Creamy and Spicy Corn Soup

I love the skinnyms.com website. I have found so many great recipes on there. This one was no exception. It's healthy and it really did taste delicious. For anyone looking for a tasty vegetarian meal, here you go. And it's also vegan friendly too! Click here for the link to this recipe.

This part took the most time. You need to take the corn off five ears of corn. I am not a master at this. Once I finally got the hang of it, I was pretty much done. I had a few fly away pieces. The onion and potato didn't take long since the recipe calls for small ones. I used the whole potato even though it says to just use half. It was not a large one but I thought it would add a little more to the soup. I'm glad I did it.

 I'm thinking that maybe I didn't need such a large pot. :-D

Looked and smelled great. I was anxious to try it!

Here is the finished meal. Looks a little gross in this picture but it tasted great. I added diced tomatoes (fresh or canned would work - I used canned), avocado, and a little bit of tortilla chips crumbed on the top. This would also taste great with chicken and cheese. I forgot to add the salt but it did not need it so it worked out okay.

Ingredients:

• 5 ears fresh sweet corn
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1 tsp olive oil
• 1/2 teaspoon salt, plus more to taste
• 1/2 a medium yukon gold potato, chopped
• 2-3 cups vegetable stock (the more stock you add, the thinner your soup will be)
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1.5 tsp chili powder
• A pinch of cayenne pepper
• 1/4 tsp black pepper

Directions

Cut the onion, potato, and trim the corn kernels off the 5 ears of corn. You can cook the corn ahead of time, however, it works well to just cook it for a few minutes when it goes in the pot.

Heat the oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add the onion and garlic, saute for 5 minutes until the onion is translucent. Add the potato and broth, bring to a boil and cook until the potatoes are very soft – about 10 minutes. Then add the fresh corn and cook through for a couple minutes more. *Even though my potato was cut small, it did take a little longer than 10 minutes. Cooking time may vary.

Add a bit more vegetable broth if your soup mixture looks too thick. Add all of your spices (cumin, chili powder, cayenne, black pepper). Then puree with an immersion/hand blender, or with a regular blender/food processor. *This did not go over too well. I used the immersion blender just a little bit but since there isn't much liquid, it started to splatter all over the place. I'd say just use it enough to get things mixed up and thickened up a bit but use caution since you'll be doing this right in the hot pot.

Easy Chicken, Potato, Green Bean Recipe

This is a full meal put together in one casserole dish. It is easy to prepare and has great flavor. I'll definitely be doing this again!

Ingredients:

4 raw chicken breasts, or tenderloins

Potatoes, cut  up into bite sized pieces

Frozen green beans

Italian Dressing mix packet (I used only half and it was plenty.)

Butter, enough to drizzle over the top of the dish

Arrange in a 9 X 13 dish. Sprinkle with a packet of the dressing mix and then top with butter. Cover with foil and bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour. 

*I made a mistake and did not cut the potatoes small enough so it took a little over an hour to cook. I also may have stacked them too high. :-)

*Whoops!  I forgot to take an after photo!

Pad Thai

I love Pad Thai so it's something I always order when I get Thai food.  However, the thought of making it at home always seemed a bit daunting. I was looking for an easy recipe that did not call for fish sauce. This was easy and it tasted great! You just need to remember to soften the noodles in hot water for about 25 minutes prior to preparing the meal. Other than that, this meal does not take long to put together. Definite do again!

Easy Pad Thai

Serves 4

8 ounces dried, wide and flat rice noodles
2 tablespoons brown sugar
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice, plus wedges for serving
3 tablespoons soy sauce
1 squirt (about 1/8 teaspoon) Sriracha (optional)
2 teaspoons vegetable oil
3 scallions (green onions), white and green parts, separated and thinly sliced
1 garlic clove, minced
2 large eggs, light beaten (optional)
1/2 cup fresh cilantro
1/4 cup chopped roasted, salted peanuts

1. Soak noodles according to package instructions. Drain.
2. In a small bowl, whisk together brown sugar, lime juice, soy sauce, and Sriracha.
3. In a large nonstick skillet, heat oil over medium-high heat.
4. Add scallion whites and garlic and cook, stirring constantly, until fragrant (about 30 seconds). Add eggs and cook, scraping skillet with spatula until eggs are almost set (about 30 seconds). Transfer eggs to a plate.
5. Add noodles, scallion greens, and sauce to skillet. Cook, tossing constantly, until noodles are soft (about 1 minute). Add egg mixture and toss to coat, breaking eggs up gently.
6. Serve noodles with lime wedges, topped with cilantro and peanuts.

