Black Bean and Salsa Soup

This yummy dish makes a great side for a multi-course meal. It tastes a lot like taco soup, but looks fancier. It is also great because it only took 10 minutes to make. You should serve tortilla chips with it, but we had already eaten all of our with the avocado salsa :)

Black Bean and Salsa Soup

* 2 cans (15oz) black beans, drained, rinsed
* 1 1/2 cups vegetable broth (mine was not vegetarian because I used chicken broth)
* 1 cup salsa (mild or hot to your preference)
* 1 teaspoon cumin
* Sour cream and tortilla chips to serve with it

1. In a blender, combine the beans, broth, salsa and cumin. Process 1 minute or until smooth.

2. Heat in a saucepan over medium heat until thoroughly heated.

3. Place in bowls and serve with 1 tablespoon cream cheese, swirl gently.

Servings: 4, 220 calories, 4 g fat, 5 mg cholesterol, 1130 mg sodium (cut this down by making your own black beans instead of using the canned)

Vegetable Quiche Cups

I don't think my husband is a huge fan, but he doesn't like quiche anyway, but I love these. I warm them up for a quick and yummy snack!

Vegetable Quiche Cups To Go

* 1 package (10 oz) frozen chopped spinach

* 3/4 cup liquid egg substitute

* 3/4 cup shredded reduced-fat cheese (last time I used a mix of mozzarella and Swiss)

* 1/4 cup diced green bell peppers

* 1/4 cup diced onions

* dash of nutmeg

* 1/2 tsp salt

* 1/8 tsp pepper

1. Microwave the spinach for 2 1/2 minutes on high. Drain the excess liquid and preheat the oven to 350. Spray a 12-cup muffin pan with oil, or use foil baking cups and spray the cups.

2. Mix all the ingredients well in a bowl. Divide among the muffin cups. Bake at 350 for 20 minutes, until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean.

Servings: 6, calories: 77, protein: 9g, carbs 3g, fat: 3g, sodium: 160mg, cholesterol: 10mg, fiber: 2g (from the South Beach Diet, Arthur Agatston, pg 134.)

Fresh Orange Cake and White Beans with Greens Soup

A surprise Sunday post! Aren't you impressed! I was thinking about how busy I'm going to be preparing for Thanksgiving dinner and thought I would get some recipes in early. I think I made the soup on Thursday and when I hit my 50k word goal for Nanowrimo on Saturday I made the Orange juice cake. It also turned out that the dinner appointment I was taking it to was a sneaky birthday dinner for my good friend Laura. Her birthday is actually Monday, but I didn't even know that! I'm such a bad friend. I was so relieved that I took one of my best and favorite cake recipes for her to enjoy.

I like this soup and this is actually the second time that I've made it. My family however does not like the way it looks with the greens floating in the broth. Kiah did try it and said it wasn't bad, except for the green stuff and the beans. That leaves just the broth people! *sighs* I keep trying though.

White Bean Soup with Greens

* 1 1/2 pounds Swiss Chard, escarole, or beet greens, trimmed (I've used turnip greens both times because that is what I could find. I also learned that trimmed means take the leafy part off the stem part. How is that for a technical explanation *wink* You don't have to chop it up because it will fall to pieces when you cook it.)
* 6 cups chicken broth (you can use vegetable broth to make it vegetarian)
* 1 clove garlic, crushed
* 1 cup cooked white beans (This time I used a can, but last time I made from dried beans
* 1/8 teaspoon ground white pepper
* Grated Parmesan cheese, for garnish (I used my favorite Asiago again, love that nutty flavor!)
* Red-pepper flakes, for garnish

1. Bring a large pat of water to a boil over med-high heat. Add the greens and cook for 7 minutes, or until barely tender. Drain the greens, squeezing out as much water as possible.

2. Bring the broth to a simmer in a large pot over med-high heat. Add the garlic and greens.

3. If using canned white beans, place them in a strainer and rinse them under cold water to remove excess sodium. Add the beans to the broth. Simmer gently for 10 minutes. Sprinkle the pepper to taste. (the recipe actually calls for salt to, but the first time I made it, it was way too salty. This time I did not add any salt and it was just fine, so if you add salt do it slowly.)

4. Ladle the sou into bowls and garnish with cheese and pepper flakes.

Makes 6 servings--79 calories, 2 g fat, 0mg cholesterol, 1,008mg sodium (The SB Diet cookbook, page 96.)

