I got a little behind again, but finally back on track! Tonight I made Jamaican Chicken Stew from the Cooking Light Soup cookbook. I’m still not sure if a stew is really considered a soup, but since it was in the soup book…
The book suggested corn bread with this, so I made a box of corn muffin mix.
Jamaican Chicken Stew
1 cup uncooked long-grain rice
2 teaspoons olive oil
1 cup chopped onion
1 large garlic clove, minced
1 pound skinless, boneless chicken breast, cut into bite sized pieces
1 teaspoon curry powder
1 teaspoon dried thyme
½ teaspoon ground allspice
½ teaspoon crushed red pepper
½ teaspoons cracked black pepper
¼ cup dry red wine
2 tablespoons capers
1 (15 oz) can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 (14.5 oz) can diced tomatoes, un-drained
Cilantro sprigs (optional)
1. Prepare rice according to package directions, omitting salt and fat. Keep warm.
2. Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion and garlic, and sauté 3 minutes or until tender. Combine chicken and next 5 ingredients. Add chicken mixture to pan, sauté 4 minutes. Stir in wine, capers, beans, and tomatoes. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 10 minutes or until tender. Spoon rice into individual bowls; ladle stew over rice. Garnish with cilantro sprigs, if desired. Yield: 4 servings (serving size: 1 ½ cups stew and ¼ cup rice)
Changes and Shortcuts:
None…except I think I added extra capers.
Results: Very good, spicy, and easy!
Keeper? YES!!!
Showing posts with label Cooking Light Soup. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Cooking Light Soup. Show all posts
Thursday, August 6, 2009
Thursday, July 9, 2009
30. North Woods Bean Soup
We are still doing our Quantum Wellness Cleanse. I thought I’d try this recipe because it could easily be adapted to the Cleanse. It’s from Cooking Light Soup.
North Woods Bean Soup
Cooking spray
1 cup baby carrots, halved
1 cup chopped onion
2 garlic cloves, minced
7 ounces turkey kielbasa, halved lengthwise and cut into ½ inch pieces
4 cups fat-free, less sodium chicken broth
½ teaspoon dried Italian seasoning
½ teaspoon black pepper
2 (15.8 ounce) cans Great Northern beans, rinsed and drained
1 (6 ounce) bag fresh baby spinach
1. Heat a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Add carrots, onion, garlic, and kielbasa; sauté 3 minutes. Reduce heat to medium; cook 5 minutes. Add broth, Italian seasoning, pepper and beans. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer 5 minutes.
2. Place 2 cups soup in a food processor or blender, and process until smooth. Return pureed mixture to pot. Simmer 5 minutes. Remove soup from heat. Add spinach, stirring until spinach wilts. Yield:5 servings.
Changes and Shortcuts:
I substituted vegetable broth for the chicken broth and left out the kielbasa. I also thought I had two cans of white beans but one turned out to be black eyed peas. I used it anyway.
Results: Pretty much of a disappointment. I make a good bean soup (with out a recipe, but with a ham bone). This did not even come close. Maybe it’s better when made according to the recipe.
Keeper? Nope
North Woods Bean Soup
Cooking spray
1 cup baby carrots, halved
1 cup chopped onion
2 garlic cloves, minced
7 ounces turkey kielbasa, halved lengthwise and cut into ½ inch pieces
4 cups fat-free, less sodium chicken broth
½ teaspoon dried Italian seasoning
½ teaspoon black pepper
2 (15.8 ounce) cans Great Northern beans, rinsed and drained
1 (6 ounce) bag fresh baby spinach
1. Heat a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Add carrots, onion, garlic, and kielbasa; sauté 3 minutes. Reduce heat to medium; cook 5 minutes. Add broth, Italian seasoning, pepper and beans. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer 5 minutes.
2. Place 2 cups soup in a food processor or blender, and process until smooth. Return pureed mixture to pot. Simmer 5 minutes. Remove soup from heat. Add spinach, stirring until spinach wilts. Yield:5 servings.
