Simple Chicken Tortilla Soup

Quick, easy, weeknight meal. 

Leftovers are great for lunch the next day. 

Ingredients: 

2 c cooked, shredded chicken

1 onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

4 zucchinis, chopped

1 small can rotel tomatoes, drained

1 11 oz. can shoe peg corn, drained

6 c chicken broth

2 t chili powder

2 t cumin

juice from 2 limes

s&p to taste

handful fresh cilantro

Directions: 

Drizzle bottom of soup pot with olive oil. 

Heat over medium-high heat. Add onion and zucchini and sauté until tender, about 3 minutes.

Add garlic, chili powder, cumin, salt and pepper. Stir until fragrant. 

Pour in broth, rotel, and corn. Bring to a boil.

Add shredded chicken, reduce heat to medium and simmer until chicken is heated through.

Add lime juice and fresh cilantro. Taste and adjust seasoning. 

garnish ideas: crushed tortilla chips, avocado, cilantro, shredded cheese 

enjoy :) 

Vegetarian Taco Soup

This is a tiny bit adapted from my friend Melissa's taco soup recipe. 

She is by far the best vegetarian cook that I know.

 I love love love picking her brain for recipes. Thanks, friend!

p.s. I'm making it for small group this week...miss you guys so much! 

Ingredients:

1/2 lb. morning star ground beef substitute

1 onion, chopped

1/4 jalapeño, finely chopped

1 tomato, chopped

1 can pinto beans, drained and rinsed (15 oz)

1 can dark red kidney beans, drained and rinsed (16 oz)

1 can black beans, drained and rinsed (15 oz)

1 can shoe peg corn, drained and rinsed (11 oz)

1 can rotel diced tomatoes (10 oz)

1 small packet hidden valley ranch style dressing

1 low sodium/organic package taco seasoning

4 cans water

Directions: 

Brown together first 3 ingredients. 

Add all other ingredients.

Bring to a boil, reduce heat to simmer, simmer about 1 hour.

garnish options: cilantro, chips, cheese, tomatoes, avocado

enjoy :) 

Roasted Tomatoes, Shrimp, and Feta

Thank you, Real Simple! 

http://www.realsimple.com/food-recipes/browse-all-recipes/roasted-tomatoes-shrimp-feta-10000000780294/index.html

This was seriously delicious.

The combination of juicy roasted tomatoes, herbs, feta, lemon, and shrimp was just divine. 

I think it's a perfect dish to make for company. 

Seems really nice, but it only takes about 20 minutes

 of prep time and the oven does the rest. 

You can take a look at the link or keep reading...

Ingredients: 

5 tomatoes, cut into eighths

3 T olive oil

3 cloves garlic, minced

s&p

1.5 lbs shrimp, peeled

1/2 c chopped fresh parsley (or cilantro. i did a combination of both)

2 T fresh lemon juice

1 c reduced fat feta

Directions:

Heat oven to 450. Place tomatoes in a large baking dish. Drizzle tomatoes with olive oil, top with garlic  and 3/4 t each salt and pepper. Toss and roast for 20 minutes.

Remove baking dish from oven. Stir in shrimp, herbs, and lemon juice. Sprinkle with the feta. 

Return to oven for 10-15 minutes, until shrimp are cooked through. 

I served over quinoa with roasted green beans.

 Next time, I'll definitely have crusty bread with it. 

enjoy :) 

Crockpot Tomato Basil Parmesan Soup

Growing up, my mom never cooked in a crockpot. Ever. 

Mom, do you own a crockpot??

I've been told many times that "the apple doesn't fall far from the tree" 

when it comes to being like my mama. 

 Because of a busier work schedule this year, I've veered from "the tree" 

and started resorting to my crockpot. a lot! 

Life saver!
(thank you, Tom & Camille for my wonderful crockpot!)

In the original directions, this soup has a lot of fuss and hoop-la and 

stuff you're supposed to do before adding it to the crockpot. 

To me, that defeats the purpose of using a crockpot.
It's already hard enough to crawl

 into the back of my cabinet to lug the thing out....

So I decided to just dump all the ingredients in at once and voila.
Delicious. 

Ingredients: 
3 cans diced tomatoes, with juice (low sodium if possible)
1 can tomato sauce
1 cup diced celery
1 cup chopped carrots
1 cup chopped onion

1 T dried oregano
1 T chili powder
1/2 t cayenne pepper
4 c broth
1 bay leaf
1 c shredded parmesan cheese
2 T butter, optional
2 c skim milk (or fat free half and half)
1/2 cup fresh basil
1 t salt
1 t pepper

Directions: 
Add all ingredients to the crockpot
EXCEPT the fresh basil and 1/4 cup parmesan cheese.

