Inspired by my friend Sam who offered me a recipe to spinach soup in which I had only half the ingredients, I went on my own spree and made this for me and the kids last night. It was a hit!
1 large pealed and diced potato
2 tsp garlic, fresh or powder
1 tsp ground mustard (the powder kind you find in the spice isle lol)
1/4 cup fresh chopped parsley
1/4 tsp fresh ground pepper, if you don't have fresh ground don't worry, just use what you have
2 pealed and sliced carrot
1/4 cup diced red onion or shallot
2 cups fresh baby leaf spinach (must be fresh)
1 cup chopped celery
2 tbs butter or olive oil
3 cups water
1/4 cup sour cream
a blender or soup puree wand
First, put diced potato in a bowl and put all the seasonings on them, stir and let sit while you are doing the other steps
in a pan saute celery and onion until soft, you can sprinkle some sea salt over them to sweat them, don't stir too much, just even them out over the pan and cook on med low heat
while that's cooking pour the water in a pot, heat water, add carrots and seasoned potatoes and cook until soft, then add the sour cream and all other ingredients BUT the spinach, put that in last, stir in and cover for a few minutes until the spinach wilts.
Once this is done you can either blend the entire thing or save half for the blender and half for a more textured soup, if you do that, blend half, then mix in the rest and serve. This is a great way to get some veggies in for kids and it tastes more like a potato soup! Enjoy
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
Thursday, January 14, 2010
Gluten Free Pizza for one
Gluten sucks! Most people don't even realize what it does to our minds, bodies and everything else and of course the US saturates the markets with it. I don't need to get into a moral, economical and governmental chat on this blog. Sooo I grabbed some "Kinnikinnik" gluten free pre made crusts today and brought them home to find a pizza alternative for me and my kids because one has allergies and the other has ADHD and I am a food freak, so there you have it :) I just whipped this up, totally pulled it out of my rear so to speak like most of my recipes. My first ever gluten free pizza, and I am eating it as I type which is why I'm sharing, its GOOD!
Preheat to 375
OK, throw the frozen crust on a pizza stone, I recommend getting one if you don't have one because usually everything burns on a metal sheet. This is the way I make my pizza but you can use what ever toppings you desire...
Spread a light coating of olive oil over crust
Spread sauce over crust
place provolone cheese on top
Very thinly slice some of a romano tomato, spread over that
sprinkle feta over that
Then spread chopped red onion over that, with mushrooms and baby spinach
then top with fresh mozzarella
Bake about five minutes, check to see if it has melted, add more sauce on the top if needed as well as more cheese, remove when everything is melted and the crust is a golden brown, cut in wedges, let cool then inhale!
Sunday, January 10, 2010
Left over hearty chicken soup
There is one thing I love to do after roasting a whole chicken... make soup out of it. In order to get the least fattening version, avoid cooking your chicken in any oils. The skin will provide you with enough fat, just add water to the pan and let it bake.
Now, after the family has eaten their share of the chicken, pick it apart and either make the soup right away or start on it tomorrow (which is what I always do)
For those unconcerned with fat- save gravy made from chicken juice or just the juice and add some for flavoring
For those interested in burning weight off, add cabbage and use low sodium chicken broth from the box or can, make sure to read the back label to see what the contents are. I'm not including any of this in my ingredients, you can add them to your preference.
You will need...
A very large soup pot (this makes enough to eat for a few days or to freeze) Have company when you make it if you are not into left overs.
1/4 c. chopped leeks from the bottom end
1-2 cups chopped celery (its more up to you how much you like)
2 garlic cloves chopped or 2 tsp garlic pwdr. More to taste if you like
2 cups chopped or sliced carrots
2 medium pealed and chopped potatoes (bite size)
1 can of corn
1 can stewed tomatoes (if you don't care for the slimy texture, blend them before adding in a blender) Its more the flavor you want than the texture
1 cup left over juices from the chicken or canned broth
salt or salt replacement to taste
1/2 cup dried mixed beans/ lentils and wild rice (you can get creative here, use a 12 bean soup combination or black and mahogany rice which will turn things kind of purple but is excellent. Just make it dried lentils and or beans
2 chicken bullion cubes or chicken flavoring
apx 8 cups of water
***Seasons can be your choice, no bullion is needed if you know a good spice combination, I prefer a poultry seasoning, some cayenne pepper for kick, some bay leaves and sea salt and that's it! If you are afraid to experiment, go with bullion and you won't need anything else.
