Spinach Lemon Orzo Soup April 21, 2012

I’m not sure why this Spinach Lemon Orzo Soup caught my attention when I was going through the recipes on Sprinkled with Flour.  It might have been the picture, or the orzo (what’s orzo?  I thought…) or the lemon spinach combo.  Whatever it was, I wrote down the recipe and finally got to make it a couple of weeks later after getting back home from my trip.  I’m glad I did!  It is a good soup that is different from any other I have made.  It has a subtle lemon flavor and just the right amount of ‘kick’ from the red pepper flakes.  This soup was really simple to throw together.  I actually had it made a bit before I was ready to eat it, so I turned it wayyyy down.  The orzo ended up soaking some more liquid so I believe I added a bit more water.  I also didn’t think it necessarily needed the cornstarch/water mixture to thicken, but you may find it needs it.

You probably already know, but in case I am wrong, Orzo is a ‘rice-shaped pasta’.  I loved it and will be trying other recipes with it!

Spinach Lemon Orzo Soup (serves 8)

2 T Olive Oil

1 whole Large Onion, Chopped

2 cloves Garlic, Minced

1 whole Lemon, Zested And Juiced

1 tsp Red Pepper Flakes (I halved and was the perfect amount of spice for MY taste buds)

1 tsp Dried Thyme

2 cups Fresh Spinach Leaves, Packed

1-½ cup Uncooked Orzo Pasta

8 cups Vegetable Or Chicken Broth

2 T Water

1 T Cornstarch

¼ cups Freshly Grated Parmesan Cheese, More Or Less As Needed

Heat the oil in a large heavy pot or stock pot. Add the onion and garlic and cook for 3-4 minutes until fragrant. Add the lemon zest, red pepper flakes and thyme and cook another 3 minutes until the onions are tender and translucent. Turn the heat to medium and add the spinach and orzo. Cook for 1 minute and then add the broth and lemon juice.

Bring to a light simmer and cook for 12-15 minutes until the orzo is barely tender. Whisk the water and cornstarch in a small bowl. With the soup at a light boil, whisk in the cornstarch mixture and stir rapidly. Allow the soup to thicken, about 3 minutes.

Serve immediately garnished with freshly grated Parmesan.

Cassie’s notes: This soup is also great with 1-2 cups of cooked chicken added in. Feel free to use chopped frozen spinach—just make sure you thaw, drain and squeeze out the excess water.

Broccoli-Cheddar Soup April 27, 2011

I have to give a big THANKS to the Blackhawks for keeping me up until after midnight last night!  And I have to congratulate the Vancover Canucks for winning it in overtime.  I have a brother-in-law who is a Canadian and of course rooted for the lovely Canucks.  Th Hawks put up a good fight, didn’t give the series to them easily, and it came down to sudden death in overtime, where we didn’t have enough energy to get the puck in the goal before the Canucks did.

My husband and I discussed the situation.  We really enjoyed watching the Blackhawks this year and were sad to see them lose last night, but I guess to look at the brighter side, we don’t have to waste our nights anymore sitting in front of the tv watching them, especially as the weather starts becoming nicer.

And to the weather…it’s rainy hear in NW Indiana today and has been for the last couple days, so to that I say, time to bake/cook again!  (not that I haven’t been putting supper on the table…nothing too new or exciting though.)

I ran through the Parade from the Chicago Tribune this past Sunday and saw a recipe for Broccoli-Cheddar Soup.  This is a Jodi Picoult recipe (I’ve read a handful of her books) that she fed to her family on Sunday nights.  I like the soup.  It has a nice flavor and is the perfect thickness.  Not too thick like some soups can get but thick enough to fill you up.  Now let’s see if my 13 month old likes it :)

Broccoli-Cheddar Soup

3 cups chicken broth

1 onion, chopped

4 cups broccoli, chopped

dash of garlic powder

1 tsp thyme

2 bay leaves

4 T butter

4 T flour

1/2 tsp salt

2 cups milk

2 cups shredded cheddar

Slices of crusty bread (to serve

In al arge sauce pan, mix chicken broth, onion, broccoli, garlic powder, thyme, and bay leaves.  Bring to a boil.  Reduce heat, cover and sinmmer 10 minutes, or until vegetables are soft.

Remove bay leaves and pour  mixture into a food processor.  Pulse until smooth, approximately 1 minute.  Reserve in a bowl.

In the original saucepan, melt butter, whisk in flour,s alt and al ittle pepper until a thick paste forms.  Add milk and cook, stirrint constantly, until mixture thickens.  Add chedddar; stir until it dissolves.