*You can skip the eggs to make this meal vegan.

*Add chicken or tofu for a little added taste and texture.

*Double the sauce if you find it's too dry. I did that and it was perfect.

Menu for the week of 6/10

My menu for this week is very simple and easy to prepare. Who doesn't love that?  :-D

Pad Thai - I love Pad Thai so I wanted to find an easy recipe that I could make at home. I'll be posting separately about how that turned out. I found this on Pinterest and let's just say...it was quite delicious and a big hit in my house.  P.S. This recipe does not call for fish sauce.

Pasta Dinner - Pasta, sauce (with ground turkey), veggies (frozen), and bread - Don't be afraid to use frozen vegetables. They are just as good as fresh. Pre-cut and ready to go. Can't go wrong! This is an easy meal and one that can be prepared in advance. And, it makes for great leftovers.

Burgers and Fries - Trader Joe's Veggie Burgers (avocado makes a great topping along with your other favorites) and sweet potato fries (frozen). I wish I had it in me to make my own fries but  no go. Maybe some day.

Chicken Caesar Salad - The plan was to get a rotisserie chicken and use that but they were all out so I will make my own chicken and put it on top of the romaine, Parmesan cheese, and croutons.

Cheeseburger Slider Desserts

At a Jimmy Buffet concert years ago, I saw these mini cheeseburgers. So cool! What's even cooler is that they are actually a dessert. Something I can't resist! They are very easy to put together. It takes a little bit of time but it's totally worth it. They will, for sure, be a huge hit at your summer gatherings. I was quite impressed by my little creations. Nice job for a first try.  And sooo delicious!

The following recipe makes 40 mini-cheese burgers:
1pkg – Nilla wafers (buns)
1pkg -Keebler’s grasshopper cookies (meat)
1pkg – white frosting (for adherence)
1 tube- yellow frosting (cheese & mustard)
1 tube- red frosting (ketchup & tomatoes)
1/2 package shredded coconut (lettuce)
Green food coloring.
Sesame seeds
Honey

Steps:

1.) Lettuce – mix shredded coconut with green food coloring – set aside

2.) Spread white frosting on the flat sides of the Nilla Wafers – lining them up as a top/bottom pair (2 nilla wafers for one sandwich)

3.) Place a Grasshopper cookie on one of the two nilla wafers (the bottom bun)

4.) Apply yellow frosting as a circular ring on top of the Grasshopper cookie.

5.) Apply red icing in random dots around the yellow icing.

6.) Layer bits of the shredded green coconut on top of the frosting

7.) Place 2nd Nilla wafer on top (top bun)

8.) Place a dab of honey on top of the top bun Nilla wafer and brush on evenly.

9.) Sprinkle sesame seeds lightly

10.) Smile at your cute little creation and store in a cool place!

I did chill mine a little bit before eating but they are just as good unchilled

Bean Salad

Trying to come up with something new for a cookout recently, I stumbled across this delicious recipe for bean salad.  It's very easy and it's sure to be a big hit at your next get together.  

Ingredients:

-1 (14.5 ounce) can green beans, drained

-1 (14.5 ounce) can wax beans, drained

-1 (15.5 ounce) can garbanzo beans, drained

-1 (14.5 ounce) can kidney beans, drained

-1 (14.5 ounce) can black beans, drained

-1/2 cup chopped green pepper

-1/2 cup chopped onion

-1/2 cup chopped celery

-1/2 cup salad oil  (I wasn't sure what salad oil was. I found helpful information here. I ended up using canola oil,)

-1/2 cup vinegar (I used white wine vinegar.)

-1/2 teaspoon salt

-1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

• -3/4 cup white sugar

*To aim for less sodium, look for cans labeled "no salt added" or "low sodium."