Changes and Shortcuts:
I substituted vegetable broth for the chicken broth and left out the kielbasa. I also thought I had two cans of white beans but one turned out to be black eyed peas. I used it anyway.
Results: Pretty much of a disappointment. I make a good bean soup (with out a recipe, but with a ham bone). This did not even come close. Maybe it’s better when made according to the recipe.
Keeper? Nope
Saturday, June 27, 2009
31. Wild Rice and Mushroom Soup
My family is doing the Kathy Freston 21 Day Quantum Wellness Cleanse. We are eliminating alcohol, caffeine, sugar, gluten, and animal products from our diet for 3 weeks. This presents some challenges, but we’re managing. This Cleanse requires really thinking about what we’re eating—and reading labels on everything. This week’s recipe is from the Cooking Light Soup cook book. I had to make some changes so that we could stick to our wellness cleanse.
Wild Rice and Mushroom Soup
2 teaspoons butter
½ cup chopped carrot (about 2 medium carrot)
1 large onion, chopped
2 celery stalks, thinly sliced (about ¾ cup)
1 (8 oz) package pre-sliced mushrooms
1 teaspoon chopped fresh or ¼ teaspoon dried rosemary
¼ teaspoon black pepper
3 garlic cloves, minced
2 (14 oz) cans fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
1 cup uncooked wild rice
1/3 cup all purpose flour
2 ¾ 2% reduced fat milk
2 tablespoons dry sherry
¾ teaspoons salt
1. Melt butter in a Dutch oven over medium high heat. Add carrot and next 6 ingredients; sauté 8 minutes or until tender. Stir in broth, scraping pan to loosen browned bits. Stir in rice; bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat and simmer 1 hour and 15 minutes or until rice is tender.
2. Lightly spoon flour into a dry measuring cup; level with a knife. Combine flour and milk in a small bowl, stirring with a whisk. Add to soup mixture. Cook over medium heat 10 minutes or until thick, stirring frequently. Stir in sherry and salt. Yield:8 1 cup servings
Changes and Shortcuts:
I used the following substitutions:
Butter = vegan butter
Chicken broth = vegetable broth
Flour = potato starch (you can’t use equal parts, you must use less—the package should have the equivalent)
Milk = rice milk
Sherry = cooking wine
I wouldn’t have been able to make this after work, so I did step one in the morning and just finished the soup when I got home.
Results: Not bad for an experiment. This tasted ok when freshly made, but not that great left over.
Keeper? I don’t think so
Wild Rice and Mushroom Soup
2 teaspoons butter
½ cup chopped carrot (about 2 medium carrot)
1 large onion, chopped
2 celery stalks, thinly sliced (about ¾ cup)
1 (8 oz) package pre-sliced mushrooms
1 teaspoon chopped fresh or ¼ teaspoon dried rosemary
¼ teaspoon black pepper
3 garlic cloves, minced
2 (14 oz) cans fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
1 cup uncooked wild rice
1/3 cup all purpose flour
2 ¾ 2% reduced fat milk
2 tablespoons dry sherry
¾ teaspoons salt
1. Melt butter in a Dutch oven over medium high heat. Add carrot and next 6 ingredients; sauté 8 minutes or until tender. Stir in broth, scraping pan to loosen browned bits. Stir in rice; bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat and simmer 1 hour and 15 minutes or until rice is tender.
2. Lightly spoon flour into a dry measuring cup; level with a knife. Combine flour and milk in a small bowl, stirring with a whisk. Add to soup mixture. Cook over medium heat 10 minutes or until thick, stirring frequently. Stir in sherry and salt. Yield:8 1 cup servings
Changes and Shortcuts:
I used the following substitutions:
Butter = vegan butter
Chicken broth = vegetable broth
Flour = potato starch (you can’t use equal parts, you must use less—the package should have the equivalent)
Milk = rice milk
Sherry = cooking wine
I wouldn’t have been able to make this after work, so I did step one in the morning and just finished the soup when I got home.
