White Bean and Ham Soup with Sun dried tomatoes

I made this accidentally while cleaning out the cabinet one night. I was scared of adding the tomatoes, but am SO glad I did! They really gave this simple soup a new depth of flavor. I devoured it and so did my hubby!

The best soup ever...a simple classic updated with yummy sun dried tomatoes! Delicious!

The ingrediants:

1 to 2 tablespoons of olive oil

4 to 6 oz smoked ham or bacon, chopped

1 medium onion, chopped

3 large cloves of garlic, minced

2 cans white beans (Navy, cannolini, etc)

4 to 6 cups chicken broth

1/4 to 1/2 cup sun dried tomatoes (NOT oil packed, dried only), chopped

salt/pepper to taste (I did not need much salt due to salted broth)

Combine olive oil and ham in large pot. Saute ham/bacon until starting to brown and edges are crisping. (If using bacon, you may want to drain it a bit…or not. Up to you.) Next, add onion and garlic and cook for about ten minutes, making sure to get the onions/garlic very tender. Add a bit of broth if needed to prevent overbrowning.

Finally, add in beans, chicken broth, and sun dried tomatoes. Bring entire pot to a boil, then reduce to a simmer and cook for about fifteen minutes. Eat at will!

Calorie info (using 2 tbspn olive oil, and 6 ounces of regular ham): Approx. 4oo calories a serving (four servings…can serve smaller portions but we were HANGRY!)

Note: I serve this with quick “pan fried” corn bread. For two: 1/2 cup corn meal, 1/2 c fat free plain yogurt, 1 egg, and a bit of water (if needed). Cook just like pancakes (I used nonstick spray or a teeny bit of olive oil) in a nonstick skillet.

Simple soup and bread

Tonight we’re expecting some cold, cold weather so I wanted to make a big pot of soup to have on hand. We had some split peas in the cupboard–these are so wonderfully cheap–and some on-sale sausage stashed in the fridge. Instant soup idea.

The cornbread I made to go with it is guilt and fat free but moist and yummy. Don’t skip it!

Split Pea and Sausage Soup

This bag only cost me 77 cents. Cheap yum!

Hardware: One large pot (dutch oven is great)

1 pound bag split peas (or beans of choice: black beans, pinto, northern, etc)

12-16 ounces sausage or ham, chopped

1.5 Tablespoons olive/canola oil

1 large onion, diced

4-5 cloves garlic, minced

Saute chopped sausage until browned. I had low fat turkey sausage, so I sauteed it in the oil. Remove sausage from pan. Add in onion and garlic and cook until tender, adding a bit of water to deglaze sausage/ham browning. Once tender, add in split peas and 6-8 cups of water. Also, add back in the sausage, if desired. (I actually would have preferred serving the sausage as garnish on top of the soup. Boiling it in the soup made the crispy edges go away.)

A small bowl of warm soup!

Tiny, low/no fat PERFECT cornbread recipe

This recipe made a tiny cornbread loaf. The bread was moist but held together really well.

Hardware: one bowl, small pyrex (5 x 7 )or other baking dish

3/4 cup self rising corn meal

1/3 cup fat free plain yogurt

1 egg, beaten (can use 1/4 c egg white)

1/4 or less skim milk

nonstick spray

Mix all ingredients, except milk. Add milk a splash at a time until you get cornbread batter of nice consistency.  Pour batter into sprayed baking dish. Bake at 400 degrees for 20 to 25 minutes or until golden brown. (I used a toaster oven and it was perfect!)

Breakfast for two

Sometimes a meal is just SO GOOD, I have to share it as soon as possible. I woke up early today and got busy making a fabulous pancake breakfast, complete with homemade fruit compote and turkey sausage. I only wish I’d had whole wheat flour to up the nutrient factor.

Breakfast of yum!

Here’s the recipe rundown!

Oatmeal Pancakes

Pre-flip.

1/2 cup flour (whole wheat is good)

1/4 oats

3/4 teaspoon baking powder

sprinkle salt

1 egg (can use 2 egg whites)

1/4 cup cooked and mashed apples (see recipe below)

1/2 cup milk (I used light soy)

Flipped.

water

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Combine dry ingredients and mix well. Add in all other ingredients and mix well.  Add in just enough water to give you a good pancake batter consistency. This amount will change according to a lot of factors, such as whole wheat flour and oats absorbing more water. Let batter rest for a few minutes before cooking.