Original recipe makes 12 cups.

Combine the green beans, wax beans, garbanzo beans, kidney beans, green pepper, onion, and celery in a large bowl; toss to mix.

Whisk together the oil, vinegar, salt, pepper, and sugar in a separate bowl until the sugar is dissolved; pour over the bean mixture.

Refrigerate 8 hours (or overnight) before serving.

Chicken Pot Pie Soup

I was in the mood for soup and wanted something with chicken. What I found was chicken pot pie soup. Although I do love the crust topping on my original chicken pot pie recipe, this is a nice change. And, it's fairly healthy, especially if you use low sodium ingredients if you can. We decided to make bread bowls as well. It was perfect for a chilly Spring night.

Ingredients: 

• 1/4 cup flour (to make gluten-free use 2 tbsp cornstarch instead)
• 2 cups water 
• 4 cups fat free milk
• 1 large celery stalk, chopped
• 1/2 medium chopped onion
• 8 oz sliced baby portabella mushrooms 
• 2 chicken bouillons (I used vegetable broth because it has less sodium  1 cup broth = 1 bouillon cube.)
• fresh ground pepper
• pinch of thyme
• 10 oz frozen classic mixed vegetables (peas, carrots, green beans, corn)
• 2 potatoes, peeled and cubed small
• 16 oz cooked chicken breast, diced small
• salt

Directions:

Create a slurry by combining 1/2 cup of the cold water with flour in a medium bowl and whisk until well blended. Set aside. (What the heck is a slurry, I wondered. You basically mix the water and flour until well combined is what I figured but I created a link to the Wikipedia page if you want a more technical explanation.)

Pour remaining water and milk into a large pot and slowly bring to a boil. Add celery, onion, mushrooms, chicken boullion, thyme, fresh pepper, frozen vegetables and return to a boil. Partially cover and simmer on low until vegetables are soft, about 20 minutes. Remove lid, add potatoes and cook until soft, about 5 minutes. Add chicken, and slowly whisk in slurry, stirring well as you add. Cook another 2-3 minutes, until soup thickens, adjust salt and pepper to taste and serve. Cooking time will vary slightly.  It took mine a little longer. 

I didn't add much pepper and salt when cooking so it was added before eating and it was the perfect touch to a delicious meal.

This is something you can make in advance, whether it's the whole meal or just prepping the vegetables (celery, onion, mushrooms.) You could use rotisserie chicken but I chose to buy raw chicken. I boiled it, cut it up and  threw it in.

Enjoy!

Crock Pot Eggplant Parm (with a twist)

First, gather your supplies.  

The ingredients:

1 large eggplant

1 bottle of pasta sauce

1/4 cup olive oil

1/4 cup bread crumbs

2 tbsp Italian seasoning

1/2 tsp kosher salt

1/4 tsp black pepper

1/2 brick of feta (crumbled) - I bought regular crumbled feta and just used as much as I thought looked sufficient. This worked just fine.

Shredded Parmesan cheese. I chose to add this to the recipe but it is not in the original ingredients.

Pasta of choice

Wash eggplant (don't peel) and slice in 1/2 inch thick pieces. Pour 1 cup or so of the sauce into the bottom of your crock pot.

Combine bread crumbs and seasoning in a shallow dish. I forgot the salt and pepper but it was fine because of the Italian seasoning. Paint both sides of each eggplant slice with olive oil and dredge slices with the bread crumb mixture.

Stagger eggplant pieces in layers into the crock pot on top of the sauce that you already poured in the pot.

Cover the slices with the rest of the jar of sauce and sprinkle cheese on top.If you want to add a little feta and Parmesan cheese to each layer before pouring on the remaining sauce, it's quite tasty. I have a real love for cheese so I like to have more rather than less. It would be good just layered on the top though.  :-D

Cover crock pot and cook on low for 4-6 hours or high for 3-4. I cooked mine on low for about 3 hours and this was plenty. It does not take long to cook.

Serve with your favorite pasta and some bread.

My husband does not like eggplant so I made this while he was away. I tried it with my almost 8 month old and he loved it. My toddler even took a few bites! He's a picky eater so I would have been happy with just one bite. :-D  

This is another very easy, very delicious meal. Enjoy!

