Soup

I love soup!!  I could eat soup probably 365 days a year, if my husband would let me! There is nothing better then a warm bowl of goodness on a cold, blustery fall day. Or while watching the snow fall in the winter, I evening enjoy a bowl on a hot summer day. You could say that soup is my all time comfort food! Here are some of my favorite soup recipes I enjoy year round!

Last night I made this Weight Watchers Super Easy Creamy Broccoli Soup and it was so yummy and only 4 points for a 1 1/4 cup serving.

Super Easy Creamy Broccoli Soup 

1 tsp butter

1 medium onion

20 frozen broccoli (I used fresh and did 5 cups of florets)

3 cans cream of potato soup

2 cups low fat milk (I used 2% and it didn't change the point value)

3/4 cup low fat sharp cheddar cheese

1 tbs Dijon mustard (I forgot to put this in and it still tasted amazing)

1/8 tsp cayenne pepper more to taste if you like more of a kick

1 tsp salt

Melt butter in a large nonstick saucepan over low heat. Add onions and increase heat to medium-low; cover and cook, stirring occasionally, until tender, about 7 minutes.

Stir in broccoli and potato soup; gradually stir in milk until blended. Increase heat to medium-high and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer, covered, stirring occasionally, until broccoli is tender, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat; stir in cheese, mustard and cayenne until cheese melts. Season to taste with salt, if desired. Yields about 1 1/4 cups per serving.

NOTES :This soup can be made 2 days ahead.  Add freshly grated nutmeg if desired. Puree all, or part of the soup, for a thicker consistency. (I did this step using my immersion blender just to chop up some of the broccoli, worked great.)

I absolutely love Giada De Laurentiis from The Food Network and her recipes. They are simple, elegant and delicious! Another one of my favorite soup recipes comes from her cookbook, "Giada's Kitchen", Tuscan White Bean and Garlic Soup. It is so good and easy and takes less then 30 min to make! When you have 2 little ones running around recipes that take less then 30 mins are your saviour! 

Tuscan White Bean and Garlic Soup

• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 2 shallots, chopped
• 1 sage leaf
• 2 (15-ounce) cans cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
• 4 cups low-sodium chicken broth
• 4 cloves garlic, cut in 1/2
• 1/2 cup cream
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 6 slices ciabatta bread
• Extra-virgin olive oil, for drizzling

Place a medium, heavy soup pot over medium heat. Add the butter, olive oil, and shallot. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the shallots are softened, about 5 minutes. Add the sage and beans and stir to combine. Add the stock and bring the mixture to a simmer. Add the garlic and simmer until the garlic is softened, about 10 minutes. Pour the soup into a large bowl. Carefully ladle 1/3 to 1/2 of the soup into a blender and puree until smooth. Be careful to hold the top of the blender tightly, as hot liquids expand when they are blended. Pour the blended soup back into the soup pan. Puree the remaining soup. Once all the soup is blended and back in the soup pan, add the cream and the pepper Keep warm, covered, over very low heat. 

Place a grill pan over medium-high heat. Drizzle the slices of ciabatta bread with extra-virgin olive oil. Grill the bread until warm and golden grill marks appear, about 3 minutes a side. Serve the soup in bowls with the grilled bread alongside.

Thursday Taste

This weeks Thursday Taste comes from a meal that I through together last night. Since starting on my weight loss journey and road to a happy, healthy lifestyle I have made a vow to eat fish at least once a week. I love most seafood, but there is something so good about a nice flaky white fish such as halibut, cod or tilapia. I like to buy a big bag of the frozen tilapia at Costco that are individually packaged and just defrost them whenever I feel the need. Last night I decided to make a parmesan crusted tilapia and it turned out so moist and perfectly yummy, even my 3 year old gobbled it up! I actually was shocked with how much flavor the fish had. I served it along side Oven Roasted Garlic Brussels Sprouts and Boiled Smashed Potatoes, which both I found on Pinterst! Both the brussels sprouts and the potatoes were a hit! All the recipes are below! Hope you enjoy them as much as we did!

PARMESAN-CRUSTED TILAPIA

Ingredients

• 3/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
• 2 teaspoons paprika
• 1 tablespoon chopped flat-leaf parsley
• 4 tilapia fillets (about 1 pound total)
• 1 lemon, cut into wedges

Directions

• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees . In a shallow dish, combine the cheese with the paprika and parsley and season with salt and pepper. Drizzle the fish with olive oil and dredge in the cheese mixture. Place on a foil-lined baking sheet and bake until the fish is opaque in the thickest part, 10 to 12 minutes.

OVEN ROASTED GARLIC BRUSSELS SPROUTS

2 lb Brussels sprouts, trimmed and halved (quartered if large)
5 cloves garlic, minced fine or pressed through a garlic press
1/2 cup water
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper

Move oven rack to the upper third and preheat to 425 degrees.

In a 9x13 inch baking dish, toss together Brussels sprouts, garlic, water, oil, salt and pepper and spread out in a single layer.

Bake for 40-50 minutes until caramelized to taste, tossing once about 25 minutes into cooking time. Remove from oven and toss Brussels sprouts in the pan scraping up brown bits into the sprouts.