Pour in broccoli mixture and cook until blended.  If necessary, add more chicken broth to thin.  Season with additional salt and pepper.  Serve with bread for dipping

Serves 6.  Per serving:  300 calories,  16 g carbs, 14 g protein, 20 g fat, 60 mg cholesterol, 1,000 mg sodium, 2 g fiber

Recipe from Jodi Picoult

Soup and Salad January 31, 2011

I really like French Onion Soup but don’t make it very often.  I think it’s because I don’t think it’s a very nutritious or filling soup, but now having it again, it is very filling!  The bread on top probably helps.  This recipe is so simple.  I took it right off of the back of the Sherry Cooking Wine that I bought awhile back.  I really also enjoy this salad.  I’ve made it previously.  I love how the almonds taste when toasted along with the pear and feta cheese flavor.  To toast the almonds.  Just throw some on a pan and place in a 350 degree oven for 7-10 minutes, stirring after 3-4 minutes and watching carefully so they don’t burn.

French Onion Soup

4 T butter

2 medium onions, very thinly sliced

1 T flour

1/2 cup Sherry Cooking Wine

1 qt low-sodium beef broth

Gruyere or Parmesan Cheese

Country-style bread, sliced

In saucepan, brown onions in butter and sprinkle with flour.  Cover and simmer over low heat, 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Deglaze with wine.  Meanwhile, heat beef broth.  Add to onions and boil slowly until onions are tender.  SPread cheese on toast and melt under broiler.  Pour soup into bowls, top with toast.  Serve immediately.  Serves 4

Recipe from Holland House

Pear Feta Salad

Spring Mix Lettuce

Pear

Walnuts, toasted

Feta Cheese, crumbled

Raspberry Walnut Vinaigrette, or dressing of choice

Layer lettuce in bowl.  Place toasted walnuts, cut up pear on top.  Sprinkle with feta cheese and drizzle with dressing.

White Bean Ham Soup & Beer Bread January 31, 2010

What to do with leftover ham…sandwiches, omelets, casseroles and of course soups!  This soup turned out great, plus my crockpot did most of the work!  Took me about 20 minutes to chop and blend everything together and then off to work and back home to a ready to eat meal!  I found the recipe at Tasty Kitchen.  Thanks to Christine who submitted this recipe.  At the bottom of her post she mentioned that she makes a super easy beer bread to go with this soup.  Well, I couldn’t pass making that bread up to go along with the soup, so I guess my supper wasn’t ready the minute I got home, but about 45 minutes later it was.  This meal is very pleasing, filling and I would say very economical!

White Bean & Ham Soup

1 pound Dried Navy Beans (I used Northern Beans)

1 whole Meaty Ham Bone (plus some chopped up ham)

2-½ cups Celery, Chopped

2-½ cups Carrots, Grated Or Shredded

1 whole Onion – Chopped Or Shredded

1 Tablespoon Dried Parsley

2 cloves Minced Garlic

1/4 tsp Tabasco Sauce (omitted)

1 teaspoon Salt (omitted)

teaspoons Black Pepper

Sort and wash the beans.  Add 6 cups water and soak beans overnight or about 8 hours.

Drain beans and throw in crock pot.  Add ham bone, ham and enough water to cover (plus some ham juices if you have any).  Add remaining ingredients and cook on low for 8-10 hours.

Remove the bone.  Chop up the ham and return the meat to the soup.

Recipe from Christine on Tasty Kitchen

Beer Bread

Note: Sift your flour before measuring and mix all ingredients together well before adding beer. Less mixing after adding the beer leads to a lighter loaf.

3 cups All Purpose Flour, Sifted

3 teaspoons Baking Powder

1 teaspoon Salt

3 Tablespoons Granulated Sugar

1 can (12-ounce) Can Of Beer

2 Tablespoons Melted Butter

Preheat oven to 375F.  Mix dry ingredients thoroughly.  Stir in beer, blending well.

Lightly grease or spray a 9 x 5 x 3-inch loaf pan with nonstick cooking spray.

Pour mixture into prepared loaf pan.  Pour melted butter over mixture.

Bake 35 minutes, remove from pan and cool for at least 15 minutes.

Recipe from Frank on Tasty Kitchen

White Chicken Chili, French Onion Soup & MORE! January 26, 2009

Can anyone guess why I’ve been on a soup kick lately?  A little hint…I live in the Midwest…

So, I started off with some Chicken Tortilla Soup, the same recipe I made about a year ago.  You can check out that recipe and my thoughts on it here. 