Results: Not bad for an experiment. This tasted ok when freshly made, but not that great left over.
Keeper? I don’t think so
Sunday, May 17, 2009
35.Black Bean and Chorizo Chili
Diners always list chili on the soup menu. My Cooking Light Soup cookbook contains this recipe for Black Bean and Chorizo Chili. I’m lamenting the loss of my favorite chili recipe so I decided to try this one. It looks like a long list of ingredients, but don’t be afraid.
Black Bean and Chorizo Chili
Cooking Spray
2 canned chipotle chiles in adobe sauce, drained and finely chopped
1 ¾ cups chopped onion
11/2 cups chopped green bell peppers
1 ½ cups chopped red bell pepper
5 garlic cloves, minced
3 links Spanish chorizo sausage, diced (about 61/2 ounces)
1 ½ tablespoons chili powder
1 tablespoon ground cumin
1 ½ teaspoons dried oregano
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
3 (15 ounce) cans black beans, rinsed and drained
3 (14 ounce) cans whole peeled tomatoes, undrained and chopped
1 (8 ½ ounce) can no salt-added whole kernel corn, drained
1 ½ ounces semisweet chocolate, chopped
¾ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon black pepper
Heat a large Dutch oven over medium high heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Add chiles, onion, bell peppers, garlic, and chorizo, and sauté 5 minutes or until tender. Add chili powder and next 7 ingredients, stirring to combine; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, covered 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat and stir in chocolate, salt and pepper. Yield 12 servings (serving size: 1 cup)
Changes and Shortcuts: Chipotle chilies come in small cans but are always more than what is needed for a recipe. I would always put the remainder in the refrigerator, but would always wind up throwing them away. I discovered that you can take what you need from the can, put the rest in a plastic zip bag and flatten. Put the bag in the freezer. When you need to use them again, you can just break off the needed amount and nothing goes to waste.
I chopped the chipotle chiles, onion, green and red peppers, and garlic in the morning and set out the spices and cans of beans, tomatoes, and corn in the morning so I would be all set to go when I got home from work.
There are two kinds of Chorizo, one raw and one not. I don’t know the difference between the two. The kind I had was raw so instead of trying to chop them, I removed from the casing and crumbled. I cooked the chorizo for a few minutes prior to adding the rest of the ingredients.
I used cans of diced fire roasted tomatoes. I never understand why recipes will call for whole canned tomatoes and then tell you to cut them up. Why not skip that step and buy them already diced??
Oh, and the recipe doesn’t tell you this but the semi sweet chocolate comes in 1 ounce blocks. Since you only need 1 ½ oz you might as well eat the other ½ oz while you’re cooking!!
Results: Really easy and really good. This is my new favorite chili recipe. This could also be made with out the chorizo for a vegetarian meal.
Keeper? YES!
Black Bean and Chorizo Chili
Cooking Spray
2 canned chipotle chiles in adobe sauce, drained and finely chopped
1 ¾ cups chopped onion
11/2 cups chopped green bell peppers
1 ½ cups chopped red bell pepper
5 garlic cloves, minced
3 links Spanish chorizo sausage, diced (about 61/2 ounces)
1 ½ tablespoons chili powder
1 tablespoon ground cumin
1 ½ teaspoons dried oregano
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
3 (15 ounce) cans black beans, rinsed and drained
3 (14 ounce) cans whole peeled tomatoes, undrained and chopped
1 (8 ½ ounce) can no salt-added whole kernel corn, drained
1 ½ ounces semisweet chocolate, chopped
¾ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon black pepper
Heat a large Dutch oven over medium high heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Add chiles, onion, bell peppers, garlic, and chorizo, and sauté 5 minutes or until tender. Add chili powder and next 7 ingredients, stirring to combine; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, covered 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat and stir in chocolate, salt and pepper. Yield 12 servings (serving size: 1 cup)
Changes and Shortcuts: Chipotle chilies come in small cans but are always more than what is needed for a recipe. I would always put the remainder in the refrigerator, but would always wind up throwing them away. I discovered that you can take what you need from the can, put the rest in a plastic zip bag and flatten. Put the bag in the freezer. When you need to use them again, you can just break off the needed amount and nothing goes to waste.