In a pot, put the water in, add carrots, potatoes and the bean/lentil/rice combo, cook down about half way on med-high heat apx 10 minutes or so. Don't wait until the end to add the beans and rice they take a long time to cook and you want them to soak up ALL of the flavors of your soup.
Once the potatoes aren't quite so crispy, turn the heat down to the lowest heat possible, add the rest of the ingredients. You can place in the left over gravy or chicken juice if you are using this at this time. You might also want to add a few more cups of water. Stir every thing around and cover, checking once in a while. If you are in a room close to the kitchen, a good way to tell your soup is starting to blend in the pot is the smell! Don't be afraid to carefully taste it as it will be HOT, and add seasons you like accordingly. I always add some cayenne pepper to mine for some kick and even some poultry seasoning for extra flavor.
Please note that the next day, everything will have pretty much soaked up the water so it will be a lot more like stew (hence the name "hearty soup") I will have more brothy soup recipes down the road, I apologize for not having them now. And no picture, I just tried but its not a pretty picture, but it tastes great so enjoy.
Now, after the family has eaten their share of the chicken, pick it apart and either make the soup right away or start on it tomorrow (which is what I always do)
For those unconcerned with fat- save gravy made from chicken juice or just the juice and add some for flavoring
For those interested in burning weight off, add cabbage and use low sodium chicken broth from the box or can, make sure to read the back label to see what the contents are. I'm not including any of this in my ingredients, you can add them to your preference.
You will need...
A very large soup pot (this makes enough to eat for a few days or to freeze) Have company when you make it if you are not into left overs.
1/4 c. chopped leeks from the bottom end
1-2 cups chopped celery (its more up to you how much you like)
2 garlic cloves chopped or 2 tsp garlic pwdr. More to taste if you like
2 cups chopped or sliced carrots
2 medium pealed and chopped potatoes (bite size)
1 can of corn
1 can stewed tomatoes (if you don't care for the slimy texture, blend them before adding in a blender) Its more the flavor you want than the texture
1 cup left over juices from the chicken or canned broth
salt or salt replacement to taste
1/2 cup dried mixed beans/ lentils and wild rice (you can get creative here, use a 12 bean soup combination or black and mahogany rice which will turn things kind of purple but is excellent. Just make it dried lentils and or beans
2 chicken bullion cubes or chicken flavoring
apx 8 cups of water
***Seasons can be your choice, no bullion is needed if you know a good spice combination, I prefer a poultry seasoning, some cayenne pepper for kick, some bay leaves and sea salt and that's it! If you are afraid to experiment, go with bullion and you won't need anything else.
In a pot, put the water in, add carrots, potatoes and the bean/lentil/rice combo, cook down about half way on med-high heat apx 10 minutes or so. Don't wait until the end to add the beans and rice they take a long time to cook and you want them to soak up ALL of the flavors of your soup.
Once the potatoes aren't quite so crispy, turn the heat down to the lowest heat possible, add the rest of the ingredients. You can place in the left over gravy or chicken juice if you are using this at this time. You might also want to add a few more cups of water. Stir every thing around and cover, checking once in a while. If you are in a room close to the kitchen, a good way to tell your soup is starting to blend in the pot is the smell! Don't be afraid to carefully taste it as it will be HOT, and add seasons you like accordingly. I always add some cayenne pepper to mine for some kick and even some poultry seasoning for extra flavor.
Please note that the next day, everything will have pretty much soaked up the water so it will be a lot more like stew (hence the name "hearty soup") I will have more brothy soup recipes down the road, I apologize for not having them now. And no picture, I just tried but its not a pretty picture, but it tastes great so enjoy.
