Turkey Jambalaya

This dish is flavorful! I actually halved the ingredients to make less and to also  turn down the heat a bit, which I’m glad I did cause it was FULL of flavor, the husband was in love after his first bite! If you like a good jambalaya, this is a much healthier version with only 336 calories per serving. By using turkey you save lots of calories then using other proteins, though you could definitely change this as to what you wanted!

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon of olive oil

1  half of a yellow onion, diced

3 teaspoons of garlic, if you are using already prepared garlic, if not 3 cloves mashed will work

1 half of a green bell pepper, chopped

1  half of a red bell pepper, chopped

1 teaspoon  paprika

1/2 teaspoon of  salt

1/2 teaspoon of oregano

1/2 teaspoon of ground red pepper

1/2 teaspoon of ground red pepper

1/2 tsp black pepper

1 cup uncooked long-grain brown rice

2 cups fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth

1 tomatoes, diced I use a Roma

1 pound of ground turkey, cooked

6 oz turkey andouille sausage, sliced

Directions:

1. Heat oil in a large pot  over medium-high heat. Add onion and garlic; saute 6 minutes or until lightly browned. Stir in bell peppers and next 5 ingredients; saute 1 minute.
2. Add the rice; saute 1 minute. Stir in broth and tomato; bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 30-40 minutes. Add turkey and sausage; cover and cook 10 minutes.

Adapted from Prevention RD. 

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Crock Pot Thursday-Loaded Baked Potato Soup

Think about a baked potato, with cheddar cheese, and bacon all melted in together and scooping out a big bite of that potato.  Now think of ALL of that together in a soup on a rainy cold day. Amazing! This was a great recipe, I will be making it again.  This recipe was so easy to throw together before heading out for our class at The Little Gym, so it would be easy for anyone who is working or not even working. Not many ingredients either which makes it easier also.

Ingredients:

1 20 ounce bag of frozen, shredded hash browns

3 14.5 ounce cans of chicken broth

1 can of cream of chicken soup

1/2 onion, chopped

A few sprinkles around the crock pot of pepper

8 ounces of cream cheese

3 strips of bacon, cooked

Shredded cheddar cheese, for topping, so as much as you like

Directions:

1. Combine everything in crock pot, except for cream cheese. Cook on low for 6-8 hours.
2. About an hour and a half before you are ready to serve, cut cream cheese into small blocks and place in crock pot and cook until melted. You will have to stir this quite often so it melts. I actually turned my crock pot up to high for this process.
3. Serve soup in bowls and garnish with bacon and cheddar cheese.

Enjoy!

Recipe adapted from Erin’s Eats.

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French Onion Soup

A lighter version of a yummy soup! With a swap of some simple ingredients, like soy sauce and fat-free swiss cheese, you lose a lot of calories and fat! This has about 260 calories and makes 3 servings.

Ingredients:

1/2 tablespoon of olive oil

2 large red onions(sliced very thin)

Dash of thyme

Salt and Pepper to taste

1/4 cup dry red wine

1 can low sodium chicken broth

1 1/4 cup of water

1 teaspoon low sodium soy sauce

2 slices of whole wheat baguette

1/4 cup of gruyere cheese

3 slices of fat-free Swiss cheese

Directions:

1. In a large deep skillet heat oil. Stir in onions, thyme and some salt. Cook 15 to 17 minutes or until onions are very tender, stir occasionally, do this low and slow, so you don’t burn onions.
2. Add wine and simmer 2 to 4 minutes or until reduced by half. Add broth, water and soy sauce. Heat to boiling, then reduce to simmer for 20 minutes.
3. Add some salt and pepper to the simmering pot.
4. Heat broiler on high, place bread slices on jelly roll sheet along with ramekins filled with the soup, place gruyere cheese on each ramekins and then a slice of swiss cheese. Broil 1 to 2 minutes or until golden brown.

Enjoy!

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Slow Cooker Corn and Crab Chowder

With the crisp cool air of fall finally coming to use, I decided I wanted to make some sort of chowder. I looked through my recipe box and found this one that I found in the Family Circle July 2010 issue.  It was quite yummy! I love crock pot meals, because you just get them all together and let them cook and give your house a yummy aroma!

Ingredients:

2 can (14.5 ounces) each of low sodium chicken broth

1/2 pound of potatoes , peeled and diced

1 cup of baby carrots

1 medium sized onion, chopped

2 ribs of celery, trimmed and diced

1/2 teaspoon of fresh thyme leaves, chopped

1/4 teaspoon of old bay seasoning

1 package of frozen corn

1 sweet red pepper, seeded and diced

1 can (12 ounces) of evaporated skim milk

1/4 teaspoon of salt

2 tablespoons of cornstarch

1 container (8 ounces) of crab claw meat

Directions:

1. Combine chicken broth, potatoes, carrots, onions, celery, thyme and old bag in a large oval slow cooker. Cover and cook on high for 4 hours or low for 6 hours.
2. In a bowl stir together red pepper, evaporated milk, corn, cornstarch and salt. Uncover slow cooker and add in stir in red pepper mixture into slow cooker, replace cover and cook on either high or low for one hour.
3. Stir in crabmeat into soup and heat through. Serve warm.