Cook on low for 5-7 hours.

Add basil and reserved parmesan for last 30 minutes of cooking time.


enjoy :)

Watermelon, Basil, Feta Salad

Get ready to impress.

  

With VERY little effort.

This salad is oh so pretty. 

It's like the perfect sundress...in a salad version. 

makes sense to me 

:)

Ingredients: 

Seedless watermelon, cut into bite-sized chunks

Handful (or more) of feta

Couple handfuls of basil, chopped

Lime juice

Sea Salt

Olive Oil
Tiny drizzle of balsamic vinegar and/or sprinkle of orange zest if desired.

Directions: 

 Chop of the watermelon and basil. 

Squeeze a little lime juice and add a few dashes of olive oil.

 Lightly toss together. 

Sprinkle the feta on top (don't stir or it gets messy looking)

Top with a little sea salt and vinegar/orange zest if you wish.

Serve on a bed of arugula or on its own.
Garnish with fresh mint or basil.

Enjoy! 

Spinach Lemon Pasta Bake

This pasta dish is fresh, summery, and simple.

 It's a good one to make for a crowd. 

Ingredients: 

12-16 oz. whole wheat pasta (not a spaghetti type of noodle)

1 lemon, zested and juiced (use 1/2 lemon if you don't love lemon)

2 c fresh spinach, roughly chopped

3 cloves garlic, minced

2 c milk or half and half, any kind 

1-2 T butter

1-2 T flour

1/4 c parmesan cheese

1/4 c shredded mozzarella

red pepper flakes

basil, dried or fresh

s&p to taste 

Directions: 

Preheat over to 350. 

Make pasta, drain, put back in pot with a dash of olive oil to prevent sticking.

Add butter to sauce pan and melt. Saute garlic in butter. 

Add milk, flour, lemon juice & zest, and spices (including basil).

Stir with whisk until it thickens.

Add sauce, spinach, and cheese to pasta (reserve a little parmesan for the top) Stir.

Transfer to casserole dish and top with remaining parmesan cheese.

Bake covered for 20 minutes.

Uncover and bake 5 more minutes. 

Garnish with fresh basil and serve.

Enjoy! 

Chicken Salad with Avocado and a Kick

My husband eats the same thing for lunch every day. He is incredibly
patient with this and has somehow convinced himself that the turkey
sandwich I make for him tastes WAY better than the turkey sandwich he
makes himself (probably b/c I take an extra 3 seconds and put some
mustard on it...and if I'm feelin' real fancy that day, maybe even a
couple pieces of spinach).

I had a burst of creativity?, boredom?, pity?, love? last week and
decided to spice up lunch around here. I made chicken salad and I
liked it. I don't trust chicken salad usually because---why is the
chicken so small and fine and fluffy like that?? and what is this cream
substance?? no. I just don't usually love it. (I do like Whole Food's
sonoma chicken salad, but don't really buy it because mayonaise freaks
me out)

Here's what I did---I boiled chicken, shredded it, added avacado, a
little greek yogurt, a dash of mustard, and some spices. Ryan enjoyed
a fancy chicken salad sandwich with tomato, sprouts, cucumber, and
spinach for about 4 days.

He's back to turkey this week. Bless him.

Ingredients:
4 boneless skinless chicken breasts, boiled*, shredded, and cooled
2 avocados, pitted and cut into pieces
1/2 small onion, chopped
1/4 scant cup mustard (regular, honey mustard, spicy, whatever you
like. i used a sweet/hot blend)
1/4 scant cup greek yogurt (0% fat)
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
Add chopped celery, cilantro, or parsley if desired.

Directions:
Mix together all ingredients. Add more yogurt or seasoning as needed.
Serve with sprouts, tomatoes, other greens, cucumbers, celery, etc. on
a sandwich, with pita chips, over a green salad, or with raw
vegetables.

*Notes about boiling chicken---spray large pot with cooking spray
(pam) and turn heat to high. season both sides of chicken breasts with
a little bit of salt and pepper. when pot is hot, add chicken in
single layer and cook on both sides for about a minute each just to
char it a tiny bit. fill pot with water (chicken should not be crammed
next to each other) and bring to a boil. reduce to simmer and let
chicken cook through. mine took about 15-17 minutes total.


Enjoy!