Monday, January 4, 2010
Vegitables and olive oil, a match made in heaven!
One thing I hate about assumptions when dieting is all fat needs to be erased from a diet. If I can preach one thing to dieters is just toss the prepackaged crap, if it's white don't eat it (rice, bread etc) and start to eat things that come from the earth because you will NEVER go wrong getting back to the earths basics.
This brings me to cold pressed olive oil, preferably from Spain. Commit to the idea you will NEVER cook with it again. Not to be confused with using it in your cooking... you'll see. Start to look at Olive Oil in your home as a fine wine to go with dinner. You are no longer going to add it to the frying pan or a casserole dish if you can help it. I admit sometimes I do use it in the oven, but NEVER on top of the stove. Olive Oil should not be fried in my own opinion, it depletes the nutrition and the aromatic flavors that are golden to our taste buds. Why would you boil your glass of wine? The same reason you don't cook down your olive oil.
That being said...
Blanch or steam greens such as green beans, asparagus, zucchini leaves and flowers (yes you can eat them) or what ever kind of green you enjoy. Strain them well so they are not soggy and wet, place them in a nice casserole dish or platter.
chop up a small garlic clove, about 2 cups of raw, organic, baby spinach and cut of about an inch off a leek, if you don't have one, a green onion will do too, I prefer cooking with leeks in the winter because they last longer and have a very strong flavor so they go a much longer way.
Add the chopped ingredients over the top, grind some sea salt over it, if you have some high grade parmigiana cheese (not out of a can lol) grate it over top of your dish and or add almond slivers, raw preferably (another excellent fat) and then pour a good amount of olive oil over top of the whole thing. Don't be too shy with it, this is fat that is good for you! If you are not pounding back cake after this fat will digest and work for you, not against you.
This is a meal on it's own and if you have company coming over who isn't worried about what they eat, serve it with some quality pasta and some oregano.
Again, experiment, and have fun. I also apologize for not having photos, as I am trying to beef up the list of recipes but I am not cooking them at this time. Many I cook in summer when I can have more fresh organic veggies. This year I am growing a garden so I will have tons of photos and recipes. For now I hope you can enjoy!
This brings me to cold pressed olive oil, preferably from Spain. Commit to the idea you will NEVER cook with it again. Not to be confused with using it in your cooking... you'll see. Start to look at Olive Oil in your home as a fine wine to go with dinner. You are no longer going to add it to the frying pan or a casserole dish if you can help it. I admit sometimes I do use it in the oven, but NEVER on top of the stove. Olive Oil should not be fried in my own opinion, it depletes the nutrition and the aromatic flavors that are golden to our taste buds. Why would you boil your glass of wine? The same reason you don't cook down your olive oil.
That being said...
Blanch or steam greens such as green beans, asparagus, zucchini leaves and flowers (yes you can eat them) or what ever kind of green you enjoy. Strain them well so they are not soggy and wet, place them in a nice casserole dish or platter.
chop up a small garlic clove, about 2 cups of raw, organic, baby spinach and cut of about an inch off a leek, if you don't have one, a green onion will do too, I prefer cooking with leeks in the winter because they last longer and have a very strong flavor so they go a much longer way.
Add the chopped ingredients over the top, grind some sea salt over it, if you have some high grade parmigiana cheese (not out of a can lol) grate it over top of your dish and or add almond slivers, raw preferably (another excellent fat) and then pour a good amount of olive oil over top of the whole thing. Don't be too shy with it, this is fat that is good for you! If you are not pounding back cake after this fat will digest and work for you, not against you.
This is a meal on it's own and if you have company coming over who isn't worried about what they eat, serve it with some quality pasta and some oregano.
Again, experiment, and have fun. I also apologize for not having photos, as I am trying to beef up the list of recipes but I am not cooking them at this time. Many I cook in summer when I can have more fresh organic veggies. This year I am growing a garden so I will have tons of photos and recipes. For now I hope you can enjoy!
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