(By the way, I don’t eat the soup for dinner night after night, I usually have it once and freeze the rest for my lunches.)

On to soup #2.  I’ve been wanting to make French Onion Soup for a while now and found this super simple recipe from Rachael Ray.  I wasn’t sure if this soup would fill me up, so I made a Caprese Panini to go along with it.  (Although the soup probably would have been enough; with the bread cubes, it was actually pretty filling!)

 French Onion Soup

(Recipe from:  Rachael Ray)

2 Tbsps olive oil

2 lbs onions, thinly sliced

1 sm clove garlic, finely chopped

1 tsp dried thyme

salt & pepper

1/2 cup dry white wine

2 cups beef broth

1/2 baguette, cut into small cubes

2 cups shredded gruyere cheese

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees.  In a large, heavy saucepan, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat.  Add the onions, garlic, thyme and 1/2 tsp each salt and pepper, lower the heat to medium and cook, stirring, until the onions are golden, about 15 minutes.  Stir in the wine and cook for 3 minutes.  Add the beef broth, reduce the heat to low and cover the saucepan.

Divide half of the bread cubes among four small ovenproof bowls and cover each with 1/4 cup cheese.  Divide the soup among the bowls, then top with the remaining bread and cheese.  Set the bowls on a baking sheet and bake until the cheese is bubbling, about 10 minutes.

Serves 4

Caprese Panini(Recipe from:  Cuisine At Home)

1/2 Tbsp olive oil

1/4 cup diced tomatoes

1/2 tsp Balsamic vinegar

2 slices sourdough bread (brushed with Olive oil on one side)

Pesto

Mozzarella

Salt & Pepper

Spread pesto on sourdough (opposite side of oil).  Heat oil and diced tomato in frying pan until they break down.  Turn off heat and add balsamic vinegar.

Layer tomato mixture and cheese on 1 slice of bread on the pesto side and place the second piece (pesto side down) on top.  Grill on both sides until nicely brown.  (or use a panini press if you have one)

Serves 1

 

For soup #3, I decided to make White Chili.  I got this recipe from Cousin Tim who originally got it from his friend’s mom.  My favorite is to sprinkle a little cheddar cheese over the top.  Yum!

White Chili

(Recipe from:  Cousin Tim’s friend’s Mom)

6 small chicken breasts with bone (I used 3 large)

4 cups water (I ended up adding another cup)

4 chicken bullion

1 sliced medium onion

1/4 tsp garlic powder

1/4 tsp pepper

1/2 tsp creole seasoning

3/4 Tbls. each of oregano and cumin

1 – 4 oz can chopped green chilis (undrained)

1 can white corn (drained)

3 cans great northern white beans (drained)

Cook chicken breasts in 4 cups of water with chicken bullion

Bring to a boil then simmer for 10 to 15  minutes.  Remove chicken and add all remaining ingredients (plus chicken bones). 

Simmer for 1 to 2 hours

Add chunked chicken 5 to 10 minutes before serving.

Serve with a flour tortilla, white corn chips, top it with cheese, salsa, cilantro; however you like your chili is up to you!

 

Bocalicious Chili April 1, 2008

I’ve been getting daily e-mails from Hungry Girl with tips and recipes on eating healthier.  It’s been good and I’ve been learning alot about foods I’d probably never try.  This recipe is from their site.  I bought some Boca burgers a while ago and decided that I’m not a big fan of eating them on a bun, burger style, so I decided to throw the rest in this chili, ground up.  I loved it!  This will be my go-to Chili on those cold snowy days here in Chicago.  (I’m hoping their won’t be too many more of those this year!)

Bocalicious Chili

(Recipe from http://www.hungrygirl.com/)

Yield:  4 servings

2 Packets of Meatless Ground Boca OR 4 Original Vegan Boca Burger Patties (I used 3)

2 Cans Mexican Style Stewed Tomatoes (I used 1 original plus 1 no salt and 1/4 cup salsa b/c I couldn’t find Mexican style at the store)

1 small onion

1 can kidney beans (I know realized I used black beans…shows how much I pay attention to recipe ingredients)

Cumin, salt, pepper, chili powder

(I also added mushrooms which I had on hand)

Spray frying pan with nonstick cooking spray.  Heat pan, saute onion, and add ground Boca when onion start to brown.  Saute Boca and onions.  Season to taste with cumin, onion powder, salt, pepper chili powder.  Add stewed tomatoes and continue to cook over medium flame for about 8 minutes.  Add beans for the last three minutes or so.

188 Calories, 1 g of fat, 15 g protein, 26.5 carbs, 9g fiber (3 WW points)