Fresh Orange Cake

Cake:
* 1 package yellow cake mix with pudding
* 1 cup fresh orange juice (use 100%, not from concentrate)
* 1/2 cup good vegetable oil (such as canola, corn, safflower, soybean, or sunflower)
* 1/4 cup granulated sugar
* 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract (it is more expensive, but worth it)
* 4 large eggs

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Lightly mist a Bundt pan with vegetable spray and then dust with flour. Shake out the excess flour.

2. Dump all the ingredients into a large bowl and blend with an electric mixer on low for 1 minute. Stop and scrape down the sides. Mix at med speed for 2 minutes more or until the batter looks thick and well blended. Pour into the pan.

3. Bake until golden brown and the cake just starts to pull away from the sides--45 to 47 minutes.

4. Let it cool on a rack for 20 minutes before removing it from the pan. Then cool completely before adding the glaze.

Note: This cake is very versatile. I've done it in a Bundt pan with the glaze that follows, and I've made it as a round cake with butter cream. A few times I've made a whipped cream/yogurt filling and added strawberries and pineapple (mmm, yummy!).

Glaze:
* 1 cup confectioners' sugar
* 3 tablespoons fresh orange juice

1. Mix and drizzle over cooled cake. I usually don't wait for it to cool and then I have to keep scooping up the glaze from the pan and pouring it over the cake again. So try to be more patient than me. :) (from the Cake Mix Doctor , pg 79)

Stir Fry Broccoli and Tofu

Sorry, it is a bit late, but I have been preoccupied with other writing challenges lately. Laura asked for some vegetarian recipes and here is a truly vegetarian delight. I've never cooked with tofu before, but it was really easy and I thought the meal was yummy. The kids need a little bit of time to warm up to the texture, but my husband liked it so that is half the battle. I also experimented with making some wantons. I love crab ragoons, but didn't feel up to trying that. So, I just mixed some cream cheese, Parmesan cheese and a little garlic salt. They turned out yummy, but a little salty, so I'll keep experimenting with them.

Stir Fry of Broccoli with Tofu and Cherry Tomatoes

*1/3 cup vegetable broth
*1 tablespoon light soy sauce
*1 tablespoon dry sherry (I didn't have any so I used red wine vinegar)
*2 tablespoons cornstarch
*1 tablespoon canola oil
*1 large bunch broccoli, cut into small florets (I used a frozen bag)
*4 cloves garlic, minced
*1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh ginger (I just sprinkled 1 teaspoon ground ginger)
*4 ounces mushrooms, sliced
*1 cup cherry or yellow pear tomatoes, halved
*8 ounces firm tofu, drained and cut into 1/4" cubes (mine came already cubed)

1. In a cup, whisk together the broth, soy sauce, sherry, and cornstarch. Set aside.

2. Heat the oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add the broccoli, garlic, and ginger and cook, stirring frequently, for 3 minutes, or until tender and lightly browned.

3. Add the tomatoes and tofu and cook, stirring frequently, for 2 minutes, or until the tomatoes begin to collapse (they look soft and no longer hold their shape firmly--does that make sense?).

4. Stir the cornstarch mixture and add to the skillet. Cook, stirring for 2 minutes or until the mixture boils and thickens. Serve over rice.

This was easy and you can make the main dish while the rice is cooking. It makes 4 servings. 151 calories, 8 g fat, 10 g protein, 13 g carbs, 4 g dietary fiber, 0 mg cholesterol, and 195 mg sodium. Those are some pretty numbers! (South Beach Diet Cookbook, pg 278)

BBQ Chicken and Grilled Sweet Potatoes

I don't think I'm going to be very good at the Thrifty Thursday bit. This meal was pretty cheap though. I already had all the spices, so after the initial cost that is cheap because they last so long. I bought a bag of chicken last week for about $7 and used the rest of it for this--so about $3 for the chicken, my neighbor gave me the sweet potatoes, and the box of mac and cheese that the kids ate was $0.60. I had some lettuce left over from the cookout and a tomato that I used in the salad. I'm going to guess that this meal was around $7-$8 total for my family of six. Not bad!

This chicken was really good. The spices have a very different flair to them. It includes cinnamon and sugar which makes every bite a surprise. It smells like bbq, looks like bbq, tastes like it too with just that little jolt of sweetness. It was really nice.

