Yummy Taco Soup

I love that Chef Meg uses smashed beans to thicken soups instead of flour! Its a great gluten-free option. This soup was tasty, I would have added black beans instead of kidney, but I had neither. I figured it had enough protein with the meat and the garbanzos. Enjoy!

Taco Soup (Chef Meg's Makeover)

http://recipes.sparkpeople.com/recipe-detail.asp?recipe=681632

Nutrition Info

• Calories: 342.1
• Fat: 16.8g
• Carbohydrates: 29.5g
• Protein: 20.4g

Ingredients

16 oz lean ground beef
1/2 C yellow onion, chopped
1 recipe taco seasoning
14 oz tomato sauce
14 oz diced tomatoes with green chilies
14 oz kidney beans, dark, drained
1 C water
1 C corn, frozen
4 oz green chilies, chopped
1/2 C garbanzo beans, smashed

Directions

Brown ground beef and chopped onion over medium heat in a saucepan, stirring occasionally. Drain mixture and blot away excess grease. Add spices cook for 1 minute. Add tomato sauce and cook additional minute while stirring. Add diced tomatoes, kidney beans, and water. Simmer for 10 minutes. Add corn, green chilies, and mashed garbanzo beans, simmer an additional 5 minutes.

Garnish with chopped cilantro, chips, cheese, or sour cream. (Calories not included.)


Number of Servings: 6

Recipe submitted by SparkPeople user CHEF_MEG.

Buttermilk cornbread with gluten free option

Instead of using a skillet to melt the butter, I just microwaved it for simplicity's sake. This was the most moist cornbread I have ever tasted! To make it gluten free, I substituted Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free Flour mix and a spoonful of Xanthan gum for the flour. Add the baking soda. It was a quick recipe to throw together and I had it ready ahead of time to go with my Jambalaya. Next time I want to double the recipe! Delicious!

http://allrecipes.com/recipe/grandmothers-buttermilk-cornbread/detail.aspx Grandmother's Buttermilk Cornbread

Rated: Submitted By: BETHANYWEATHERSBY Photo By: Jessica Prep Time: 15 Minutes Cook Time: 40 Minutes Ready In: 55 Minutes Servings: 9

"Grandma's recipe for a sweet, moist cornbread likely to become your favorite!"

INGREDIENTS:

1/2 cup butter 2/3 cup white sugar 2 eggs 1 cup buttermilk

1/2 teaspoon baking soda 1 cup cornmeal 1 cup all-purpose flour 1/2 teaspoon salt

DIRECTIONS:

1.	Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease an 8 inch square pan.
2.	Melt butter in large skillet. Remove from heat and stir in sugar. Quickly add eggs and beat until well blended. Combine buttermilk with baking soda and stir into mixture in pan. Stir in cornmeal, flour, and salt until well blended and few lumps remain. Pour batter into the prepared pan.
3.	Bake in the preheated oven for 30 to 40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

This soup is one of my favorite that I've ever made! I omitted the ham because I thought it would take away from the flavor of the sausage and shrimp. For 4 people with some leftovers I used 2 bags of frozen shrimp and 2 packages of andouille sausage (the kind with 4-5 brat sized links in it). I used red chili powder instead of cayenne pepper and my homemade green chili hot sauce instead of Tabasco. I also cooked the rice separately because I don't have good experience with getting it cooked all the way in soup dishes. Then each person can add as little or as much rice as they want. The zing of lemon juice at the end is my favorite part. It is a little bit prep-work heavy with all the veggies you add to it, so I like this recipe for the weekend. Enjoy this taste of Louisiana!!!


http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/shrimp-and-sausage-jambalaya-recipe2/index.html

Shrimp and Sausage Jambalaya

Copyright 2010, Amelia Durand, All Rights Reserved

Prep Time:

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Serves:

6 to 8 servings

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 pound sausage, such as kielbasa or andouille, sliced
• 1 pound smoked ham, cubed
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 1 cup diced celery
• 1 green bell pepper, cored and diced
• 1 red bell pepper, cored and diced
• 1 cup seeded and diced tomato
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and minced OR 1/2 teaspoon cayenne
• 2 teaspoons diced fresh oregano
• 1 teaspoon diced fresh thyme
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• 6 cups chicken stock, preferably homemade
• 3 cups long-grain rice, rinsed
• 3 bay leaves
• 2 teaspoons kosher salt
• 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 6 to 8 dashes hot sauce, optional (recommended: Tabasco)
• 1/2 cup chopped scallions, divided
• 3/4 cup chopped fresh parsley, divided
• 1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 1 pound medium shrimp, deveined (20 to 24 count)

