Cheesy Potato Soup

I have a new favorite potato soup! I served this along with chili at my daughter's first birthday party. I thought it would be good to serve two soups to cater to a variety of tastes, plus I wanted to make sure that there would be enough food to go around. Let me just say that this soup put my chili to shame. Guests were scraping the bottom of the pot for this soup while the chili just simmered away. Not that the chili was bad...usually it goes over well...this soup was just that good.

Get your peeler ready! I start out by peeling and cutting up 5 cups of potatoes.


Add in the water and broth.


And the onion, carrot, and bouillon. Bring it to a boil, then reduce heat to a simmer for 8-10 minutes or until the vegetables are tender.


Now for the red pepper and celery. Throw em' in and simmer for another 6-8 minutes.


This step may throw some of you for a loop. Hey- I didn't say it was diet or healthy potato soup. It's cheesy and creamy and delicious. Keep telling yourself those things as you add a cup of mayonnaise.


And as you cube 8 oz. of process cheese. And while you measure 1 cup of shredded cheddar and 1/2 cup of shredded Swiss. Keep thinking, "Cheesy, cheesy, cheesy!" You won't be disappointed.


Finally, add the potato flakes and pepper and mix well. Then remove the soup from heat and let it stand for 15 minutes before serving.


Yummy! I generously sprinkled mine with some chopped green onions before eating every last little bit.


Potato Cheese Soup

4 cups water
2-1/2 cups chicken or vegetable broth
5 cups diced peeled potatoes
2 large carrots, finely chopped
1 large onion, finely chopped
1 tablespoon chicken bouillon granules or 1-1/2 vegetable bouillon cubes
2 celery ribs, finely chopped
1 large sweet red pepper, finely chopped
1 cup mayonnaise
8 ounces process cheese (Velveeta), cubed
1 cup (4 ounces) shredded sharp cheddar cheese
1/2 cup shredded Swiss cheese
1/4 cup mashed potato flakes
1/4 teaspoon pepper

In a Dutch oven, combine first six ingredients. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat;
simmer, uncovered, for 8-10 minutes or until vegetables are tender. Stir in
celery and red pepper; simmer for 6-8 minutes or until tender. Reduce heat to
low. Gradually stir in mayonnaise until blended. Add cheeses; stir until melted.
Add potato flakes and pepper; mix well. Remove from the heat; let stand for 15 minutes.

Makes 12 servings.

Nutritional information- Do you really wanna know? Well okay, but if you just want to enjoy your soup and skip the guilt, then stop reading here.

One serving: (1 cup) Calories: 341 Fat: 25 g Saturated Fat: 9 g Cholesterol: 44 mg Sodium: 749 mg Carbohydrate: 19 g Fiber: 2 g Protein: 10 g

8 WW points per serving.

Meal Plan and Grocery List 1/26- 2/1

We've reached the point of winter that makes you feel like the season is going to drag on forever. Shovelling, sniffles, cold feet...I'm over it. I think that more soup is just what the doctor ordered. So join me as we say goodbye to January and welcome February with good food and soup...two times this week!

Monday January 26th

Cheesy Potato Soup

Tuesday January 27th

Slow Cooker Orange Chicken

Wednesday January 28th

Stonie's Ribs
Homemade Fries
Coleslaw

Thursday January 29th

Beef and Wild Rice

Friday January 30th

New Mexico Style Pizza

Saturday January 31st

Zippy Chicken Soup

Sunday February 1st

Take Out!



Grocery List

Produce

red pepper
onion
carrot
celery
potatoes
ginger root
green onions
1 small tomato
1 jalapeno pepper
cilantro

Meat

1 lb chicken thighs
1 lb sirloin
Stonie's Ribs
1 lb chicken breast

Canned Goods

4 cans chicken broth
orange marmalade
BBQ sauce
soy sauce
cooking oil
black beans
diced tomatoes with green chilies
salsa verde
lime juice

Dry Goods

Potato flakes
flour
1 pkg. long grain and wild rice mix
cornstarch
tortilla chips

Spices

garlic powder
thyme
cayenne pepper
chili powder
cumin
oregano

Dairy

shredded Swiss
shredded sharp cheddar
Velveeta
10 in. Italian bread shell crust
Mexican blend shredded cheese
sour cream