I chopped the chipotle chiles, onion, green and red peppers, and garlic in the morning and set out the spices and cans of beans, tomatoes, and corn in the morning so I would be all set to go when I got home from work.
There are two kinds of Chorizo, one raw and one not. I don’t know the difference between the two. The kind I had was raw so instead of trying to chop them, I removed from the casing and crumbled. I cooked the chorizo for a few minutes prior to adding the rest of the ingredients.
I used cans of diced fire roasted tomatoes. I never understand why recipes will call for whole canned tomatoes and then tell you to cut them up. Why not skip that step and buy them already diced??
Oh, and the recipe doesn’t tell you this but the semi sweet chocolate comes in 1 ounce blocks. Since you only need 1 ½ oz you might as well eat the other ½ oz while you’re cooking!!
Results: Really easy and really good. This is my new favorite chili recipe. This could also be made with out the chorizo for a vegetarian meal.
Keeper? YES!
Monday, May 4, 2009
36. Tuscan Chicken Stew
I’m not sure a stew is considered a soup, but this recipe was in my Cooking Light Soup cookbook so I decided to give it a whirl.
Tuscan Chicken Stew
½ teaspoon dried rosemary, crushed
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon black pepper
1 lb. skinless, boneless, chicken breast, cut into 1 inch pieces
2 teaspoons olive oil
2 teaspoons bottled minced garlic
½ cup fat-free, less sodium chicken broth
1 16 oz can cannellini beans or other white beans, rinsed and drained
1 7 oz bottle roasted red bell peppers, drained and cut into ½ inch pieces
3 ½ cups torn spinach
Combine first 4 ingredients, and toss well. Heat olive oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add chicken mixture and sauté 3 minutes. Add garlic and sauté 1 minute. Add broth, beans, and bell peppers, bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer 10 minutes or until chicken is done. Stir in spinach, and simmer 1 minute. Yield: 4 1 cup servings
Changes and Shortcuts: Yesterday, I cut up the chicken, tossed it with the rosemary, salt, and pepper. I put it in a covered container in the refrigerator so it was all set to go tonight when I got home from work. While that was cooking, I was able to rinse and drain the can of beans and chop the red peppers.
Results: This was very easy to make and very good. It didn’t have much liquid to it, so maybe I would add a little extra broth the next time.
Keeper? YES!
Tuscan Chicken Stew
½ teaspoon dried rosemary, crushed
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon black pepper
1 lb. skinless, boneless, chicken breast, cut into 1 inch pieces
2 teaspoons olive oil
2 teaspoons bottled minced garlic
½ cup fat-free, less sodium chicken broth
1 16 oz can cannellini beans or other white beans, rinsed and drained
1 7 oz bottle roasted red bell peppers, drained and cut into ½ inch pieces
3 ½ cups torn spinach
Combine first 4 ingredients, and toss well. Heat olive oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add chicken mixture and sauté 3 minutes. Add garlic and sauté 1 minute. Add broth, beans, and bell peppers, bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer 10 minutes or until chicken is done. Stir in spinach, and simmer 1 minute. Yield: 4 1 cup servings
Changes and Shortcuts: Yesterday, I cut up the chicken, tossed it with the rosemary, salt, and pepper. I put it in a covered container in the refrigerator so it was all set to go tonight when I got home from work. While that was cooking, I was able to rinse and drain the can of beans and chop the red peppers.
Results: This was very easy to make and very good. It didn’t have much liquid to it, so maybe I would add a little extra broth the next time.
Keeper? YES!
