Zucchini Soup and Pico de Gallo

I went to Wegmans the other day and they were giving out samples of Zucchini Soup.   If they weren't giving out samples, I don't think I would have been tempted to make it. But after I tasted it I couldn't believe how good it was.  I bought all the ingredients and went home and made it for dinner.  Since I bought a bunch of cilantro for the soup, the next day I made Pico de Gallo, and that story I already told about the jalapeno and my contacts.



BEFORE

AFTER   

Wegmans Zucchini Soup

Click here for the original

Makes: 8 cups
Active Time: 35 mins
Total Time: 45 mins

• 1 Tbsp Wegmans Pure Olive Oil
• 1 pkg (8 oz) Food You Feel Good About Cleaned & Cut Chopped Onions
• 1 Tbsp chopped Food You Feel Good About Peeled Garlic
• 4 small (2 lbs) zucchini, 1/2-inch dice (about 6 cups), divided
• 1 carton (32 oz) Food You Feel Good About Chicken Culinary Stock
• 1 bunch green onions, thinly sliced (about 1 cup), divided
• 1/2 bunch cilantro, stemmed, chopped (about 1 1/4 cups)
• Salt and pepper to taste

You'll Need: Handheld blender
Directions

1. Heat olive oil in stockpot on MEDIUM-LOW. Add onion and garlic; reduce heat to LOW. Cook, stirring often, about 10 min, until onion is soft and translucent, but not browned.

2. Add about 4 cups zucchini to pot. Cook 5 min. Add stock; bring to a simmer on HIGH.

3. Add half the green onions. Reduce heat to MEDIUM; simmer 2 min. Remove from heat; add cilantro.

4. Puree soup carefully with handheld blender until smooth. Return to MEDIUM heat. Add remaining 2 cups zucchini. Simmer 8-10 min until zucchini is tender. Season to taste with salt and pepper; ladle into warm bowls. Garnish with remaining green onions.


Option(s):
Garnish with Vermont Creamery Goat Cheese and thinly sliced radishes.


Nutrition Info: Each serving (1 Cup) contains 60 calories, 7 g carbohydrate, (2 g fiber), 3 g protein, 2 g fat, (0 g saturated fat), 0 mg cholesterol, and 230 mg sodium.
Zucchini Soup
Ingredients

Pico de Gallo

I didn't really know what the difference was between Pico de Gallo and Salsa until I looked it up today. All I knew was that I wanted to make Pico de Gallo like we had in Mexico but maybe not quite as hot so my lips and mouth wouldn't burn for an hour afterwards. Well, the difference is that salsa is cooked and pico de gallo is fresh.
Here is my recipe for the pico de gallo. You can really add whatever you like and make it to the degree of hotness that is good for you. When we had it at Kris's she had corn in it which was really good but I wanted to keep this at a Zero Points Plus level. If I wanted to make it more hearty I would add the corn and some beans too, either black, white or kidney. Then it would be a good vegetarian meal. The amounts are up to you but put in a lot of everything because it isn't all about the tomatoes. The following recipe list what I used.  I almost forgot to mention that I wasn't sure what type of hot pepper I would like so I bought a few different ones to try.  There was one that was just called hot pepper and that burned as soon as you put it near your lip.  But when we used the Jalapeno in the recipe it didn't add much hotness so we took out some of the salsa and put it in a separate dish with 2 large pieces of the hot pepper and let it soak overnigt.  Then I added the hot salsa back into the rest but not the pieces of pepper.

Pico de Gallo

• 6 Tomatoes
• 1/2 Lg Onion
• 1 Red Pepper
• 1 Jalapeno, seeds removed
• 2 Green Onions
• Fresh Cilantro
• Fresh lime juice
• Salt to taste

Dice the tomatoes, onions, red pepper, green onions, and jalapeno into a bowl.  Chop up fresh cilantro but leave off the long stems  and add that too.  Mix in the cilantro then squeeze in lime juice add salt and mix again.

I got Coco Chips at BJs, 23 for 3 Points Plus and they taste great with the pico de gallo.

Lentil Soup - Alton Brown's Recipe

This is Alton Brown's recipe that uses Grains of Paradise.

A substitute for Grains of Paradise is a mixture of Black Pepper, Cardamom & Ginger but can't find proportions anywhere so I'll just wing it.

Recipe for Alton Brown's Lentil Soup

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 cup finely chopped onion
• 1/2 cup finely chopped carrot
• 1/2 cup finely chopped celery
• 2 teaspoons kosher salt
• 1 pound lentils, picked and rinsed
• 1 cup peeled and chopped tomatoes
• 2 quarts chicken or vegetable broth
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground coriander
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground toasted cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground grains of paradise

Directions

1. Place the olive oil into a large 6-quart Dutch oven and set over medium heat. 
2. Once hot, add the onion, carrot, celery and salt and sweat until the onions are translucent, approximately 6 to 7 minutes. 
3. Add the lentils, tomatoes, broth, coriander, cumin and grains of paradise and stir to combine.
4. Increase the heat to high and bring just to a boil. 
5. Reduce the heat to low, cover and cook at a low simmer until the lentils are tender, approximately 35 to 40 minutes. 
6. Using a stick blender, puree to your preferred consistency. 
7. Serve immediately.

Turkey Vegetable Soup

 

Turkey Vegetable SoupThis is a very easy soup to make and it can be made with turkey, chicken, pork or meatless.  I used homemade turkey broth and leftover turkey that I had frozen to make this soup.  Listed below are the ingredients I used because they are what I had on hand or appealed to me in the store.  The best part about this soup is anything goes but I think the one necessary ingredient to give it a great flavor is fresh ginger.Ingredients:brothcarrotsbroccolicauliflowersweet potatosnow peapodsrice noodles4-8 pieces of peeled fresh gingersalt and pepper to tasteturkey
Add longer cooking vegetables to broth first, adding the rest until all vegetables are cooked.Soften rice noodles in warm water for 5 minutes then cut up, if desired and add to soup along with cooked turkey.