Heat skillet/griddle on medium heat and spray with nonstick spray. Make four inch round or so, spreading the batter evenly. Flip once the edges start to dry and small bubbles appear on pancake surface. Makes about four 4 inch pancakes–you can see that mine came out two big and two little pancakes. So, I’m not so good at eyeballing…eh.

Nutrition info: This entire batch is about 450 calories. We split it into two servings.

Easy cooked apples

Two tiny apples.

I made this just because I didn’t have applesauce. It adds fiber and bulk to your pancakes and the strawberry compote you make next!

2 small apples, chopped

1/4 to 1/2 cup water

Microwave apples and 1/4 cup water until very tender. I had to add more water to mine since my apples were kind of dry.  I mashed about a third of it and added to pancakes, the rest I left chunky for my next recipe!

Strawberry and Apple Compote

Strawberry in a teeny jar for serving.

2 cups frozen or fresh strawberries

1 apple chopped, or leftovers from apple recipe above

2 tablespoons brown sugar

1/3 cup water

1 teaspoon corn starch

Combine all ingredients in small saucepan and heat thoroughly. Cook fruit until tender and mash fruit a little with a fork or spoon. Serve as topping for pancakes (or great on ice cream!).

Nutrition: this entire batch of strawberry topping is about 250 calories. NOTE: you can probably cook this without sugar and add in an artificial sweetener after removing from the heat. I’m just not a huge artificial sweetener person. I’d rather just enjoy the real thing and cut out calories elsewhere.

Orange veg night AKA clean out the fridge

Tonight, I had planned on cooking a butternut squash I had in the fridge.  But, while I prefer I more color-balanced (i.e., nutrient balanced) meal, I couldn’t come up with a great second side to go with our chicken. I was trying to keep dinner fairly low carb–squash has about 20 carbs a cup–so potatoes, rice, etc were out. So, I cooked the only other veg we had in house–carrots! I had already tossed some frozen chicken in the crockpot  this morning,and seasoned it heavily in preparation for dinner and sandwiches for the rest of the week.

So, here’s what we ended up eating tonight:

NOTE: this same recipe is just as good with sweet potatoes.

Cinnamon Butternut Squash

Hardware: Cookie sheet, GOOD, heavy knife

Butternut squash, cut in half after removing seeds.

1 Butternut squash

1 to 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon

1 tablespoon brown sugar (optional)

Nonstick spray

Preheat oven to 375.

The hardest part of butternut squash is cutting it. You may want to microwave it to tenderize it a bit before attempting to cut it in half. Cut the entire squash into bite-sized cubes. I’ve learned that you don’t have to peel it, either. Place on cookie sheet and toss with cinnamon and sugar, if wanted. Bake for 20 minutes, turn and bake another 10 minutes or until tender. (You can precook a bit in the microwave if you’d like to cut this cook time down.)

Nutrition: Depending on the size of you squash, this will vary in servings. One cup is about 90 calories.

My plate at dinner. I really gotta find some prettier plating options.

Cinnamon Carrots

Hardware: one bowl

Carrots with cinnamon. Trust me, it's goood.

Carrots (as many/few as you’d like)

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 to 1 tablespoon honey or brown sugar

Sprinkle salt

1/2 tablespoon butter (optional)

Clean and slice carrots. Cook for 2 minutes in microwave. Add cinnamon and honey/sugar, (less or more depending on how many carrots you have). Microwave until carrots reach desired tenderness. Add butter at end, if you wish. (We didn’t add any, the cinnamon adds much more flavor in this case than the fat.)

Nutrition info: Okay, since it all depends on the size of your meal, I’ll parse it out for you. A cup of carrots is 52 calories, brown sugar is 45 calories a tablespoon, honey is about 60 per tablespoon, and butter is about 100 calories per tablespoon. One cup of carrots with 1/2 T honey and 1/2 T butter is about 130 calories.

Comfort Food

The Great Divide: half hash, half veggies!

Sometimes, I just have to take whatever we have on hand and come up with something! (Who doesn’t, right?) But, we also needed something warm and comforting to help us face the freezing weather that has clamped down on the whole country. Thankfully, we ended up with a delicious, satisfying–but still healthy!–meal. I’ve tried to find a more appealing word than “hash”, but hash is the only way to describe the recipe below.

The roasted veggies are a repeat–see my Cauliflower entry for a yummy roasted veggie side dish.

