HALLELUJAH! Cheddar Ale Soup!

I'm finally feeling better! I'm sure that one of these days, I'll get myself back into a regular schedule with blogging. I've been cooking again and doing a GREAT BIG craft project that I just finished this weekend and will post later this week.

If you've been hanging around here longer than a few months, you know I've been on a pretty successful weight loss journey (thanks to Weight Watchers) since November of 2008. Before I found out I was pregnant, I had lost 46 pounds. By the end of my first trimester, I lost another ten pounds--that's how gross I felt!! In some ways, it was quite exciting to see that number keep dropping, but also a bit horrifying. My doctor wasn't worried (and I still have at least another 20 pounds to lose in addition to whatever I gain once I deliver baby number two), so I tried not to be worried either.

I'm still trying to make good food choices a majority of the time, since I am determined not to wind up where I started. But I am allowing myself to indulge every once in a while and that's where this recipe comes in. It is UBER delicious, but not even close to a recipe I'd normally eat anything more than an itty bitty cup once a month! But for now, I shall eat a cup for lunch and a cup for dinner and maybe even a cup for breakfast. Uh, bleh, garp, urg. Nope. Still a little sensitive at times.

Now, without further ado...











Cheddar Ale Soup

1 tsp vegetable or extra light olive oil
1 large onion, chopped finely
4 carrots, chopped finely
4 celery ribs, chopped finely
3 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
1 stick butter
1/2 cup flour
16 oz pale ale, such as Bass or Sierra Nevada
3 cups chicken stock
1 tsp salt
1 quart (4 cups) half & half
6 cups sharp cheddar cheese (block cheese that you buy and shred yourself melts MUCH better than pre-shredded cheese—it’s totally worth the work)
1/4 cup flour
optional toppings: sliced green onions, crumbled bacon, popped popcorn, crackers, croutons, whatever!

Heat oil in skillet over medium to medium-high heat. Add carrots, onions, celery, and a pinch of salt. Sweat the vegetables for 8 –10 minutes or until the vegetables are soft. Add garlic and cook for another 2 minutes. Remove veggies and puree in a blender or food processor, if desired. I like a little bit of texture, so I just used an immersion blender once the veggies were added back into the soup.

Melt butter over medium-high heat in the same pan. Add flour and cook for 5 to 7 minutes or until the roux is a golden color. Slowly add the chicken stock and beer, wisking to combine. Add salt, cooked vegetables, and stir.

Shred cheese and toss with 1/4 cup flour. This helps the cheese melt properly.

Add half and half to pan, stirring constantly and heat until the mixture is hot, but DO NOT BOIL. Remove from heat and stir in the cheese, one handful at a time, stirring after each handful to incorporate.

Ta-daaaaa! Your delicious soup is ready to eat, but tastes even better reheated! Top with whatever your heart desires and enjoy!

Roasted Butternut Squash Bisque

I have my daughter-in-law to thank for this delicious recipe. I asked her what I should make for dinner for a friend who just had a baby and she suggested this recipe. I DETEST sweet squash soups and was a little bit concerned that it would be sweet, considering it has apples and apple juice in it. I switched out fat free half and half for heavy cream and I added the rosemary and coriander to make sure there would be a little more savory flavor--just in case.

It was delicious and only slightly sweet--perfection! There's something to be said for having a daughter-in-law in culinary school!

Butternut squash is so cheap right now and this delicious soup is perfect for chasing away the winter chills. It's filling and is only 1 WW point per serving (3/4 cup).










Roasted Butternut Squash Bisque

1 small/medium Butternut squash (approx 2 lbs)
2 Tbsp butter
1 C onions, diced
½ C celery, diced
½ C carrots, diced
½ C apples, diced
2 C chicken or vegetable broth
1 C apple juice or cider
1 tsp fresh rosemary, minced or 1/4 tsp dried
1/4 tsp ground coriander
½ C fat free half and half
Salt and black pepper to taste

1. Slice squash in half, scoop seeds out (seeds may be toasted and used for garnish) and place cut side down on a greased cookie sheet and roast in 400 degree oven for 45 minutes or until tender. When tender, flip squash over, let cool slightly, and scoop out the roasted squash meat.

2. In soup pot over medium high heat, add olive oil and onions, celery, carrots, and apples. Cook for about 4 minutes or until softened and sweet smelling. Add the roasted butternut squash, the chicken broth, apple juice/cider, rosemary, and coriander. Bring to a boil, and simmer for about 15 minutes until all ingredients are tender.

