigs fresh thyme

1 bay leaf

1/2 cup cooked barley

Season beef cubes w/ salt and pepper. In a large pot over medium heat, brown beef on all sides in oil. Do not turn pieces until one side is browned. Pour off any excess fat and set beef to the side. Add carrots, onion, mushrooms, and garlic to the pot and cook, stirring 3 minutes. Pour in wine (or substitute), increase the heat to high, and bring to a boil; cook, scraping the bottom of the pot, 2 minutes, or until liquid is reduced by half. Add the rest of the ingredients except barley, bring to a boil. Reduce heat, add beef, and let simmer 1 hour. Stir in uncooked barley and simmer 1 hour, or until barley is cooked through. Remove bay leaf before serving. Be sure to let the stew cook slowly so that only small bubbles come to the surface. Otherwise the meat may not be as tender.

Make 6 servings

Nutrition info per serving: 198 calories, 15g protein, 20g carbs, 6g fat, 4g fiber

Sicilian Lentil Soup

I apologize for the long dry spell!  December I was busy visiting my family and letting my Dad cook for me!  And I'm not getting as many posts from others which puts a little more pressure to make sure there are enough recipes  :)

Here's a recipe I tried from the Williams-Sonoma website.

Sicilian Lentil Soup

2 Tbsp olive oil

1 large yellow onion, chopped

1 garlic glove, minced

1 tsp minced fresh rosemary

1 eggplant, cut into small cubes

3 cups cooked green lentils

1 oz of small or short pasta of choice

1/4 tsp ground cinnamon

2 plum tomatoes, seeded and chopped

salt and pepper to taste

In a large saucepan over medium-high heat, warm 1 Tbsp of olive oil.  Add the onion and saute until translucent, about 4 minutes,  Add the remaining 1 Tbsp of oil, garlic, rosemary, and eggplant.  Cook, stirring frequently, until the eggplant is translucent and starts to soften.

Add sauteed vegetables, lentils, pasta, cinnamon, and 6 cups water to a pot.  Bring to a boil, reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer, uncovered until the eggplant is tender and the pasta is al dente, about 10 minutes.  Stir in the tomatoes and season with salt and pepper.

My trick for amazing sauteed onions is to saute them in garlic infused oil.  In this recipe I used garlic oil and didn't have to put in the mince garlic clove (you can substitute or use both depending on preference and strength of oil).  I also like to use shallots because I love the natural sweetness.

For this recipe I cooked my pasta first, I used mini bow ties.  Then I put all the ingredients in my crock pot on high until the soup was done.  I'll be honest I didn't put the cinnamon in the soup because I didn't think I'd like that flavor.  The broth was a little bland so I put in a couple Tbsp of chicken bouillon.  After that the soup turned out delicious.  For some reason I didn't like the eggplant because of the texture and lack of flavor, even though I normally like eggplant.  I think I would make this again but add some squash instead. 

White Bean Chicken Chili - Posted by Valerie B.

So I have on my Google Reader this food storage website's blog. And this was a recipe I found on it. I've attached a picture. I haven't tried it, but it looks really good!! And you can use your food storage stuff!

White Bean Chicken Chili
6 cans of white navy beans (or about 1 lb. dried white beans--soak them overnight or boil for 1 hour or until tender)
1 jar of salsa
1 can green chilies
2-4 chicken breasts
1/2 onion, diced (or you can use dried)
1 c. shredded colby or cheddar cheese
1-2 cloves garlic (or you can use powdered)
1 T. cumin (or more, I like a lot of cumin)
Salt & Pepper to taste
1 T. McCormick Chicken Base (or you can use chicken bouillon)
Cayenne Pepper if you like more of a spicy soup
Garnish with fresh cilantro, sour cream, diced avocados, fresh lime squeezed & more shredded cheese.
Put all of the above ingredients into a large pot. Simmer until beans and chicken are tender and cooked through (I just throw my chicken breasts in raw and let them cook in the water. When they are cooked I take them out and chop them up. They give the broth more of a chicken flavor). Garnish with the above ingredients. Yum!!

Meatball Soup

This is a recipe I tried from Deceptively Delicious. I thought the broth was awesome and super flavorful. I would even make it on its own with a little basil in it. The meatballs were not bad but I thought they were a little bread-y so next time I'd probably put more meat in the recipe. I actually didn't think the soup needed the noodles at all but they weren't bad. For those out there that don't like (or have kids that don't like) wheat noodles, one trick is to overcook the noodles a little bit. When the noodles are softer the texture is a little more like regular noodles. I got full surprisingly fast with this soup.