Recipe courtesy of : The Cooking Photographer

BOILED SMASHED POTATOES

• 12 whole New Potatoes (or Other Small Round Potatoes)
• 3 Tablespoons Olive Oil
• Kosher Salt To Taste
• Black Pepper To Taste
• Rosemary (or Other Herbs Of Choice) To Taste

Preparation Instructions

Bring a pot of salted water to a boil. Add in as many potatoes as you wish to make and cook them until they are fork-tender.
On a sheet pan, generously drizzle olive oil. Place tender potatoes on the cookie sheet leaving plenty of room between each potato.
With a potato masher, gently press down each potato until it slightly mashes, rotate the potato masher 90 degrees and mash again. Brush the tops of each crushed potato generously with more olive oil.
Sprinkle potatoes with kosher salt, fresh ground black pepper and fresh chopped rosemary (or chives or thyme or whatever herb you have available.)
Bake in a 450 degree oven for 20-25 minutes until golden brown.

Recipe courtesy of: The Pioneer Woman

 

Thursday Taste ~ Pork...The other white meat?

Pork, hmm, what to say about it? I don't care for it. I find that I don't buy food at the grocery store that I really don't want to eat and with the exception of bacon I don't buy or cook pork. I try not to shelter my kids when it comes to food specially since my 3 year old loves ham, but for some reason pork takes a back burner to the only white meat in my life, chicken or turkey. So for today's Thursday Taste I will be highlighting a pork recipe that I am trying out for my husband and 3 year old. I had went out of my box and bought some boneless pork chops on sale at the market and froze individually, so when I feel like making my husband and kids something out of the norm I can just take one or 2 out and cook them. This recipe is an inspiration from our honeymoon in Jamaica, and it is a weight watchers recipe that is only 4 points plus!!

GRILLED JERK-SEASONED PORK CHOPS

1/3 cup lightly packed cilantro leaves

2 scallions

2 tsp chopped peeled fresh ginger

1 garlic clove, chopped

2 tsp canola oil (I will use olive oil)

1/2 tsp dried thyme

1/4 tsp salt

Pinch ground allspice

Pinch cayenne

4 center-cut boneless pork loin chops, trimmed

1. Combine all ingredients expect pork chops in food processor; pulse until mixture forms a paste.

2. Place pork chops in shallow glass dish; add cilantro mixture and turn to coat. Cover and refrigerate at least 30 min or up to 2 hours.

3. Spray large ridged grill pan with nonstick spray and set over med heat. Place pork in pan and cook until 145 degrees about 2 min on each side.

FYI: While the pork chops marinate, grill some quick cooking veggies to serve with the meal. Spray a grill pan with cooking spray and grill any combo of thinly sliced bell peppers, zucchini, yellow squash, or red onion, turning occasionally, until crip and tender, 6-8 min. Toss the veggies with lime juice, cilantro and a sprinkle of salt.

Serves 4, ENJOY!!

Thursday Tastes

I have decided that I will start a weekly recipe day where I will share a new recipe I am going to try. I, like many others, have become obsessed with the Pinterest train! I love searching for new recipes, DIY projects and ideas for pretty much anything you want to do. While doing one of my nightly searches I came across this recipe... Creamy Shrimp and Mushroom Pasta. Now doesn't that sound so delish just by reading the title! Although I am going to have to omit the mushrooms because Ryan is not a fan, it should still be a bowl of creamy goodness! Now this is not on the healthy side by any means and will add something like 17 points to my daily weight watchers goal, but I am all willing to put those extra points to the 49 we get extra for the week. So with out further ado here is the recipe!

Creamy Shrimp and Mushroom Pasta

From: Chaos In The Kitchen

4-8 oz fettuccine or linguine

10 tbsp butter, divided (I know, but I’ve tried it with less and it’s just not the same)

8 oz fresh, sliced mushrooms

2 garlic cloves, minced

3 oz cream cheese, cut into small pieces

2 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped

1 tbsp fresh basil, chopped (you can use dried herbs if that’s all you have)

2/3 cup boiling water (from your noodle pot)

1 lb cooked shrimp (feel free to buy frozen-gasp!)

1. Boil and salt a large pot of water and cook your pasta. I usually only use about half of an 8 oz box, preferring fewer noodles.
2. While your pasta is cooking, cook your shrimp if necessary and reserve. If your shrimp are pre-cooked and frozen, quickly thaw them under running water.
3. In a large skillet melt 2 tbsp of butter over medium heat and saute mushrooms until soft and brown. Season with salt and pepper.
4. Reserve cooked mushrooms and melt remaining butter in the skillet. Add minced garlic, cream cheese, and herbs. At this point, I generally feel like something has gone terribly wrong. The cream cheese doesn’t really melt and starts to look almost curdled, don’t worry about it! It will all smooth out and be wonderful when we add the water. I promise.
5. Simmer cream cheese mixture until well blended. Get a scoop of boiling pasta water from your noodle pot and mix it in, stirring quickly to smooth out the sauce.
6. Keep sauce hot and add shrimp and mushrooms, mix well and simmer (stirring often) until everything is hot and thickened, about 10 minutes-you wont ruin this sauce by accidentally boiling it so don’t worry.
7. Toss sauce with cooked noodles and serve.

Serve this with a good crusty loaf of garlic bread and a salad.