Freezer

2 1/2 cups frozen corn

Vegetable Soup

If you're a regular here at Krista's Kitchen, then you know that I keep complaining about those resolutions. Still, as much as I would like to kick them to the curb and chow down hot fudge sundaes and bags of Fritos (oh how I love Fritos) with reckless abandon, I am sticking to them. As of today, I have lost the 6 lbs. that I gained over the holidays. Don't cheer too much...that was the 6 lbs. I gained on top of the 15 that I already wanted to lose. Now that the baby is a year old, I can no longer use her as an excuse. So I'm back to where I was in November and stickin' to my darn resolutions this time. Hey, I know what's going to happen when the sun finally comes out in this frozen tundra and melts the snow and ice away...my kids are going to want me to take them to the pool. That is not a happy thought for me right now. So today's recipe is healthy and fat free and saves my day when I'm starving for something hot and delicious and I don't want to pack on the extra calories ("points" for you Weight Watchers). It's just the Garden Vegetable Soup from the WW book, but I do love it. I'm a sucker for soup. The cream kind, the broth kind, the noodle kind, healthy, unhealthy, whatever...I love soup.

So here goes....

I double or triple the recipe when I make it and freeze it in smaller portions. So, if it looks like I've used more of an ingredient than the recipe states, it's because I have. Begin by putting the sliced carrots, diced onion, and minced garlic in a large saucepan and saute over low heat for about 5 minutes, or until tender.


While the first round of veggies saute, go ahead and prepare the rest of the vegetables. I chop the cabbage, I wash and snap my green beans, and I chop the zucchini and set it aside.



I now I add the cabbage and beans + 3 cups of fat free broth (any kind you like-beef, chicken, or vegetable) to the sauteed veggies.


Plus, tomato paste, basil, oregano, and salt. Then bring it all to a boil. Reduce the heat. Then simmer, covered for 15 minutes or until your beans are tender.


Now stir in the zucchini and heat another for 3-4 minutes.


Mmm. Heavenly, hot, healthy vegetables. 1 cup = 42 calories. Love it. Did I say that already?


And it freezes well too. That's Chicken Noodle Soup on the left. I made them on the same "Souper" Saturday.


Garden Vegetable Soup
courtesy of Weight Watchers

Ingredients:
2/3 cup sliced carrot
1/2 cup diced onion
2 garlic cloves
3 cups fat free broth (beef, chicken, or vegetable)
1 1/2 cup diced green cabbage
1/2 cup green beans
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1/2 teaspoon dried basil
1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup diced zucchini

Directions:

In a large saucepan, sprayed with nonstick cooking spray, saute carrot, onion, and garlic over low heat until softened, about 5 minutes. Add broth, cabbage, beans, tomato paste, basil, oregano, and salt; bring to a boil.

Lower heat and simmer, covered about 15 minutes or until beans are tender. Stir in zucchini and heat 3-4 minutes. Serve hot.

Per serving: 42 calories, 0 g fat, 0 mg cholesterol, 63 mg sodium, 8 g carbohydrates, 2.4 g dietary fiber, 3 g protein, 41 mg calcium

That's 0 pts for the Weight Watchers.

Roasted Red Peppers

A couple of weeks ago, the meal plan included two recipes that called for sweet red peppers, Cornbread Stuffed Sweet Red Peppers and 3 Cheese Sausage Manicotti. I was pleasantly surprised to find sweet red peppers on sale for 1.99/lb. and I commented to the lady standing beside me, who was also rummaging through the pile for the best peppers, "Can't beat that" or something to the same effect. She agreed and mentioned that she roasted hers and used them on sandwiches. Now there's an idea. So I tossed an extra one into my bag.

I wasn't even sure that I liked roasted red peppers as a sandwich topping until I made these. But now I'm hooked. I've hardly had a sandwich in the last two weeks that has not been improved by these sweet, delicious, red peppers that I roasted all on my own. I've also tossed them into pasta dishes and salads lately too. The other day I made a Lean Cuisine for lunch and there was a little something missing. So, yep...I threw on some roasted red peppers. I think something magical must happen during the roasting process, because they sure are yummy!

I started by halving and seeding the peppers. Then I placed them, cut side down onto a foil-lined baking sheet.