Meatball Soup

3 ounces whole-wheat pasta (shape of choice)
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 small onion, chopped
2 gloves garlic, chopped
1 (28oz) can whole peeled tomatoes, with their juice
1/4 cup carrot puree
salt
3 cups reduced fat, low sodium chicken broth

Meatballs:
3 slices whole wheat bread, cubed
1 large egg, beaten (or 1/4 cup Egg Beaters)
1/4 cup sweet potato puree
1/4 cup nonfat (skim) milk
2 tablespoons grated or shredded Parmesan (plus more for serving)
pepper
1/4 tsp paprika
1/2 pound lean ground turkey

1. Cook the pasta in a large pot of boiling, salted water according to package directions. Drain and set aside.
2. Heat a large pot over medium-high heat. When the pot in hot, add the olive oil and then the onion and garlic. Cook, stirring often until the onion is softened.
3. Pureed the tomatoes and their juice with the carrot puree and salt in a food processor or blender then add to the pot. Add the broth, reduce heat to low, and simmer, covered, for 10 to 15 minutes
4. Meanwhile, put the bread in a large bowl. Add the egg, sweet potato puree, milk, Parmesan, salt, pepper, paprika, and let soak until the bread is very soft. Stir to break up the bread, add the ground turkey, and mix until smooth. Form into mini meatballs.
5. Add the meatballs to the pot. Simmer, covered, until the meatballs are no longer pink in the center, 12-15 minutes. Stir in the pasta. Serve sprinkled w/ Parmesan.

Easy Tomato Basil Soup

This is a recipe I got while I was interning at the Cooper Clinic in Dallas for a week. This recipe is ridiculously easy and pretty good. It's not the most amazing tomato basil soup I've ever had but for how quick and easy it is, it's pretty tasty!

Easy Tomato Basil Soup

2 (14.5 oz) cans diced tomatoes w/ basil, garlic, and oregano

8 oz fat free cream cheese

6 fresh basil leaves, chopped

1/4 cup Parmesan reggiano cheese

salt and pepper to taste

Place tomatoes and cream cheese in blender and blend until desired consistency is reached. Pour into a medium pot and simmer until cream cheese has melted. (I found microwave works fine too!). Stir as needed. Add chopped basil, Parmesan cheese, and salt and pepper to taste.

Serves 4, serving size 1 cup

Calories: 102

Total fat: 3g

Sat fat: 2g

Chol: 9mg

Sodium: 642mg

Carbs: 8g

Fiber: 1g

Sugar: 3g

Protein: 12g

**I also have a great recipe from Cooper Clinic for one that I think tastes a little bit better but takes more work to prepare. If you're interested I can give it to you.

Heather & Shannon's Homemade Tortilla Soup

Shannon & I decided we could make our own tortilla soup that was delicious...and we did! I think its a lot healthier then getting it at a restaurant, buying a can of it, or packet to make it. I apologize once again I don't have exact amounts. I know that might be annoying to some but I really like to make things to taste and experiment when I cook. Plus change the amounts depending on how you like your tortilla soup! I'll try to estimate amounts though.

Tortilla Soup

Boil:

Tomatoes (~6 Roma tomatoes, diced)

Onion (~1 medium onion, diced)

Garlic (~3-4 cloves, minced or 1 tbsp minced from the jar)

Bouillon Cubes (to match the amount of water you use)

Water (~6 cups)

*Depending on how "juicy" the tomatoes are you might need to use more/less tomatoes. Boil until the mixture turns into a "tomato broth". It should taste flavorful and not watery.

Add:

1 can of diced tomatoes (any flavor...we usually used the jalapeno one)

Shredded chicken (optional) (~2 breasts)

Cumin

Juice of a lime

Garlic salt/powder (if needed)

Salt to taste (if needed)

Stew with:

1 large fresh Jalapeno (whole, not chopped)

Cilantro

*Add the jalapeno, whole into the soup along with cilantro. Reduce heat to a simmer, cover soup. Simmer until soup is "ready"...basically the flavor of the jalapeno and seasonings have permeated throughout the soup and the broth is the right consistency and taste.

This soup is super easy to make, super fresh, and healthy! The flavors even get better over time so its actually wonderful left over. And if you have tomatoes that are too ripe...perfect to use for this soup! In fact a good tip is to make sure you get fully ripe and soft tomatoes so that you get a richer broth. I usually skip the "toppings" but if you want to add tortilla strips/chips, cheese, or avocado then go for it.