Directions

Heat the oil in a large Dutch oven or black iron pot over medium heat, add the kielbasa and saute for 8 to 10 minutes, until browned. Remove the kielbasa to a bowl, and set aside. Add the ham to the same pot and cook 8 to 10 minutes, until lightly browned. Remove to the bowl with the kielbasa, and set aside. Add the butter, onion, celery and peppers to the same pot and saute for 8 to 10 minutes, until the onion is translucent. Add the tomato, garlic, jalapeno or cayenne, oregano, thyme, and tomato paste and cook until all the vegetables and herbs are blended well. Add the stock and bring to a rolling boil. Stir in the rice, and add the sausage, ham, bay leaves, salt, pepper and hot sauce. Return to a boil, reduce the heat to low and simmer, covered, for 20 minutes. Add 1/4 cup of the scallions, 1/4 cup of the parsley, the lemon juice and the shrimp, and stir well. Cover the pot, remove it from the heat and allow the jambalaya steam, for 15 minutes, before serving.

Garnish with the remaining 1/4 cup scallions and 1/2 cup parsley, and a dash of hot sauce, if desired.

Sweet and Sour Chicken

I have a feeling this month is going to be Asian themed. I got 4 heads of a cabbage like vegetable in my Bountiful Basket including Napa Cabbage, regular cabbage and Bok Choy. Yum! I've looked up a couple of fried rice recipes, hot and sour soup, and spring rolls. We'll see what I turn out.

Recipe slightly adapted from:

[my changes in brackets and italicized]

Sweet and Sour Chicken

Ingredients

• 1 pound of boneless and skinless chicken thighs or breasts, cut into 1" chunks
• 1 egg white
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt (1/4 teaspoon table salt)
• 2 teaspoons cornstarch
• 1 10-ounce can pineapple chunks (reserve juice) [I used fresh pineapple and orange juice]
• 1/4 cup juice from the canned pineapple
• 1/4 cup white vinegar [I used rice vinegar]
• 1/4 cup ketchup
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt (1/4 teaspoon table salt)
• 2-3 tablespoons brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon cooking oil
• 1 red bell pepper, cut into 1 inch chunks
• 1 yellow bell pepper, cut into 1 inch chunks
• [I added about 1 1/2 cups of fresh snow peas toward the end, they don't need to cook long]
• [also added about 1/2 cup chopped green onions in with the bell peppers]
• 1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger [I used 2 tablespoons]
• [I served my sweet and sour over steamed white jasmine rice]

Method

1 In a bowl, combine the chicken with the egg white, salt and cornstarch. Stir to coat the chicken evenly. Let sit for 15 minutes at room temperature or up to overnight in the refrigerator.

2 In the meantime, whisk together the pineapple juice, vinegar, ketchup, salt, and brown sugar [and about a 1/4 cup of soy sauce].

3 Heat a large frying pan or wok over high heat until a bead of water instantly sizzles and evaporates. Pour in the 1 tablespoon of cooking oil and swirl to coat. It's important that the pan is very hot. Add the chicken and spread the chicken out in one layer. Let the chicken fry, untouched for 1 minute, until the bottoms are browned. Flip and fry the other side the same for 1 minute. The chicken should still be pinkish in the middle. Dish out the chicken onto a clean plate, leaving as much oil in the pan as possible.

4 Turn the heat to medium and add the remaining 1 teaspoon of cooking oil. Let the oil heat up and then add the bell pepper chunks and ginger. Fry for 1 minute. Add the pineapple chunks [and snow peas] and the sweet and sour sauce. Turn the heat to high and when the sauce is simmering, add the chicken pieces back in. Let simmer for 1-2 minutes, until the chicken is cooked through. Timing depends on how thick you've cut your chicken. The best way to tell if the chicken is done is to take a piece out and cut into it. If it's pink, add another minute to the cooking. [at this point I added some extra corn starch mixed with cold water (shake it in a jar!) to thicken the sauce a little more]
Taste the sauce and add more brown sugar if you’d like.
Serves 4.

Simply Recipes http://simplyrecipes.com

Kidney Bean Kalmata Olive Hummus

This recipe was sparked by the fact that I had everything to make hummus except garbanzo beans and I was craving it. I had kidney and black beans on hand, and I figured the kidney beans would match the nice purple of the kalamata olives and I went with it.