I baked them in a 425 degree oven for 25 minutes until the skins were blistered and dark. Usually when I cook, it is a goal for the food to NOT look like this when I remove it from the oven- so, this was a nice change of pace.


Now bring the foil up around the peppers to enclose them for a 15 minute cooling off period. Again...another idea that goes against what I know to be true. Usually when something or someONE needs a 15 minute cooling off period, I've found it best to separate them, not enclose them in a small area together. However, this practice works quite well for peppers.


Next, I took the edge of a knife and separated the skin from the pepper. Then it peeled off easily by hand.

Naked roasted peppers.


I sliced the peeled peppers into perfect parallel and perpendicular picks...Peter Pepper picked a peck of...

Whoa, where was I?

Oh, yeah. Slice the peppers into strips so that they're ready for sandwiches or pasta. I sprinkled them with a little salt too.


I put them in a jelly jar and drizzled with a little olive oil before covering them and putting them in the fridge.



So the next time you find sweet red peppers on sale OR if you over-buy for a recipe OR if your garden is having a bumper crop, consider roasting some. I know there are ways to home can these as well. Hmmm. Maybe next summer...

Attention Chocolate Lovers: Dark Chocolate Pudding

Ask any of my friends....I'm an addict. I don't remember a day without at least one taste of chocolate. And for me, the darker, the better. Everything in moderation, right? Actually, this one isn't too bad for you. I printed this recipe off of the Weight Watchers site about 7 years ago. I was a whopping size 4 and looking for recipes to feed my chocolate habit while still allowing me to fit into my wedding dress. As you can see, the pudding worked just fine for me (um, and the 5 miles a day I was jogging back then).


So go ahead and indulge. Here's whatcha need...

Skim milk, cocoa, sugar, an egg yolk, salt, cornstarch, and vanilla.


Begin by measuring your dry ingredients. I like to measure the cocoa over a sheet of waxed paper. There's that tiny lil' hole in the top of the cocoa can and it's impossible to get all of the cocoa back into the can without making a mess when you level it off. So I level it onto the waxed paper and then I turn the paper into a funnel and easily dump the excess cocoa back into the container.


Now combine the cocoa, sugar, cornstarch and salt in a large, nonstick saucepan.


Mix em' up.


And pour in the milk...slowly. You want to really whisk it in so your pudding isn't lumpy.



Bring the mixture to a boil, over medium low heat, stirring constantly for 2 minutes.


Now you need an egg yolk...



slightly beaten. If you're cooking with kids, this is a fun step to assign them. That's my daughter, beating the egg yolk.


Before adding the egg yolk, you've got to "temper" it.

Temper: To gently heat a food, often before adding it to a hotter substance. One example is adding a teaspoon or so of hot sauce to beaten eggs. The mixture is blended and then added to the sauce. This keeps the eggs from curdling.

So add a tablespoon of the cocoa mixture to the egg yolk. Then pour the egg yolk into the pudding and cook and stir for another 2 minutes over medium low heat.


Now remove the saucepan from the burner and stir in your vanilla. Mmmm. Smells so good!


And because I'm not fond of that "skin" that forms atop cooked pudding whilst it's cooling, I put plastic wrap or waxed paper right on the surface of the pudding.


And that's it. Serve it up and enjoy! I should warn, this is really "chocolatey". Kind of bittersweet. So, if that's not your thing...you might layer it with whipped cream or if you're being good...fat free whipped topping.


Dark Chocolate Pudding

2 1/4 cups fat free milk
2/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/3 cup sugar
2 T. cornstarch
1/4 t. salt
1 large egg yolk
1 tsp. vanilla extract

1. In a large, nonstick saucepan, bring the milk, cocoa, sugar, cornstarch, and salt to a boil over medium-low heat, stirring constantly for 2 minutes.

2. In a bowl, lightly beat egg yolk.

3. Whisk in 1 T. of the cocoa mixture; whisk the egg yolk mixture back into the cocoa mixture, whisking constantly.

4. Cook over medium-low heat, stirring constantly, 2 minutes. Do not let mixture boil. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla.

Now, I don't have the official nutritional info. Not the calories, carbs, fat grams, etc. But I did scrawl across the bottom of the printout: Makes 4 servings, 3 WW points each.