Note: this recipe can easily be doubled for a big crowd or starving husbands/boyfriends.

Turkey  Sausage and Potato Hash

Hardware: 1 large bowl, 1 large pan

6-7 ounces turkey sausage (I used half a package)

4 potatoes, diced small

1 onion, diced

3 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 bell pepper, diced (I didn’t have this! Optional)

1/4 to 1/2 cup water or broth

Red pepper flake, to taste

Salt, pepper

1 tablespoon olive oil

First, dice your sausage and get it browning in the olive oil on medium heat.If you use a higher fat sausage, you can probably omit the olive oil. I like to also add the red pepper flakes at this time. Next, place potatoes in microwave safe large bowl and cook on high for 5-7  minutes, or until nearly done. (Mine were done at about the same time my sausage was browned.) Remove sausage from pan and add bell pepper, garlic, and onions.

Now, add in enough water to de-glaze the pan. Cook onions, garlic, and bell pepper until ender. Add potatoes, sausage, and salt and pepper to taste and cook until potatoes are tender. If your pan sticks (like mine did) you can add a little cool water to the pan to de-glaze again. Serve with roasted, grilled, or steamed veggie side or a big salad.

Nutrition info: This made 4 servings, at 270 calories a serving. Note: my calculation doesn’t include bell pepper. However, bell pepper is VERY low calorie. I recommend adding it to the recipe if you like it!

Sale=big yum

It’s such a treat to have seafood, so when these wonderful shrimp were on sale I snapped them up. I had plans for a delicious shrimp stir fry. However, KC doesn’t eat shrimp, so I halved all the veggies and ended up cooking in two different pans.(I also don’t like the beef we have, but he loves it, so it worked out.)

For time’s sake, I suggest picking one type of meat–chicken, beef, or seafood all work, even tofu–and making the brown rice in advance. This meal took me about 45-60 minutes to make, with marinade and prep time so save it for a special evening!   So worth it, I promise.

With shrimp

Stir Fry with Sesame

Hardware: One large skillet, one large pot (if making rice), one Tupperware container with lid

Meat and Marinade

1/2 to 1 pound sliced/cubed beef, chicken, shrimp, or tofu

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes, more if you like it spicier

1-2 cloves garlic, minced

2 teaspoons sesame oil

<1/4 cup soy sauce

<1/4 cup water

sesame seeds, optional

Combine all ingredients in Tupperware bowl, refrigerate for 15 to 30 minutes. (I suggest less time for seafood, a little more for chicken, and the longest for beef.)

The veggies and more

1 pound frozen stir fry veggies (or, use fresh, I just like the variety of a frozen bag)

1 head of bok choy cabbage (this adds healthiness and bulk to the recipe), chopped and washed

2 cloves of garlic, crushed (in slightly bigger pieces)

1 inch piece of ginger, peeled and sliced

1-2 teaspoons cornstarch, dissolved in a little water

Brown rice, 2-4 cups cooked

1 tablespoon of vegetable oil

In large saute pan, add oil, ginger, and garlic. Heat slowly, until garlic just starts to turn golden. Remove garlic and ginger from oil so they don’t burn (you can add it back in later if you want, just remember ginger isn’t really edible unless grated).

Bring the skillet to HIGH heat. Carefully add meat to pan with some tongs–it will be very wet from marinade, so be careful. Save the marinade to add in later on. Brown meat on both sides. When done, remove from pan, add remaining marinade and the veggies. Cover with a lid and steam until veggies are done to your liking. Add back in garlic, ginger, if wanted.

Once veggies are done, I add in the corn starch to thicken the sauce. You can, of course, now add your meat back in for serving. (I removed mine so it wouldn’t get overcooked–especially shrimp! Don’t overcook those.) Serve with rice and extra soy sauce.

Nutrition info: Varies depending on meat used. Makes about 4 big servings, if made with one pound of meat. Estimate for beef with 1/2 cup brown rice is 420 calories; estimate with shrimp about 350 calories. Estimates only!

With beef

Crunchy bits and caramelized goodness

We have been trying to spend less money on food, and sometimes that means instead of a meat-centered dinner we make an all veggie one. But, leaving out meat means we want more bulk and WAY more taste. So, I decided to make three huge veggie side dishes. And, don’t forget a lower calorie dinner means a bigger desert! Yum! For the veggie skeptics out there, please try these–the flavors are so wonderful. One suggestion: eat it while it’s hot and fresh! Always the best way to enjoy food.