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
44. Quick Chicken-Corn Chowder
It amazes me that I can make a good soup AND Broccoli Cheese Muffins (see Broccoli- Cheese Corn Bread, February 20, 2009) in about a half an hour when I get home from work! This is another recipe from the Cooking Light Soup cook book.
Quick Chicken-Corn Chowder
2 Tablespoons butter
1/4 cup chopped onion
1/4 cup chopped celery
1 jalapeño pepper, seeded and minced
2 Tablespoons all purpose flour
3 Cups 2% reduced fat milk
2 cups chopped, boneless chicken breast (about 2 breast halves)
1 ½ cups fresh or frozen corn kernels (about 3 ears)
1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme or ¼ teaspoon dried thyme
¼ teaspoon ground red pepper
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 (14 3/4 oz) can cream-style corn
Thyme sprigs (optional)
Melt butter in a large Dutch oven over medium heat. Add onion, celery, and jalapeno; cook 3 minutes or until tender, stirring frequently. Add flour; cook 1 minute, stirring constantly. Stir in milk and next 6 ingredients. Bring to a boil, cook until thick (about 5 minutes), stirring frequently. Ladle soup into individual bowls. Garnish with thyme sprigs, if desired. Yield: 6 servings (serving size about 1 cup)
Changes and Shortcuts:
I chopped the onion, celery, and jalapeño and cut up the chicken in the morning before work. Again, I don’t like frozen corn so I substituted 2 cans of Green Giant (the best). Here’s the funny part—as I was typing this I realized I didn’t bring the soup to a boil for 5 minutes. I also used red pepper flakes instead of the ground red pepper—I guess I just didn’t read the recipe thoroughly. The soup would probably have had a little thicker consistency if I had read the whole recipe!
Results:
The soup has good flavor and is very easy to make. I didn’t use any of the seeds from the jalapeno—I think I would add some because the soup could have used a little more “punch”. I added a little extra salt and red pepper as well as some black pepper. All in all, a nice thick, quick soup!
Keeper? Yes
Quick Chicken-Corn Chowder
2 Tablespoons butter
1/4 cup chopped onion
1/4 cup chopped celery
1 jalapeño pepper, seeded and minced
2 Tablespoons all purpose flour
3 Cups 2% reduced fat milk
2 cups chopped, boneless chicken breast (about 2 breast halves)
1 ½ cups fresh or frozen corn kernels (about 3 ears)
1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme or ¼ teaspoon dried thyme
¼ teaspoon ground red pepper
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 (14 3/4 oz) can cream-style corn
Thyme sprigs (optional)
Melt butter in a large Dutch oven over medium heat. Add onion, celery, and jalapeno; cook 3 minutes or until tender, stirring frequently. Add flour; cook 1 minute, stirring constantly. Stir in milk and next 6 ingredients. Bring to a boil, cook until thick (about 5 minutes), stirring frequently. Ladle soup into individual bowls. Garnish with thyme sprigs, if desired. Yield: 6 servings (serving size about 1 cup)
Changes and Shortcuts:
I chopped the onion, celery, and jalapeño and cut up the chicken in the morning before work. Again, I don’t like frozen corn so I substituted 2 cans of Green Giant (the best). Here’s the funny part—as I was typing this I realized I didn’t bring the soup to a boil for 5 minutes. I also used red pepper flakes instead of the ground red pepper—I guess I just didn’t read the recipe thoroughly. The soup would probably have had a little thicker consistency if I had read the whole recipe!
Results:
The soup has good flavor and is very easy to make. I didn’t use any of the seeds from the jalapeno—I think I would add some because the soup could have used a little more “punch”. I added a little extra salt and red pepper as well as some black pepper. All in all, a nice thick, quick soup!
Keeper? Yes
Friday, February 20, 2009
47. New England Clam Chowder
I had a request to make clam chowder. I had just bought the Cooking Light Soup book and found a recipe that looked easy and quick. There are just a few ingredients and it looked like it would only take about a half hour to make. I was looking for something different to serve with the soup and found a recipe for Broccoli-Cheese Corn Bread. The recipe follows the soup recipe.