3. Transfer soup to blender or use a hand blender to puree soup to desired consistency. Finish by whisking in the half and half. Season to taste with salt and pepper and serve hot.

Hot Stuff

Yesterday, in addition to massive PMS, I was having some cravings for SPICY food. Is there such a thing as cold flashes?? If so, I guess I was having one.

I decided that I needed some hot & spicy food and started looking for easy recipes that were low-fat, low-cal, and high fiber. Have I told you all how much I love doing Weight Watchers Online? The resources and tracking system are simply amazing!

Both of these recipes were found on Weight Watchers and I'm going to share my modified versions with you! These two recipes certainly spiced things up in my household!


These poppers were AWESOME!! Spicy, cheesy, and super-crunchy!










Crunchy Baked Jalapeno Poppers

Non-stick Cooking spray
1 1/2 oz light cream cheese
1/4 cup(s) low-fat shredded cheddar cheese
2 teaspoons fat-free mayonnaise
1/2 teaspoon salt
5 jalapeno peppers
1/4 cup fat-free egg substitute
1/2 cup cornflake crumbs

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350ºF. Coat a cookie sheet with cooking spray.

In a bowl, combine cream cheese, cheddar cheese, salt, and mayonnaise; mix well and set aside. Halve jalapenos lengthwise and remove seeds. You may want to wear gloves! Stuff jalapeno halves with cream cheese mixture (about 1 teaspoon per half-pepper).

Place egg substitute in a shallow dish. Place cornflake crumbs in a separate shallow dish. Dip stuffed jalapeno halves into egg substitute and then roll in cornflake crumbs to coat.

Transfer jalapenos to prepared baking sheet and coat with cooking spray.

Bake until filling is bubbly, about 30 minutes. Serve hot. Yields 2 poppers per serving. WW Points--3 per serving. Makes 5 servings.



This Chicken Stew is filling and delicious! It wasn't very hot at all--just a nice mild jalapeno flavor in the background. Next time, I'll skip browning the chicken and just let it simmer for the 20-30 minutes at the end and then shred it. That way, even less oil is used and the texture would be better.



Hearty Jalapeno Chicken Stew

2 teaspoons olive oil
1 lb boneless skinless chicken breasts
Non-stick cooking spray
5 baby carrots, sliced
1 small onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
15 oz can of cannellini beans
14 1/2 oz can diced tomatoes and jalapenos, with juice
1 Tablespoon tomato paste
2 cups non-fat chicken broth
2 teaspoons chili powder
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 Tablespoon Cilantro puree (fresh cilantro if you have it)
Plain Nonfat Yogurt (optional)

Instructions

Heat a stockpot over medium-high heat. Add oil and turn to coat. Add chicken and brown on both sides; remove chicken from pan and set aside.

Coat the same pan with cooking spray and sautee carrot and onion until soft. Add remaining ingredients (except the chicken) and stir to combine.

Chop chicken into bite-size pieces and return to pan. Bring to soft boil over medium-high heat; then turn heat down and simmer for 20-30 minutes until flavors have combined well. If desired, serve with 1 teaspoon plain nonfat yogurt. Yields 2 cups per serving. WW Points--5 per serving. Makes 4 servings.

Chicken Stock--The Lazy Way

Attention all Kmart shoppers!!

One of my favorite things in the world to cook is soup! I don't know quite why, but there's just something about giant pots of hot bubbly goodness that make my heart do little jumping jacks of joy!

Any of you who've made soup know that nearly every soup calls for a stock of some sort--mostly chicken, right? I used to buy big cans of Swanson Chicken Broth when I would make soup. Back in our poor days, I'd just throw in a few buillion to flavor the water in our cabbage soup (okay, we didn't eat cabbage soup like Charlie Bucket's family, but we were hurting for a while during my husband's radio days--p.s. never let your kids become radio disc jockeys--I'll explain why sometime). Then while I was working, I just bought boxed quarts of chicken stock.

I started making my own chicken stock once I quit my job. Three dollars a quart for the store-bought stuff when you need two quarts? Well, let's just say that's six times more than I make in a year now, m'kay??

These days, I make it regularly and freeze it in quart sized portions. A big pot usually makes three or more quarts, so it saves me quite a bit of money!