A huge veggie feast! So good...

So, here are all three of my veggie recipes, complete with my own invention, a borrowed Kath Eats recipe, and a family hand-me-down: Spicy Roasted Cauliflower, Baked Breaded Okra, and Simple Pepper Cabbage.

Spicy Roast Cauliflower

Hardware: One cookie sheet–line with foil for easy cleanup,

Cauliflower pre-roasting

One large mixing bowl (can use again for okra!)

1 pound bag of frozen cauliflower (yes, you can use fresh–even better!)

1/4-1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes

Salt and pepper

1 tablespoon olive oil

Preheat oven to 425. Place cauliflower in large bowl. I will usually microwave frozen veggies before roasting them–softening them helps the spices and oil stick so you get more flavor. Plus, you get a quicker cook time. Microwave 3-5 minutes, until soft but not cooked through.

Add olive oil and spices and mix well. Spread on to pan and roast for 20 minutes. Turn cauliflower and bake another 10-15 minutes, for the best caramelization. Cararmelized= YUM!

Roasty, caramelized goodness.

Nutrition info: We split this entire batch two ways (starved!) and each servings is only about 125 calories. 125 yummy, yummy calories.

Baked Breaded Okra

Hardware: cookie sheet (again, foil for easy cleanup) and the same large mixing bowl

Okra pre-baking

8 ounces to 1 pound okra (we only had 1/2 bag), fresh or frozen

1 tablespoon olive oil

salt and pepper

1/3 to 1/2 cup corn meal (I prefer white, self-rising)

Cook at the same 425 as the cauliflower. Microwave okra in large bowl, until defrosted, but not cooked through. Add in oil, salt, and pepper. Mix well. Spoon in corn meal and mix with your hands or a large spoon until the corn meal breading to fairly dry. Place on cookie sheet and bake for approximately 25-30 minutes (I cooked mine the same amount of time as my cauliflower for convenience.)

Nutrition info: The corn meal ups the calorie content quite a bit, but this is still SO much healthier than the fried version. One 4 ounce serving came out to about 170 for each of us. (Again, we split it 50/50.)

Crispy, crunchy okra!

Simple Pepper Cabbage

Cabbage in the raw

Hardware: Cutting board, large pot with lid. LARGE

1 head cabbage, chopped with white center removed

salt, pepper

1/2 tablespoon vinegar

1 tablespoon vegetable or canola oil

1/4 cup water

1-2 teaspoons sugar or honey

Place oil, water, vinegar, honey/sugar, and chopped cabbage in large pot. Season with salt and pepper to taste. I like LOTS of pepper in mine, hence “Pepper Cabbage.” Heat on medium to high and cook for 15-20  minutes until tender. Note: the vinegar is to prevent the stinkiness of cabbage from filling up your house/kitchen. Something about the vinegar keeps the odor down. (See Alton Brown’s cabbage episode from season 1 of Good Eats. Details here.)

Nutrition info: According to caloriecount.com ( a great way to figure up calories in a recipe, BTW), 1/4 of this recipe is about 70 calories. And it’s a huge serving, see my plate at the top? I was so full!

Sweet and peppery cabbage.

I was so full, I waited a while to make desert. What was it? Another banana soft serve, with walnuts and butterscotch chips. SO good. Highly recommended!

It’s a snowy time of year

Our dinner tonight was snow-themed to match the crazy winter weather we’ve experienced since Christmas Eve. Check it out:

It's beautiful, but freezing! About 20 degrees this morning.

Well, color-wise. We had a potato and turkey “chowder” and then I made myself a little bowl of fake-out soft serve ice cream. It’s really just a frozen banana blended up with a little milk and sweetener but it’s SO GOOD!

Turkey and Potato “Chowder”

Hardware: one large pot (again, I used my dutch oven)

Topped with a little fat free sour cream.

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 medium onion

3-5 cloves of garlic

4 large potatoes

1-2 cups leftover turkey (we prefer white meat)

4-6 cups turkey or chicken stock

Herbs (I had leftover rosemary and thyme)

Salt, pepper to taste

This is a simple one. Just saute onions and garlic in olive oil until tender. Add in diced potatoes, stock, herbs, turkey, and salt and pepper and bring to a boil. I found the consistency best when you just barely cover the potatoes with stock. You can then mash the potatoes for a chunky, creamier soup.

