Lasagna Soup

This recipe was suggested to me from one of my new good friends from school, Stephanie! I believe she posted a bowl of this goodness on Facebook one day and I had to have the recipe. I decided to make it for a teacher lunch since we really don't need this much goodness in our house while me and my husband are dieting. :-P I served it up with our favorite homemade Italian bread. 

Lasagna Soup

Ingredients:

Soup:

* 2 tsp. olive oil (I would leave this out. The sausage produces a lot of fat)

* 1.5 lb. Italian Sausage

* 3 cups onion, chopped

* 4 garlic cloves, minced

* 2 tsp. dried oregano (I used italian seasoning)

* 1/2 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes

* 2 Tbsp. tomato paste

* 1 (28oz) can fire roasted diced tomatoes

* 2 bay leaves

* 6 cups chicken stock

* Salt and Pepper to taste

Cheesy Yum:

* 8oz. ricotta

* 1/2 cup grated Parmesan

* 1/4 tsp. salt

* Pinch of ground pepper

* 2 cups mozzarella, shredded

Toppings:

* 8 oz. pasta (I used rigatoni)

* 1/2 cup fresh basil leaves (for topping)

* Additional mozzarella

Directions:

1. Heat olive oil in large pot over medium heat. Add the sausage, breaking it into tiny pieces. Brown for about 5 minutes.

2. Add the onions and cooked until softened, about 6 minutes.

3. Add garlic, oregano, and red pepper flakes, then cook an additional minute.

4. Add tomato paste and stir well to incorporate. Cook 3-4 minutes or until paste turns rusty brown.

5. Add the diced tomatoes, chicken stock and bay leaves. Stir to combine. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer 30 minutes. At this point you may choose to add pasta and cook until al dente (barely cooked), but I just cooked mine separately to ensure it didn't get overcooked.

6. While the soup cooks, make the cheesy yum by combining all ingredients listed under "cheesy yum". 

7. To serve place basil, noodles, and cheesy yum into a bowl, then spoon soup over top. Enjoy!

Cajun Chicken & Rice Soup

This recipe is for a teacher lunch and was yummy! It was supposed to be in honor of "Fat Tuesday", but then we got a snow day, so I had to postpone it. It still was yummy though! I tripled the recipe, so it's rather large, but if you would like to make the original recipe, you can find it here. It's also gluten free! My advice: make a ton and freeze the leftovers. :-)

Cajun Chicken & Rice Soup

Ingredients:

* 2.5 lb. chicken breast (salt, pepper, couple celery ribs & an onion)

* 3 medium onions, chopped

* 6 celery ribs, chopped

* Oil

* 1/4 cup minced fresh garlic cloves

* 2 (14.5oz.) cans diced tomatoes & green chilies, including juices

* 2 cups orange juice

* 1/3 cup minced fresh cilantro

* 2 Tbsp. Cajun seasoning

* 2 tsp oregano (I used Italian seasoning)

* 1 1/2 tsp. dried thyme

* 1 1/2 tsp ground cumin

* 1 tsp cayenne pepper

* 3 (15oz) cans of pinto beans (I used my black bean & corn mixture)

Directions:

1. Place chicken in large stockpot and cover with water. Add everything listed next to chicken in the ingredients, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and cover/simmer for 1-2 hours or until the chicken is tender. 

2. Remove chicken from the broth and set aside to cool.

3. Carefully strain broth from vegetables and seasonings, while saving the broth for the soup. (Skim the fat).

4. When chicken has cooled a bit, shred. (I use a stand up mixer)

5. In the large stockpot, saute onion and celery in butter until the onion is crisp-tender.

6. Add garlic and cook 1 minute longer.

7. Stir in the tomatoes, OJ, cilantro, seasonings and broth. Bring to a boil; reduce heat and cover/simmer 20 minutes or until veggies are tender.

8. Stir in the rice, beans and chicken; heat through.

 Yield: 24 servings (9 quarts).