New England Clam Chowder
2 (6.5 oz) cans minced clams, un-drained
Cooking spray
1 cup chopped onion
2 turkey-bacon slices, chopped
1 garlic clove, minced
3 cups chopped peeled red potatoes
(about 11/4 pounds)
½ teaspoon dried thyme
2 (8 oz) bottles clam juice
3 tablespoons all purpose flour
2 ½ cups 2% low fat milk
Freshly ground black pepper
Fresh thyme sprigs for garnish (optional)
1. Drain clams, reserving liquid, set aside. Heat a Dutch oven over medium heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Add onion, bacon slices, and garlic; sauté 5 minutes. Add reserved claim liquid, potato, thyme, and clam juice; bring mixture to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 20 minutes or until potato is tender.
2. Place 2 cups potato mixture, including bacon, in a blender and process until smooth. Add potato puree to potato mixture in Dutch oven, stir well. Combine flour and milk, stirring with a wire whisk until blended, add to chowder. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly 10 minutes or until thickened. Stir in clams. Ladle soup into individual bowls, and sprinkle with pepper and thyme. Yield: 6 ½ cups (serving size 1 cup)
Changes and shortcuts:
I chopped the onion, garlic and bacon the night before. The recipe calls for turkey bacon, but I just recently saw something on TV about regular bacon actually being healthier for you so I figured why not go whole hog and I used the real thing.
Results:
Although the recipe says to cook the bacon, onion and garlic together I would suggest starting the bacon and adding the onion and garlic after the bacon has cooked for a little while. It took a long time for the bacon to get done and the onion became browned. My soup never did get thick and it came out more of a brown color rather than the thick, creamy white soup associated with New England Clam Chowder. Since this was a recipe from Cooking Light I’m sure it’s healthier than the traditional chowder. None of us was thrilled with this soup and I will be trying another recipe in the next few weeks.
Keeper? No
New England Clam Chowder
2 (6.5 oz) cans minced clams, un-drained
Cooking spray
1 cup chopped onion
2 turkey-bacon slices, chopped
1 garlic clove, minced
3 cups chopped peeled red potatoes
(about 11/4 pounds)
½ teaspoon dried thyme
2 (8 oz) bottles clam juice
3 tablespoons all purpose flour
2 ½ cups 2% low fat milk
Freshly ground black pepper
Fresh thyme sprigs for garnish (optional)
1. Drain clams, reserving liquid, set aside. Heat a Dutch oven over medium heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Add onion, bacon slices, and garlic; sauté 5 minutes. Add reserved claim liquid, potato, thyme, and clam juice; bring mixture to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 20 minutes or until potato is tender.
2. Place 2 cups potato mixture, including bacon, in a blender and process until smooth. Add potato puree to potato mixture in Dutch oven, stir well. Combine flour and milk, stirring with a wire whisk until blended, add to chowder. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly 10 minutes or until thickened. Stir in clams. Ladle soup into individual bowls, and sprinkle with pepper and thyme. Yield: 6 ½ cups (serving size 1 cup)
Changes and shortcuts:
I chopped the onion, garlic and bacon the night before. The recipe calls for turkey bacon, but I just recently saw something on TV about regular bacon actually being healthier for you so I figured why not go whole hog and I used the real thing.
Results:
Although the recipe says to cook the bacon, onion and garlic together I would suggest starting the bacon and adding the onion and garlic after the bacon has cooked for a little while. It took a long time for the bacon to get done and the onion became browned. My soup never did get thick and it came out more of a brown color rather than the thick, creamy white soup associated with New England Clam Chowder. Since this was a recipe from Cooking Light I’m sure it’s healthier than the traditional chowder. None of us was thrilled with this soup and I will be trying another recipe in the next few weeks.
Keeper? No
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