Optional: for a creamier, though higher calorie soup, you can add 1/2 cup half and half, or cream, or even sour cream or plain yogurt.

Nutrition info (I will be trying to provide this info for all my recipes in the future): 1 cup of this soup is approximately 200 calories.

Banana Soft Serve (not my recipe!)

No toppings

Topped with butterscotch chips. Yum!

1 frozen banana

1/3 to 2/3 cup of milk (soy, skim, your choice)

Sweetener (I used Splenda, but any sweetener would be okay)

Vanilla, splash

Toppings of choice

Blend banana, sweetener,  vanilla, and 1/3 cup milk in blender or food processor. In blender, you will probably need more milk. BTW, I completely forgot to add vanilla to mine, but it was still wonderful. Note: regular granulated sugar will probably not dissolve and you’ll notice the texture difference.  Also, this recipe is all over the Internet–it’s not my genius idea at all! I first heard about it at Kath Eats, though it’s not her idea either.

Nutrition info: With 2/3 cup skim milk (my version tonight) and a whole medium banana, this bowl of yummy-ness was about 160 calories. Not bad for something triple the size of a single serving of ice cream! Oh, but my butterscotch chips added about 70 more calories, so watch your toppings if calories matter to you.

The Turkey Solution

Every Christmas and Thanksgiving, I’m left with a lot of leftover roasted turkey. Since the weather has turned gray and freezing, I have been really inspired to serve up some warm, flavorful soups to stave off the cold. My first turkey leftover soup is Turkey and Sausage Gumbo-Soup. I call it gumbo-soup because I don’t really make gumbo; I make a stew-like soup with all the usual gumbo flavor but without all those extra calories! (BTW, you can make it “real” gumbo, but why go to all the trouble??)

Turkey and Sausage Gumbo-Soup

Hardware: One very large, heavy pot (I used a dutch oven)

Olive oil

1 package sausage, cut into small pieces (I like a kielbasa-like smoked turkey sausage)

3 cloves garlic, minced (or more)

1 medium onion, diced

1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes

4-6 cups of turkey stock*

1/2 to 1 cup of turkey meat*

8 ounces fresh or frozen okra

1 15 ounce can diced tomatoes

Brown sausage well with 1/2 to 1 tablespoon of olive oil. (If using a high fat sausage, you can omit oil.  My turkey sausage was so low fat I needed to add oil to get it browning.) Remove sausage and add garlic, red pepper, and onion. Cook until tender, adding a bit of broth or water to de-glaze the pan when needed. Add in the rest of the ingredients, and simmer for 15 to 20 minutes. Serve over rice, if desired.

*I make turkey broth by plopping my leftover turkey bones/meat into a big pot and simmering for as long as I have (up to 2 or 3 hours sometimes, but tonight only about 30-45 minutes). I also leave all my aromatics in the turkey (you know, the onion, herbs, etc that you season the turkey with).

Feeling green

So, I wanted to run my Garlicky Kale recipe by everyone, since I photographed it in the last post, but didn’t include how to make it.

For reference, here’s another photo of the dish (Grilled Cheese and Eggplant Sandwich with Marinara):

That Kale is SO good. Even if you’re not a huge greens fan, I suggest trying this recipe (well, if you like garlic, heh). Also, you can substitute the green of your choice. ALWAYS choose what looks best in the store.

Note: This recipe has a lot of oil, but adjust according to your taste. I use MUCH less than in this recipe (maybe 2 teaspoons), but I like greens’ natural flavor. I have found from trial and error that more oil and more garlic give you a much stronger garlicky flavor and reduces the bitterness of the greens.

Garlicky Greens
Hardware: One large lidded pot or skillet
2 tablespoons of olive oil
4 to 5 cloves of garlic
1 large bunch of greens (I like Kale the most)
1/2 chicken broth (in a pinch I use bouillon mixed with hot water, or even just water)
Salt and pepper to taste

Mince the garlic and heat on low in the olive oil. Letting the oil and garlic start cold really gets the most flavor from the garlic and into the oil. One the garlic just starts to turn golden, add in the washed and drained greens. Go ahead and add chicken broth and salt and pepper to taste. Simmer/Saute the greens for 10 to 15 minutes, or until well wilted. Serve as a quick side dish with any meat or main course. Note II: You CAN use spinach in this recipe, but other greens have so much more fiber and nutrition. Spinach is good, but other greens are better nutritionally and  more filling.