Breakdown: (per 1 1/2 cup)

393 calories

12 g fat (4 g saturated fat)

120 mg cholesterol

776 mg sodium

27 g carbohydrate

4 g fiber

42 g protein

Sunday Gumbo

I had never made any sort of gumbo before this and the teacher's at school got to be my guinea pigs! I made this for Tuesday Soup day and served it up with Baked Hush Puppies. I got lots of great feedback, so I will save it to use again! To make it even better...it is gluten free! The recipe comes from my Taste of Home: Best Church Supper Recipes book (p.157).

Sunday Gumbo

Ingredients:

* 1 lb. italian sausage links, cut into 1/4-inch pieces

* 1 lb. boneless skinless chicken breasts, cubed

* 3 Tbsp vegetable oil (next time I will leave this out because the sausage makes plenty of oil)

* 1 medium red pepper, chopped

* 1 medium onion, chopped

* 3 celery ribs, chopped

* 1 tsp. dried thyme

* 1 tsp. dried marjoram (I replaced this with more thyme)

* 1/2 tsp. garlic powder

* 1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper

* 3 (14.5oz) cans chicken broth (I make my own broth)

* 2/3 cup uncooked brown rice

* 1 (14.5oz) can diced tomatoes, undrained

* 1 lb. uncooked medium shrimp, peeled and deveined

*2 cups frozen sliced okra

Directions:

1. In a dutch oven, brown sausage and chicken (do not completely cook) in oil. Remove meat with a slotted spoon and keep warm.

2. In the drippings, saute red pepper, onion and celery until tender. Stir in seasonings; cook for 5 minutes.

3. Stir in the broth, rice and sausage mixture; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer 20-25 minutes or until rice is tender and sausage/chicken are cooked thoroughly.

4. Stir in the tomatoes, shrimp and okra; cook for 10 minutes or until the shrimp turn pink. Stir occasionally.

5. Enjoy!!

Yield: 16 servings (~4 quarts)

Corn Chowder

I made this for Soup Tuesday at school a few weeks back and it was rather tasty! I also really liked that it was nice and low in calories! Such a great, hearty soup for a cold winter day! The original recipe can be found here.

Corn Chowder

Ingredients:

* 1 Tbsp. Olive Oil

* 1 sweet onion, chopped

* 5 slices turkey bacon

* 1 Tbsp. flour

* 1/4 tsp Cayenne

* 2 large baking potatoes (~1.5lb., peeled and cubed)

* 2 cups frozen corn kernels, defrosted

* 32oz. chicken broth

* 1 cup skim milk

* 4oz. reduced fat cream cheese

* 1/4 tsp. salt

* 1/4 tsp. pepper

* Chopped chives (optional topping)

Directions:

1. Heat oil in large stock pot over medium heat. Add the onion and using kitchen shears, cut turkey bacon into pot. Cook 5-6 minutes or until the onions soften (not brown).

2. Add the flour and cayenne. Cook 2-3 more minutes, stirring continuously until the flour coats the onion and starts to stick to the pot (without browning). You may need to decrease the heat.

3. Add the potatoes, half of the corn and the chicken broth. Bring to a boil.

4. Cover and simmer 15-20 minutes or until the potatoes are tender.

5. Add the cream cheese and skim milk.

6. Using an immersion blender (or normal blender/food processor), blend until desired consistency.

7. Stir in remaining corn and season with salt and pepper until you like it.

8. Top with chives and serve!

Nutritional breakdown (per 2 cups): 9WWPP

343 calories

8 g fat (3 g saturated)

55 g carbohydrates

17 mg cholesterol

2g fiber

398 mg sodium

15 g protein

The website suggests you pair it with biscuits or tuna/chicken salad. I paired it with homemade sourdough bread!

It also suggests to wine pair it with Chardonnay or Pinot Blanc

Lentil Chili

I only recently stumbled upon lentils. For the longest time I thought they were these weird green things (I think I thought they were leeks), but then I discovered they are a powerhouse legume and nice and low in fat! I made an entire bag of them (yes, they are also cheap!) and played around with them. I made some stuff tex-mex peppers, but I was dying to try them in a chili. I searched pinterest and found this recipe. You can see the original recipe here. I decided to almost double the recipe so that I could have some extra to freeze. I really enjoyed this one and can't wait to pull it out again soon!

