One More Time...

Another soup recipe.  I know, I know.  You're probably sick of all the soup I've been making.  But this one is fast and flexible.  And, if you're having the same miserable weather I am, this soup will jazz up your day a tad.

I served my soup for lunch with a slice of reduced sodium Ezekiel Bread topped with 1/2 cup sliced avocado.

~ Food Science Time ~

I'm no Sheldon Cooper, so here goes...
People ask me how to keep avocado from turning brown.  I rinse my hulled avocado under running water, then I drizzle lime juice on it.  The water rinses away the component that helps oxidize the avocado flesh and the citric acid in the lime juice helps preserve it.  Our culinary nerd moment is now complete.


Quick Black Bean Soup
Serves 6 


Ingredients:

2 tsp. safflower or olive oil
1 onion, diced
1 Cubanelle pepper, diced
1 Serrano, diced (optional)
2 cloves garlic, diced
1 tsp. Mexican oregano
1/2 tsp. ground cumin
2 (15 oz.) cans of seasoned black beans
1 (14.5 oz) can of fire roasted diced tomatoes
2 cups chicken broth
A bunch of cilantro, rinsed and chopped
2 tbsp. Hatch roasted green chiles, mild (optional)

In a large Dutch oven, heat oil over medium.  Add onion, Cubanelle, and Serrano.  Saute for about five minutes.  Add garlic, oregano, and cumin.  Saute for one more minute.

Add in beans (entire cans, do not rinse or drain), tomatoes, broth, cilantro, and chiles.  Simmer for 20 to 30 minutes.  Blend with an immersion blender until 2/3 of batch is blended.  Cook for 5 more minutes on a full simmer until heated through.  Serve immediately.

Weight Watchers Points+ per bowl: 3 per one cup bowl, the avocado sandwich was another 4+ points

Soul Good Mexi Chicken Soup

The pollen that found its way onto my windshield on Wednesday has me wanting to crawl back to bed on Friday.  I need a lunch that is not only nourishing, but comforting.

This is the perfect day to whip up some Soul Good Mexi Chicken Soup.  It's actually the base to my Pozole con Pollo I'm making for dinner tonight, so consider dinner halfway done!

Soul Good Mexi Chicken Soup
Serves 4 large bowls


Ingredients:

1 tsp. olive or vegetable oil
1 med. Spanish/purple onion, diced
1 Serrano pepper, seeded and diced
1-2 cloves garlic, pressed
1 tsp. cumin
1 cinnamon stick
Peppercorns
Cloves
Cheesecloth
1/4 cup cilantro
1 tomato, seeded and diced
32 oz. low-sodium organic chicken broth
3/4 tsp. sea salt
Juice of half a lime
1 chicken breast, cooked and shredded

Directions:

Take a few peppercorns, a few cloves, and break the cinnamon stick in half, placing all in a piece of cheesecloth.  Take opposite ends of cheesecloth and tie into knots that meet in the center so the spices don't fall out.

In a large stock pot/Dutch oven, heat to medium and add 1 tsp. olive or vegetable oil.  Saute onion and cumin until soft.

Add Serrano and garlic, cook for 1 minute.  Add cheesecloth bag, cilantro, tomato, salt and broth.  Simmer for 15 minutes.

(Next step optional) Take cheesecloth bag out and blend soup until smooth.  (Following steps are mandatory) Add chicken, lime juice, cilantro, and return bag to soup pot.  Simmer for 15 more minutes.  Discard bag.  Serve with more cilantro if desired.

I serve mine with an Avocado Crema that's quick and easy.  Take 1 avocado, scoop out flesh and place in a food processor.  Add 1 container of fat-free Greek yogurt, plain.  Squeeze half of a lime over avocado and yogurt.  Toss in a pinch or two of sea salt, 1/4 tsp. cumin, and a dash of chili powder.  Blend.  This should serve 4-6.

Feeling better already!

Sushi Time...But Wait!!

We love sushi in this house.  Pete and the girls even made some for me one year on Mother's Day.  I, however, have no patience for making the stuff.  All that sushi rice. PASS!

But I do like sushi-grade ahi tuna.  I am going to pause the sushi talk here and speak to those who prefer not to eat raw fish.

If you don't like even partially cooked tuna, please do not buy the ahi tuna and then cook it all the way.  This fish is not cheap by any means.  It usually runs $10 a pound - YIKES - where I live.  To cook it entirely would be a travesty, in my opinion.  So I suggest grilling some shrimp with a little safflower oil (high smoking point), lime juice, salt, and pepper. This meal works just as well with the shrimp.

Now back to the sushi programming.

This recipe is a salad, studded with gems and topped with a crown that tastes like solid gold.  The crown being Newman's Own Light Asian dressing.  Alas, my store was completely OUT.  Nooooo!  However, Kraft makes a light Asian dressing, and I think - gasp - I might like it better!  And it was on sale...bonus!  Wait - you're wondering why I am not making my own dressing, right?  This meal is quick and easy.  For me, making my own dressing would add time to the process, and who wants that, right?  Right!

Seared Ahi Salad
Serves 4

Ingredients:

1 to 1.25 pounds of sushi-grade ahi tuna
1 tsp. olive, avocado, or safflower oil
Sea salt and ground black pepper
Container spring greens or baby romaine
2 cups cherry tomatoes, halved
1 English cucumber, chopped
1 avocado, sliced (each person gets 1/4 avocado)
Chopped cilantro
Lime wedges
Kraft Light Asian dressing (1 tbsp. per person)

Directions:

Prep all veggies and place in bowls for your family/friends/pet rocks to use as a salad bar selection.  

Rinse and pat the tuna steaks dry, then sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Heat grill pan or skillet on medium and add the teaspoon of oil when pan is hot.  Pan must be hot enough to cause the fish to sizzle. 

Cook for about 2 minutes on each side, then allow to rest on a cutting board for another 2 minutes.  Slice thinly.  Allow family/friends/pet rocks to build salads, then add 3-4 oz. of sliced ahi to the tops of salads.  Dress with lime juice and 1 tbsp. dressing.  

I serve French bread rolls with this for my carb-loving family, but if you're watching your waistline, just add more veggies.  And the great thing about this meal is that it's a salad - add whatever you like!

Thursday dinner - done!

Weight Watchers Points (w/o dinner roll): 6 points

Note: All WW Points are based on the recipe calculator on the WW site.  Eating more proteins, carbs, and fats will increase your point level.