For original recipe, please click here.

Raspberry Vinaigrette Salad

Here's a salad that is both tasty and easy to put together. It has spinach, goat cheese, blueberries, strawberries, almond slices, cucumber and croutons. All this was topped with the Dove Chocolate Raspberry Vinaigrette that I mentioned in my last post but you could use any brand of Raspberry Vinaigrette. This would also be great with some rotisserie chicken. 

Menu for the week of 5/20

I'm not sure what I used to do before I came up with a running list before going grocery shopping. I still end up having to throw some things away.  However, it is far less waste than before when I'd just go and wing it. Things definitely changed after I got married and more so after having children. Frozen dinners and ordering out aren't the best options anymore. It gets expensive! So now I come up with a weekly dinner menu and I make sure to add what I need to the list I've been keeping since my last trip to the grocery store. I kind of like knowing what the plan is for the week. One less thing to think about.  

I don't do it by day. I do it based on how many days until I plan to go to the store again. It's not easy to come up with a weekly menu and I some times stray. Maybe I don't feel like having what I was planning on or I just want good old greasy pizza or Chinese food. Or, I'm just lazy and we'll be doing a "figure it out yourself" night and my toddler will have the tried and true peanut butter and jelly.

Some times, I will try to be adventurous. Usually though, I try to figure out what I can make that could last two days, what I can use up that is already in my house, or not take much time since my patience might be shot by the time making dinner rolls around.  It's also good to have things I can prepare in advance, like during nap time, and cook later. I definitely like to have a variety of things and keep it balanced during the week.  Maybe fish one night, pasta another, something with meat, etc.  

Below is the menu for this week. I will continue to share my ideas moving forward in hopes that maybe it'll help some of you.  I'll post some of these things in more detailed blogs throughout the week.  I hope you find this helpful!

Eggplant Parm with a twist - This crock pot recipe calls for Feta, instead of Parmesan, but I sprinkled some on top before cooking it.  I love cheese! My husband does not like eggplant so since he is out of town, I will be making this for myself and my sister. Maybe my toddler will try it. Maybe.  :-/

Slow Cooker Vegetarian Chili Shepard's Pie - This is another crock pot recipe from the same website as the Eggplant dish above. This will be the first time I am trying it. I will post about it though.

Salad - I recently went to a Dove Chocolate party. Yup, like Dove Dove. Yum! We tried out some of the products, including a chocolate martini which was DELICIOUS, and I thought the White Chocolate Raspberry Vinaigrette sounded good too. I do love me some white chocolate so we'll see how that goes. I'm still trying to figure out what to put in this salad. I'm thinking it'll be something like spinach, strawberries, sliced almonds, goat cheese....

Tuna Noodle Casserole - My husband and I make this often. I've gotten to the point where I kind of change it every time so its never exactly the same. That's the confidence I've gained by playing around in the kitchen more. I don't stray from recipes too much though. I'm still a little nervous about that.

Generally, here's what you would need:
1 large can of tuna
Small bag of frozen green beans
Salt to taste (I try not to cook with salt too much since you can't really taste it and you end up adding to it when you're eating anyway.)
1 can of reduced sodium cream of mushroom (or chicken) soup
Egg noodles (or any kind of noodle you prefer.) This week I'll be using Fusilli.
About 1/2 cup of milk. I usually just pour it in until I like the consistency.
Large can of fried onions
(Optional) Shredded cheese and/or bread crumbs to add to the mixture for added taste and consistency

Cook the pasta and add the peas in a few minutes toward the end of cooking to soften them up a bit. Drain pasta and mix all ingredients together before placing into a casserole dish. Bake 30 minutes @ 350 degrees.

Super easy, very tasty, and there will be leftovers since it makes a full 9X13 casserole dish worth.

Chicken Pot Pie Soup in bread bowls - I know I made chicken pot pies last week but I was craving a soup and I wanted a chicken dish. I have not tried this before but it looks pretty good. We have frozen bread dough in our freezer that we turn into bread bowls so we'll do that.  I'm kind of excited about this one.

Enjoy!!!