Souper Easy ~ Souper Good

I am a big fan of soups – especially in the fall and winter.

I love how they make my house smell when I’m cooking them – homey and warm and welcoming.

I love how they feel when they’re in my tummy – warm and filling.

I love how they feed my family healthy things that taste great and fill them up inside.

I love that I can usually get multiple meals out of one preparation… especially if you pair it with some good bread or a salad.

I made this soup the other day with some leftover vegetables. That’s another thing I love about soups- that I can clean out the crisper and makes something good at the same time.

This soup is one of those “clean out the ‘fridge” recipes. So, use your own veggies that you have on hand – don’t think you have to match my recipe exactly.

I let this cook overnight in my crock pot on low and then SuperMan and I have been eating on it for lunch all week.

Clean out the Crisper Soup

2-3 celery stalks, chopped
onion, chopped
~2 tbsp minced garlic (to taste)
1 can diced tomatoes
1 box beef broth
1 beef bullion cube
~1 cup corn kernels
~1 cup butter beans
~1 cup spinach leaves (chopped or julienned)
~1 cup carrots, chopped
1 bell pepper, diced
~1 cup frozen hash brown potatoes
Salt & pepper to taste

Sauté the peppers, onion, celery and garlic in some olive oil until transparent.
In crock pot, combine remaining ingredients, adding sautéed vegetables when they’re done.
Set crock pot on low and cook 6-8 hours.

I also added some leftover roast beef and gravy that was taking up space in my refrigerator.

You can also make this more hearty by adding a cup of barley about an hour before serving, but you may need to add more broth if you do that as the barley will soak up some of the broth as it rehydrates.

I buy Publix’s frozen diced hash brown potatoes. They are great for soups and stews and no potato chopping!

Use whatever veggies you have on hand. I have used squash, zucchini, green beans, peas, etc. before as well.

A recipe for you

Happy Friday to you all!

I haven’t shared any new recipes this week, so I thought I’d give you a treat today and post a new one. It’s not new to me, it’s a well-loved family favorite, but I don’t think I’ve ever shared it on the blog before.

This came to me through some of my past Weight Watchers friends. It can be WW friendly very easily by using ground turkey and low-fat cheese in the recipe. I’ve tried making it low carb before by substituting sweet potato for the baking potato but that wasn’t very well received by the family. Sweet potato is too mushy when baked and the sweet flavor didn’t meld very well with the spiciness of the cumin and chili powder. Oh well. Lesson learned.

This is a great make-ahead recipe and it also freezes well and doubles well. So if you are a fan of making 2 while you’re making one, this is a great candidate. You could serve one for dinner tonight and freeze the other one for dinner on another night. I’ve also doubled it before to serve to a large crowd.

I usually serve with salsa and sour cream to top the casserole. Other than that, I don’t think it really needs much else. It’s just yummy all by itself.

I hope you enjoy.

You can access the recipe for printing from here.

Mexican Potato Casserole

Hearty and delicious recipe that is sure to be a crowd pleaser.
Yields: 8 Servings

Ingredients

1 teaspoon Olive oil
1 pound Ground beef or ground turkey
2 medium Bell pepper diced
1 medium Onion diced
1 can Diced tomatoes (I use mild Rotel or Del Monte Diced Tomatoes with Chilies)
2 cups Mexican blend cheese shredded
1 can black beans
Chili powder
Cumin
1 tablespoon Minced garlic
Salt/pepper to taste
2 large Baking potatoes

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350.
Using a mandolin, slice potatoes on the bias (diagonal) into thin slices (about 1/8" thick). Set aside.
Brown meat in skillet with olive oil, seasoning with Houston House Seasoning, chili powder and cumin.
Add onion & bell pepper and cook until vegetables begin to soften.
Mix in tomatoes and season to taste.
Cook 5-6 minutes.
In a greased 13×9 casserole dish, layer potatoes and meat mixture, adding cheese between layers.
Top final layer with cheese.
Bake 40-50 minutes, covered. Bake additional 10 minutes uncovered to brown cheese if desired.
Serve with salsa & sour cream for topping.

Flying by the seat of my pants

My menu plan was out the window this week. Between travel over the weekend and the Labor Day holiday AND a raging cold, thinking about what to eat/cook this week was just beyond my capacity on Sunday or Monday.

So, I’ve been winging it. Which is a little stressful, a lot more expensive, but is also blossoming my creativity. What can I cook with what I have on hand and without a trip to the fast-food takeout joints?

Tonight’s dinner?

Chicken Parmesan.

YUM.

I love Chicken Parm. It brings back memories from my (Italian) childhood. Lots of cheese, garlic, tomato sauce, and of course, chicken.

Today I tried a crock-pot recipe for Chicken Parmesan recipe. I checked out several “traditional” recipes and a few crock-style recipes and invented my own version.

One thing I did differently was that I did not bread my chicken. My grandmother may be watching from up above thinking this is a sacrilege but I was trying to eliminate the extra carbohydrates and I figured that was an easy way to do it. Besides, in the crock pot, the breading would’ve just turned to mush. And I don’t need bready mush – ever.

I also didn’t make my traditional tomato sauce that I use for spaghetti and most anything else Italian I make. (Grandma may decide to disown me now.)

I figured I was going to try the super-easy, super-simple method and see how it turned out. So, I just used an extra-large can of crushed tomatoes and seasoned them with some garlic, Italian seasoning and my Houston House Seasoning.

And, I used high-protein pasta. I like Barilla Plus. They have an angel hair pasta, so that made the decision easy for me. I like the fact that I’m feeding my family the extra protein and vitamins without the white flour and fillers in regular pasta.

The verdict?

Major yumminess. And major easiness, too. A win-win as far as I’m concerned.

The kids loved it, too.

I served it with garlic bread and SuperMan will probably get a salad with his (when he gets home from work, that is)

Here’s the recipe:

Ingredients:

Olive Oil
4-6 Chicken Breasts (boneless, skinless)
Houston House Seasoning
Italian seasoning
Garlic (I use diced garlic in the jar but you can press 2-3 cloves fresh garlic)
1 tsp sugar
pinch of celery seed
1 large can of crushed tomatoes
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
1 cup shredded parmesan cheese
1/2 pound of angel hair pasta
Garlic Bread (you can’t eat this without it!)

Preparation:

Season chicken breasts with Houston House Seasoning.
In a large skillet, brown chicken breasts in olive oil.
In a large bowl, mix the crushed tomatoes, sugar, celery seed, about 2 Tbsp of Italian seasoning and 2 Tbsp of minced garlic.
Add your chicken to the slow cooker.
Pour tomato mixture on top.
Set your slow cooker on low and let the chicken cook for 6-8 hrs.
When you are ready to serve, boil your pasta water and preheat your oven to 400 degrees.
While the pasta is cooking, place the chicken breasts in an oven safe dish and top with about 1/2 cup of the tomato mixture on each breast.
Sprinkle some of the cheese on top of the chicken.
Bake in the oven just long enough to melt the cheese.
Serve the chicken on a bed of pasta that has been topped with about 1/4 cup of the tomato sauce that is left over in your slow cooker.

And here’s a link where you can print your own copy.

And, as my grandpa would say… mangi!

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