Ingredients:
1/2 can Kidney Beans (use garbanzo or any other beans if you wish)
1 TBSP Tahini (Ground sesame seed paste)
1/4 cup pitted kalamata olives (or more if desired)
1 TBSP Lemon Juice
Garlic (to taste), fresh is best, powder will also work

If you use all of the juice from the can of kidney beans, you come up with a rather runny, however smooth hummus. I think Garbanzos are a little bit drier and so you can use all the juice. If you want to play with the texture a little bit, drain and reserve the liquid and add as much or as little as you need. Another option is to use juice from the olives for more flavor. The reason I used 1/2 a can of beans is I wanted to try some different flavors of hummus to keep my palate guessing :)

Dump all ingredients into a blender or food processor and blend until smooth. Add Garlic to taste and blend again. Dip with tortilla chips, pitas, or fresh veggies and enjoy!

Makes: approximately 1 1/2 cups of dip.

Cinnamon Wild Rice Pudding

2 cups cooked wild rice
2 eggs
2 cups milk
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 c. sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp cloves
3/4 c. rasins (I didn't have any on hand)

Stir all ingredients together and bake in a casserole dish at 350 for 1 hour or until set.
Recipe adapted from: http://www.mnwildrice.com/recipes.htm

Homemade Mac'n'cheese with rice noodles and cauliflower

Recipe compliments of chef Meg (aptly named) from Spark People. I did the cheater version. I heated up the milk in my saucepan, added the cheese, and then dumped it over my cooked noodles and cauliflower in a baking dish. Then I sprinkled more cheese and breadcrumbs on top. It would be gluten free without the bread crumbs because I used rice noodles. This is a great version of "adult" mac  'n' cheese. It would be great with the other extra flavors the other recipe included, I was just going for the quicker version :)

SparkPeople Cookbook SNEAK PEEK: Three-Cheese Macaroni

Nutrition Info

• Calories: 259.6
• Fat: 7.9g
• Carbohydrates: 39.5g
• Protein: 12.6g

Ingredients

For the Sauce:
2 tbsp light butter
2 tbsp all-purpose flour
1 1⁄2 cups skim milk
1 bay leaf
1⁄8 onion, cut in a wedge
2 cloves
1⁄4 cup shredded reduced-fat Swiss
cheese
1⁄4 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1⁄4 tsp salt
1 pinch cayenne
8 ounces whole-wheat elbow pasta, dry
(see Note)
6 slices turkey bacon, cooked and chopped
1 slice whole-wheat bread, processed into
crumbs
2 tbsp grated Parmesan cheese

Directions

If there is a food more comforting and satisfying than homemade macaroni and cheese, we haven’t found it. But a typical homemade recipe—made with cream, butter, and full-fat cheese—has about 400 calories and 25 grams of fat per serving; our version has a third of the fat and about 250 calories per cup. We slightly reduced the amount of cheese, used whole-wheat pasta, and chose flavorful ingredients to create a version that tastes good while cutting extra calories.
This recipe still keeps some fat, which is what adds flavor to this dish. You could make macaroni and cheese with fat-free cheese and no butter, but would you want to eat it?
Though it seems counterintuitive, eating a smaller quantity of a rich dish can be more satisfying than a larger quantity of a dish made with “filler” foods, those that have little flavor and nutritional value. This is a comfort food that you can feel good about eating.
My three boys love this dish. We usually serve it as a side dish rather than an entrée—it goes great with Spicy Turkey Mini Meatloaves (page 201) or just grilled chicken breasts. You can leave out the turkey bacon to make this dish vegetarian; add a pinch of dry mustard to the sauce for a
sharper flavor.


1. Preheat the oven to 375° F. Prepare a 9" x 13"
casserole dish with nonstick cooking spray.
2. Place the butter in a medium saucepan, melt
over medium-low heat, and cook until foaming.
Add the flour and stir well with a wooden
spoon for 1 to 2 minutes. Slowly pour in the
milk, whisking to incorporate.
3. Attach the bay leaf to the onion wedge using
the cloves. Drop the studded onion into the
milk mixture with the clove/bay leaf side down.
Cook, stirring occasionally, until the mixture
thickens, about 15 minutes
4. Meanwhile, cook the pasta according to
package directions, but don’t salt the cooking
water.
5. Remove the studded onion from the sauce
and discard. Add the Swiss and cheddar
cheeses. Stir to combine and heat the sauce
until the cheese is just melted. Season with salt
and cayenne.
6. In a large mixing bowl, combine the sauce,
bacon, and cooked macaroni; toss to coat.
Combine the breadcrumbs and Parmesan in a
small bowl.
7. Pour the pasta mixture into the prepared
baking dish and top with the breadcrumbs and
Parmesan. Bake uncovered until bubbly and
golden, about 15 minutes.
Note: You can swap half the pasta for 3 cups of
blanched broccoli or cauliflower