BBQ Chicken and Grilled Sweet Potatoes

2 Tbsp paprika
1 Tbsp chili powder
1/2 Tbsp ground cumin
1/2 Tbsp ground cinnamon
1/2 Tbsp garlic powder
1/2 Tbsp dry mustard
1 Tbsp sugar
1 pound uncooked boneless, skinless chicken breast, four 4-oz pieces
2 large sweet potato(es)
1 sprays cooking spray
1/8 tsp table salt, or to taste

1. Mix paprika through to sugar. A few hours before you plan to grill, rub chicken breasts with seasoning mixture. Cover and refrigerate until 15 minutes before you grill.

2. Peel sweet potatoes and slice into 1/3-inch discs. Place in a pot with enough cold, salted water to cover, and bring to a boil over medium heat. Boil for 3 to 4 minutes, then drain and cool.

3. When it's time to grill, preheat grill, then spray potatoes with cooking spray or olive oil spray and salt them. Salt chicken breasts. Place potatoes and chicken on grill and cook until done. The seasoning mixture makes the chicken very reddish in color, so be careful not to cook the chicken too long.

Caribbean Pork Medallions

None of my children would try this one either, but I had a neighbor come over and taste test it for us. She thought it was good. I might have even convinced her that she could make it herself. If you can peel and cut up a potato and an apple you can make this. The hardest part of the recipe was trying to roll up the silly paper and get it to stay. :)

Caribbean Pork Medallions

• 1 large sweet potato(es), peeled and thinly sliced
• 1 small apple(s), cored and thinly sliced
• 2 Tbsp dark brown sugar, packed
• 1/2 cup apple juice
• 1 tsp ginger root, peeled and grated
• 1/4 tsp table salt
• 1/4 tsp ground allspice
• 1/8 tsp ground cinnamon
• 3/4 pound lean pork tenderloin, trimmed of all visible fat and cut into twelve half-inch slices
• 2 medium scallion(s), sliced
• 1 medium scallion(s), chopped (for garnish)

1. Preheat oven to 400 °F. Tear off four 12-inch squares of parchment paper or foil; fold each in half, lengthwise, and cut into a heart shape with the fold running vertically down the center. Open each heart to lie flat.
2. In a medium bowl, mix sweet potato, apple and brown sugar; spoon onto center of one side of each heart.
3. In same bowl, mix apple juice, ginger, salt, allspice and cinnamon. With heel of your hand, press pork slices to 1/4-inch thickness; add to spice mixture and toss to coat. Place pork over sweet potatoes; sprinkle with sliced scallions.
4. Fold parchment over pork. Starting at top of each heart, make a series of tight overlapping folds to seal packets. Place on a baking sheet; bake until pork is no longer pink and sweet potatoes are tender, about 18 minutes.
5. Open packets carefully when testing for doneness, as steam will escape. Serve, drizzled with any juices and garnished with chopped scallions.

This is another weight watcher meal--sorry that is what we are doing this week. It only took about 30 minutes total to make and is worth 4pts. I'm not actually doing the points, I just like to find good recipes wherever I can.

Chicken Capri

I tried another new recipe on Monday night. I just haven't had a chance to post it yet. So, I'm getting to it today. I'm not 100% sure what I thought of the recipe. I liked it enough to try it again, but will probably play with it a little bit. The meal looked pretty and smelled good, but I didn't think it had enough flavor. I got this recipe from the South Beach Diet Cookbook, page 214. You can see in the photo that I made bread to go with it. French bread really is my favorite bread to make next to Cinnamon rolls.

Chicken Capri

• 1 cup reduced-fat ricotta cheese
• 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 1 cup crushed tomatoes
• 4 slices reduced-fat mozzarella cheese

1. In a blender or food processor, combine the ricotta with the oregano, salt and pepper. Process to blend.
2. Rub the chicken with the garlic powder (maybe this is where I missed out on flavor. I didn't have garlic powder--surprise! so I just chopped up some fresh garlic and added it to the skillet in the next step.) Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the chicken and cook for 12 minutes per side.
3. Place the chicken breasts, side by side, in a large baking dish and allow to cool.
4. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
5. Spoon 1/4 cup of the cheese mixture and 1/4 cup tomatoes onto each chicken breast. Top each with 1 slice mozzarella. Bake for 20 minutes, or until a thermometer inserted in the thickest portion of a breast registers 170 degrees F and the juices run clear.

340 calories, 15g fat, 44g protein, 6g carbs, 115mg cholesterol, 470mg sodium