-- Posted from my iPhone

Chicken with Noodles and Vegetables in Ginger Broth

We had movie night last night and saw My Sisters Keeper. The ending was way different than the book.
Before the movie we had an Asian dinner. We had a variety of appetizers (non-Asian), soup, and then everyone had to make their own Spring rolls.
This is the original soup recipe which was in my latest Weight Watchers booklet - Dec 13-19.

Chicken with Noodles and Vegetables in Ginger Broth
4 oz rice noodles
2 cups reduced sodium chicken broth
2 Tbsp reduced-sodium soy sauce
2 Tbsp honey
4 quarter-size slices peeled fresh ginger
3 star anise pods (I couldn't find this so didn't use)
4 (5 oz) skinless, boneless chicken breasts, thinly sliced
1 medium yellow squash, halved lengthwise and sliced
4 oz snow peas, trimmed and halved
2 Tbsp chopped fresh cilantro

Cook rice noddles according to package directions; drain.
Meanwhile, combine broth, soy sauce, honey, ginger, and star anise in large skillet; bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer 5 minutes. Add chicken; return to simmer. Simmer, covered, for 10 minutes. Add yellow squash and peas. Cook until chicken is cooked throught and vegetables are crisp-tender, 5 minutes longer. Remove and discard ginger and star anise. Divide noodles among 4 bowls. Top each with chicken breast and ¼ of stock mixture. Top with cilantro. (Oops - I forgot the cilantro),

Prep: 15 min
Cook: 25 min
Serves 4
7 points per serving

Squash Soup

This soup is a favorite of ours.
Today was a cold day, the high only in the 50s so it was a good day to make soup.
We were going to go to dinner at Pier 45 with Bonnie and Bob tomorrow but since the weather isn't going to be any better, they're going to come over here.
We'll have soup and salad.

Squash Soup
1 large butternut squash, about 4 lbs is good
1¾ cups chopped onion
1 cup chopped celery
2 garlic cloves, chopped
6-8 cups vegetable broth
2-3 Tbsp lemon juice
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
2 Tbsp ground cumin
1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 cup frozen kernel corn or 1 can
1 cup chopped red bell pepper
Salt and pepper to taste

1. Cut squash into cubes and combine with onions, celery, and garlic in stockpot with 3 cups vegetable broth.
2. Cover and cook on MEDIUM until squash is tender, about 30 minutes.
3. Puree, using stick blender, until smooth. Stir in lemon juice and cumin, remaining stock and simmer 10 minutes.
4. Add black beans, corn, red bell pepper, and cilantro. Cover and simmer 10 minutes.

Season soup to taste with salt and pepper.

Ladle soup into bowls and top with dollop of yougurt if desired.

NOTE: 
 You can use 3 cups of water in step 1 and reduce the amount of vegetable broth to 4 cups.  The squash, onions, celery and garlic produce a natural vegetable broth.

Exact measuring isn't necessary since it will taste good whatever the proportions.

Sausage Soup

I'm back, haven't written anything for a week but we must have eaten something. Probably just leftovers or went out a lot. As I said before, the reason I started doing this was because I can't remember my favorite recipes (or even what I did yesterday) so who's surprised that I don't know what we ate over the last week.

Yesterday I made one of our favorite soups to go with drinks and appetizers we were going to have with some friends today. Originally it was just going to be drinks and appetizers at 4:00 PM but why should anyone have to go home and make dinner.

We got this soup recipe from Larry's daughter Kris. She said she pureed all the beans and that way her kids ate it without knowing what was in it. Hopefully they never read this. She found the recipe in the January Paula Deen magazine and surprisingly this is a very healthy recipe. We also had French Cosmos (the ladies did) and that recipe is here too. Enjoy!!

ITALIAN SAUSAGE SOUP
Makes 8 to 10 servings
1 (16-ounce) package sweet Italian sausage, casings removed
1 yellow onion, chopped
1 cup minced celery
1 cup minced carrot
3 (14-ounce) cans beef broth
2 (14.5-ounce) cans diced tomatoes with basil, oregano, and garlic
1 (16-ounce) can dark red kidney beans, drained
1 (16-ounce) can light red kidney beans, drained
1 (15.5-ounce) can great Northern beans, drained
2 cups ditalini pasta
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
In a large Dutch oven, cook sausage, onion, celery, and carrot over medium-high heat until sausage is browned and crumbles. Drain well. Stir in broth, tomatoes, and beans; bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce heat, and simmer for 20 minutes. Add pasta; simmer for 8 to 10 minutes, or until pasta is tender. Stir in salt and pepper. Serve immediately.
Note: Ditalini pasta is short tubes of macaroni. Soup can be frozen for up to 1 month. Thaw in refrigerator before reheating.
Another Note: If you cook the pasta in the soup it will absorb all the liquid and be more like a stew.
January/February 2009 Cooking with Paula Deen


French Cosmopolitan ( original recipe from drinkmixer.com)
4 parts citron Vodka
2 part Grand Marnier or Triple Sec
2 part Sweet and Sour Mix
2 part Cranberry Juice
1 part lime juice (I used Rose's)
drop grenadine syrup

Pour all ingredients (except grenadine) into a shaker, shake well and strain into a chilled large martini glass. Pour a drop of grenadine into the middle of the glass and let it fall to bottom. (It will color the stem red.) Garnish with a slice of lime, and serve.