Serving size: 1 heaping cup

Parmesan Spinach Cakes

I tried this once and it was, TO DIE FOR!!! I think I'll be making this very frequently. I made a few changes to the recipe. I cooked them in a skillet with a little olive oil instead of in the oven. I thought the muffin pan could be messy to clean up later. I also used frozen spinach, just thawed it and stirred it in with the other ingredients. I used the cottage cheese instead of ricotta and Swiss instead of Parm. I also used garlic powder instead of fresh, but that's all a matter of what you have on hand. Delicious, easy, and quick to make.
(Picture coming soon)

Parmesan Spinach Cakes

http://www.eatingwell.com/recipes/parmesan_spinach_cakes.html

From EatingWell:  September/October 2008

If you like spinach-cheese pie, try these simple but elegant-looking little spinach cakes.

4 servings, 2 spinach cakes each | Active Time: 15 minutes | Total Time: 40 minutes

Ingredients

• 12 ounces fresh baby spinach
• 1/2 cup part-skim ricotta cheese, or low-fat cottage cheese
• 1/2 cup finely shredded Parmesan cheese, plus more for garnish
• 2 large eggs, beaten
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 400°F.
2. Pulse spinach in three batches in a food processor until finely chopped. Transfer to a medium bowl. Add ricotta (or cottage cheese), Parmesan, eggs, garlic, salt and pepper; stir to combine.
3. Coat 8 cups of the muffin pan with cooking spray. Divide the spinach mixture among the 8 cups (they will be very full).
4. Bake the spinach cakes until set, about 20 minutes. Let stand in the pan for 5 minutes. Loosen the edges with a knife and turn out onto a clean cutting board or large plate. Serve warm, sprinkled with more Parmesan, if desired.

Nutrition

Per serving : 141 Calories; 8 g Fat; 4 g Sat; 3 g Mono; 123 mg Cholesterol; 6 g Carbohydrates; 13 g Protein; 2 g Fiber; 456 mg Sodium; 560 mg Potassium

1 Carbohydrate Serving

Exchanges: 1 vegetable, 1 1/2 medium-fat meat

Delicious Brownies courtesy of King Arthur Flour

After trying and failing repeatedly to get a good brownie recipe to turn out, I finally googled "Best Brownie Recipe." I was pleasantly surprised to discover there actually was a recipe titled as such, and proceeded to try it out. Yep. Best brownies EVER! 
I do want to point out that in the last stage I added some oil, because the first round that I made came out a little dry. Approximately 1/3 cup oil. 


King Arthur Flour: the Best Fudge Brownie Ever
Ingredients
1 cup butter
2 1/4 cups sugar
1 1/4 cups Dutch-processed cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon salt ( 1 tsp if using unsalted butter)
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
4 large eggs
1 1/2 cups king arther unbleached all-purpose flour
2 cups chocolate chips
1/2-3/4 cup chopped pecans ( or favorite) (optional)


Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Lightly grease a 9x13 pan.
3. In a medium sized microwave-safe bowl or in a saucepan, melt the butter on low heat, then add the
sugar and stir to combine.
4. Return the mixture to the heat or microwave briefly, just until it's hot but not bubbling. It will become
shiny looking as you stir it. Heating the butter and sugar a second time will dissolve more of the
sugar, which will yield a shiny top crust on your brownies.
5. Transfer the mix to a mixing bowl.
6. Stir in the cocoa, salt, baking powder, and vanilla.
7. Add the eggs, beating till smooth; then add the flour and chips and nuts if using. Beat until well
combined. (*Add 1/3 cup of oil to batter & stir until smooth).
8. Spoon the batter into the prepared pan.
9. Bake the brownies for 28-30 minutes, until a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean or
with just a few crumbs clinging to it.
10. The brownies should feel set both around the edges and in the center.
11. Remove from the oven, and after 5 minutes loosen the edges with a table knife, this will help prevent the brownies from sinking in the center as they cool.

12. Cool completely before cutting and serving.

Pizza Bowl

(Note to self: I need to start remembering to take a photo after making it instead of in a Tupperware when I'm eating my lunch!!)

Craving pizza but not wanting to sacrifice your healthy diet for all the carbs and cheese? Pizza bowl to the rescue! Grill up some diced chicken and your favorite toppings and add a couple spoonfuls of sauce. I used bell peppers, mushrooms, green onions, a few slices of pepperoni, yellow squash, & zucchini. You can cut out the cheese if you are counting calories, or sprinkle a little bit on top, whatever suits you. Delicious!