Lentil Chili

Ingredients:

* 2 tsp. olive oil

* 1 large onion, chopped

* 1-2 peppers, diced (I had a bag I froze myself)

* 4 tsp. minced garlic (I used jarred)

* 4 Tbsp. chili powder

* 2 Tbsp. ground cumin

* 2 tsp. dried oregano

* 1/4 tsp. red pepper

* 1 (16oz) bag green lentils

* 28oz. of vegetable broth

* 3-6 cups water

* Small can of tomato paste

Directions:

1. Saute onions, peppers and garlic in a stock pot.

2. Add everything else except tomato paste. Cover and simmer until lentils are soft (about an hour). Make sure to keep an eye on it because you may need to add more water.

3. Add tomato paste, stir, and let simmer another 15 minutes.

4. Enjoy and freeze! I like to top mine with low fat sour cream and 2% shredded cheese. YUM!

Tomato Basil Soup

This was the first recipe I used my immersion blender with. I am obsessed with tomato soup, so I just had to try it out on my own! I love how easy and low cal this recipe is. It's also very tasty, though I will say, you shouldn't expect this soup to be creamy as it only has greek yogurt to do that job. I modified the original recipe from here.

Tomato Basil Soup

Ingredients:

* 1 tsp. olive oil

* 1 sweet onion, chopped

* 2 cloves of garlic, chopped (I used the jarred kind)

* 2 (28oz.) cans diced tomatoes (I used 4 (14oz) cans, some were garlic fire roasted, oregano/garlic/onion, etc.)

* 2 cups vegetable broth

* 1/2 cup basil, chopped

* 2 tsp. oregano

* 1 tsp. sugar

* salt and pepper to taste

* 1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt

Directions:

1. Warm oil in bottom of large pan. 

2. Add onion and cook until translucent, about 4 min.

3. Add garlic and cook another 2 min.

4. Add in all ingredients except the greek yogurt. Cover and simmer about 10 minutes.

5. Add in the greek yogurt and use an immersion blender (or regular blender) to puree the soup to a consistency of your choosing.

6. Enjoy or freeze for later! I like to double the batch and freeze 3/4 of it for Winter!

Creamy Rotel Soup

This was a pinterest recipe! I got it from here. I changed it up just a bit, but it was reallllllly good!! Probably one of the better crockpot chicken recipes I have ever made! It has a good, spicy flavor. Yumm-O! I even have leftovers for lunch tomorrow (barely)!

Creamy Rotel Soup

Ingredients:

* 1/2 lb. chicken breast, frozen

* 8 oz. reduced fat cream cheese

* 1 can of rotel

* 1 packet of ranch seasoning

* 1 can of corn, juices included

* 1 can black beans, drained and rinsed

* 1 Tbsp. cumin

* 1 tsp. onion powder

* 1 tsp. chili powder

* Chicken Broth (optional, save for the end)

Directions:

1. Place frozen chicken in the crock pot. Top with remaining ingredients.

2. Cook on low 8-10 hours.

3. Shred chicken and mix in. Add stock and mix until desired consistency is achieved.

4. Serve and enjoy!!

HG Chili Dog Chili

So..I was looking for a hearty dish that was low in points and yummy..and this one did it for me! Unfortunately I had different ingredients, but it still was yummy! It's wild how much like a chili dog this soup tastes and smells like! This comes from Hungry Girl: 300 Under 300, page 408..of course I changed some of the stuff around.

HG No-Buns-About-It Chili Dog Chili

Ingredients:

* 2 (14.5oz) cans stewed tomatoes, mexican style if available (not drained) --(I didn't have this so I used 1 Fire-rosted with garlic, and one can diced with garlic and onion)

* 2 green bell peppers, chopped (I used 1 yellow pepper..not a huge fan of peppers in stew/soup)

* 1 large onion, chopped

* 1 large tomato, chopped

* 5 light hot dogs

* 1 (15oz.) can red beans, drained and rinsed

* 1 1/2 Tbsp. yellow mustard

* 1/2 tsp. chili powder

* 1/2 tsp. ground cumin

* 1/8 tsp. garlic powder

* Optional: salt, black pepper, cayenne pepper

* Optional toppings: fat free shredded cheese

Directions:

1. Roghly chop stewed tomatoes, reserving juice. Set aside.

2. Bring a large pot sprayed with nonstick spray to medium-high heat on the stove. Add chopped peppers and onions and cook until softened, about 5 minutes.