Here's my secret to making chicken stock the lazy way--rotisserie chicken from the grocery store. It's already cooked, so it saves you quite a bit of time and you can make a quick and easy meal with the meat. I usually make chicken salad, barbecue shredded chicken, or I cut the chicken off the bones and we eat it as is.

Now that I'm done blabbing, here's how it's done. Amounts aren't important in this recipe, with the exception of salt. I suggest you start with 1/2 teaspoon for 8 cups of water and then taste at the end and add more to taste. My pot makes approximately 12 cups (3 quarts) of stock and I use at least a teaspoon. Have I ever mentioned my love affair with salt?? I eat it on just about everything, including apples and melons!

In a large stockpot, place the chicken carcass, carrots (peelings work just the same), a quartered onion (you don't need to remove the paper, just cut off the ends), celery (the leafy part works well, so I usually just save those), a garlic clove (smash it a little before you throw it in), salt and pepper, and a bay leaf.


Fill the pot up with water, leaving a few inches at the top. Place your pot on the stove and turn it up to high. When the water comes to a boil, turn the stove down to low and leave it alone for a few hours. You can check on it and if needed, skim the top a few times if scum accumulates.


After two hours, taste it and and add salt and pepper if necessary. Let the stock cool for an hour and then strain through a fine strainer into a large bowl, discarding the solids left in the strainer. I freeze my stock in one quart containers so I can use one for small pots of soup and two for large pots.


It does take some time, but 95% of it is inactive cooking time. Trust me, the flavor is rich, the cost is low, and it tastes so much less salty than buillion. Your soups will thank you. Well, if soup spoke, it would thank you!

Chilled Beet Soup

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Chilled Beet Soup

2 bunches beets, cooked, peeled, and diced
1 cucumber, peeled and diced
2 stalks celery, diced
2 green onions, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
2 cups chicken stock
16 oz sour cream, plus more for serving
1 t dried dill weed, or 1 T chopped fresh dill
squeeze of lemon
1 T red wine vinegar
1 T salt
pepper to taste

In your serving bowl, mix the beets, cucumber, celery, onions, and garlic. Set aside.

In a separate bowl, wisk the sour cream into the chicken stock until thoroughly mixed. Add in the remainder of ingredients and wisk until combined.

Pour the wet mixture over the vegetables and stir until it turns pink and ingredients are mixed. If your ingredients were not chilled previously, place in the refrigerator until chilled, approximately 2 hours.

Italian Potato Soup

I worked at Olive Garden one summer during college as a hostess. It was a crummy job, but I did get half off meals before or after my shifts. I'm not a big fan of pasta, but mercy me--I love their soup, salad, and breadsticks! My favorite soup is their Zuppa Toscana! This is my copycat recipe (Janelle, you obviously have the same OG soup obsession as I do).

I frequently fry up hot breakfast sausage (the very sophisticated and chic kind from a tube heehee) in the morning for breakfast pizza (sausage crumbles, eggs, cheese, and country gravy instead of pizza sauce) or breakfast burritos (the same ingredients in a tortilla), so I just planned to make them for breakfast and we had the soup for lunch! For Alana, I drained the liquid out of her portion and gave her all the solid items in the soup and she gobbled it up--including the kale (she LOVES anything green).


Italian Potato Soup

Ingredients:

6 slices bacon
3/4 cup onions, diced
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1/2 c cooked hot breakfast sausage
2 cups kale leaves, cut in half, then sliced
4 cups chicken stock (you can also use 4 cups of water and 6 chicken bullion cubes, but be sure to omit the salt)
1/4 t salt
3 medium red potatoes, sliced into thin half-moons with the skin left on
1/3 cup half and half


Place bacon in a large saucepan and cook over medium heat until the bacon is crisp. Remove bacon and crumble. Add onions to the same pan and cook until translucent. Add garlic to the onions and cook an additional minute--do NOT burn the garlic, so watch it carefully! Add chicken stock and potatoes and simmer for 15 minutes. Add crumbled bacon, sausage, kale and cream. Simmer 5 minutes and serve.

I served this soup with a crisp salad with tomato wedges and a homemade pesto vinaigrette. For you people who can eat anything you want and still have the body of a supermodel, feel free to add garlic breadsticks. Alas, my body takes the second helping of carbohydrates (the first being the potatoes in the soup) and places them directly on my already rotund stomach! " )