Enjoy!

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Pasta de Fagioli

This a great meal for a cold week night. It’s very easy to put together and doesn’t take long to make, about a half hour! This particular recipe makes 5 servings. It also is good to freeze and use later. It’s actually pretty healthy for you as well.

Ingredients:
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 of an onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1 celery stalk, chopped
1 15 oz can cannellini beans
15 oz can tomato sauce or crushed tomatoes
1 tablespoon basil
1 tablespoon parsley
1 teaspoon oregano
2 cans fat free chicken broth
2 cups water
salt and pepper to taste
1-1/2 cups Ditalini pasta or other small pasta
Grated Parmigiano or Romano

Directions:
1)In a small pan saute onion and garlic in olive oil over medium heat.
2)Blend the can of beans with one can water in electric blender until almost smooth.
3)In a stock pot add onion and garlic along with the blended beans. Then add the can of tomato sauce, celery, chicken broth, basil, parsley, oregano, salt and pepper. 4)Add 1 cup water and bring to slow boil.
5)Let simmer for 20 minutes stirring occasionally.
6)Add pasta and cook uncovered until pasta is al dente.
7)Ladle soup into bowls and top with grated cheese.

Enjoy!

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Wonton Soup

Last night we had an “Asian inspired” dinner. I wanted to make a dish with soba noodles but I couldn’t find them at the store. I could of made them my self but besides buckwheat and without a recipe at the store I wasn’t sure what else I need to make them. So I decided to change the main course recipe to another noodle dish. I wanted something to go along with it, so I decided to make homemade won ton soup. It turned out really well and actually tasted like a won ton soup you would get at a Chinese restaurant. I adapted & modified this recipe from:

Steamykitchen.com

Ingredients:
1/2 pound of won ton wrappers
2 chicken breast(cooked and diced)
1 tablespoon of soy sauce
1 teaspoon of corn starch
1/4 teaspoon of sugar
1 teaspoon of rice vinegar
1/2 teaspoon of sesame oil

For Cornstarch mixture:
1 tablespoon cornstarch + 1/4 cup cool water

For broth:
2 quarts of chicken broth

Directions:

To Make Won ton:
1) In a large bowl, combine the chicken, soy sauce, rice vinegar, cornstarch, sugar and sesame oil. Mix well.
2) Put a two pieces of the diced chicken in each of the middle of a won ton wrapper, brush cornstarch mixture on all edges.
3) Fold over to form a triangle, press to secure edges, encasing the filling.
4) Brush cornstarch mixture on one tip of the triangle. Bring two corners together and press to secure.
5) Place on clean, dry plate in one layer and cover loosely with damp paper towel to prevent drying.
6) Repeat with remaining.

To Make Soup:
1) In a large stockpot, add all but 2 cups of the broth and bring to a boil. The 2 cups of reserved broth should be room temperature or just slightly chilled.
2) Turn the heat to medium-high and add the won tons. Bring pot back to a gentle boil.
3) When it reaches a boil, add 1 cup of the reserved broth.
4) Bring back to a boil and again, add the remaining 1 cup of reserved broth.
5) Let it simmer for about 5 minutes and then serve.

Enjoy!

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Homemade Chili

In my 101 list, I said I want to try at least 3 new recipies a month for 3 months. So Chris and I both love chili bread bowls, but never have tried to make our own chili, well I decided to make it last night, since it was SO cold out! It turned out amazing!! I got a few different recpies and got an idea of how to make it and created my own!

Ingredients:
1 lb or so of ground turkey meat
1/4 tomato juice
1/4 can tomato sauce
1/4 can kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1/4 can pinto beans, drained and rinsed
1/4 cup and 2 teaspoons chopped onion
2-1/2 teaspoons chopped green bell pepper
1/8 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper
1/8 teaspoon white sugar
1/8 teaspoon dried oregano
1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
2-1/2 teaspoons chili powder

Directions:

1) Place ground turkey in a large, deep skillet, cook over medium-high heat until evenly brown. Drain, and crumble.
2) In a large pot over high heat combine the ground beef, tomato juice, tomato sauce, kidney beans, pinto beans, onions, bell pepper, cayenne pepper, sugar, oregano, ground black pepper, salt, cumin and chili powder. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low.
3) Simmer for 1 1/2 hours.

For the bread, buy a boule cut it in half and take out the bread. Serve the soup in the bread bowl and serve with the bread you took out to create the bowl!

Enjoy!!

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