3. Add chopped (fresh) tomato, give mixture a stir and cook another 1 minute.

4. Add stewed tomatoes and juice to the pot, and remaining ingredients (except optional ones). Raise heat and bring to boil.

5. Reduce heat to medium low and cover allowing to simmer for 20 minutes. Stir occasionally.

6. Remove from heat and remove lid to allow chili to thicken for about 20 minutes.

7. Add additional seasonings as needed, then serve with optional topping.

Breakdown(per 1 cup):

129 cal

1.25g fat

834mg sodium

22g carbs

5g fiber

8g sugars

9.5g protein

3WWPP

Stefy Chili

This is my FAVORITE chili-soup. I got this recipe from one of my roommates at MTSU, Stephanie Bates. She used to make it with cornbread (which I had never had the 2 paired together before) and I LOVED IT! When it was time to move out I just had to get the recipe, and now I make it at least 3 times every winter. Since today was a "snow" day, I decided this was the perfect day to make it!! I paired with my HG Cheesy Cornbread Muffins and made HG Candyland Pie (deconstructed). It was the perfect meal for a "chili" day!

Stefy Chili

Ingredients:

* 1 lb. ground beef (to lighten this up a bit I just used 8 oz. LEAN ground beef)

* (16oz.) can tomatoes with onion and garlic

* 1 can red beans (drained)

* 1 can chili beans (NOT drained)

* 1 (8oz.) can tomato sauce

* 2 tsp. chili powder

* 1/2 tsp. salt

* 2/3 cup ketchup

* 1 1/2 cans water (swished in the previous cans)

Directions:

 1. Brown ground beef in stock pot.

 2. Combine remaining ingredients in the pot.

 3. Let simmer 30-40 minutes. Stir occasionally.

 4. ENJOY!!

Breakdown: per 1 cup (if made with 8oz. LEAN meat)= 4WWPP

Quick-Fix White Chicken Chili

Quick-Fix White Chicken Chili

This recipe comes from my new favorite cookbook (I know, I know..it's actually NOT Hungry Girl! But no worries, I have Hungry Girl's new book on pre-order thanks to my Barnes and Noble groupon!)

This cookbook even has WW points listed along with nutrition, but, unfortunately they are from the old system. My black bean recipe came from it! (This recipe is on page 167)

Ingredients:

2 tsp. canola oil

1 medium onion, diced

1 tsp. minced garlic

1 ½ tsp. ground cumin

¾ tsp. dried oregano

1/8 tsp. cayenne pepper

1 (14 oz. can) or 2 cups reduced sodium chick broth

1 (4 oz.) can chopped green chilies

2 (15 oz.) cans white beans (cannellini)

2 large chicken breast

1/3 c. chopped cilantro

1 c. RF Mexican blended cheese (optional)

Directions:

1. Boil 2 chicken breasts in water with seasonings for 20 minutes. Let cool and shred chicken breasts with 2 forks. (I learned this here)

2. Heat the oil over medium heat in a large saucepan. Add the onion and sauté for 4-5 minutes or until slightly softened. Add the garlic, cumin, oregano, and cayenne pepper and sauté 1 minute.

3. Stir in the broth, green chilis, beans and chicken. Reduce heat to low and simmer for 15 minutes. Top with cilantro and cheese (optional) ORRRR

4. Whip up some pico! I just used a can of petite tomatoes, lime juice and cilantro and topped my chili with this..and it was GREAT!

Breakdown:

210 calories

17g carbs

6g fat

21g protein

6g fiber

85mg cholesterol

80mg sodium

((5WWPP))