Mexican Chicken Soup

I've made a million variations of this soup before, but tonight I decided to just throw it together on my own instead of using a recipe.  I think it was better than any recipe I've tried.  Stanton concurred.  Recording here so I can do it again.

1/2 red onion
2 cloves garlic
1 Tbsp Olive oil
1 14.5 oz. can Petite Diced Tomatoes with Green Chiles (Western Family brand)
2 14 oz. cans Reduced Sodium FF Chicken Broth
1 14 oz. can Black Beans, rinsed & drained
2 Chicken Breasts (from a rotisserie chicken), skin removed and breast roughly chopped
Pinch of Cumin
Juice of 1 Lime
1 bunch cilantro, chopped

Sautee onion & garlic in olive oil.  Add tomatoes and let simmer for a couple of minutes while rinsing and draining beans.  Add chicken broth, black beans, chicken, & lime juice.  Let simmer till ready to serve.  A couple of minutes before serving, add cilantro.

Weight Watchers Points Plus Value- 3

I added 1/3 small avocado for another 2 P+ and crushed a few Tostitos Hint of Lime chips (6 of them are 3 P+, but I didn't add that many -- maybe 2? ).

This was so yummy -- the chiles in the tomatoes gave it awesome heat, but not so much that the bright  freshness of the tomatoes, cilantro, and lime juice were overpowered.  A definite winner.

Nutella + Peanut Butter = Yum

That's my kind of math.

Original recipe and photos from:  http://delightfulbitefuls.blogspot.com/2011/02/peanut-butter-nutella-swirl-cookies.html


Peanut Butter & Nutella Swirl Cookies
Adapted from: Sweetest Kitchen

Ingredients

1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
3/4 cup smooth peanut butter
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
Approx. 1/4 cup Nutella

Directions

Preheat oven to 350° F.

Combine butter, peanut butter, sugars, egg, and vanilla. Mix until well blended.

Add flour, baking soda and salt. Drizzle Nutella on top of the dough then swirl it through the dough with a butter knife.

Chill dough 15 minutes in the refrigerator. Roll into balls by hand. Place on parchment lined cookie sheet. Using a fork, press down the balls to flatten slightly. Bake until edges are very lightly browned (about 7 to 10 minutes).

Allow to rest 2 minutes on cookie sheet before transferring cookies to a cooling rack.

Fish Tacos

I am a HUGE fan of fish tacos - and I prefer my fish grilled to fried (although I won't turn down a fried fish taco, either).  This particular recipe was a winner.  I loved it.  The salsa and yogurt sauce are essential.  Oh man, it was so good!

Original Recipe and photos from: http://www.mystylecloset.com/healthy-recipe-of-the-week-1.html

TILAPIA TACOS

source: fitness.com

Makes: 4 servings with leftovers
Prep time: 15 minutes
Cook time: 5 minutes
$3.16/serving
Ingredients
1 lime
1 cup grape tomatoes, chopped
1/2 cup cilantro, chopped
1/2 jalapeno, seeded and finely chopped
1/2 sweet onion, finely chopped
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup plain nonfat Greek yogurt
2 tablespoons mayonnaise
2 cups green or red cabbage, sliced into narrow strips
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 pound tilapia fillets
1/4 teaspoon chili powder
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
8 small whole wheat tortillas
1 avocado, cut into 8 long slices
Directions
1. Cut lime in half. Squeeze juice from half and slice other half into 4 thin wedges. In a bowl, combine tomatoes, cilantro, jalapeno, onion, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and half the lime juice.
2. In another bowl, mix together yogurt, mayonnaise, and remaining lime juice. Combine cabbage and 2 tablespoons of yogurt sauce in another bowl; reserve extra sauce.
3. Heat olive oil in a large pan. Sprinkle tilapia with chili powder, black pepper, and remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt; cook 3 minutes. Turn; cook 2 minutes more.
4. Place 2 tortillas, 1 lime wedge, and 1/4 of the tilapia on each plate. Serve with salsa, cabbage, avocado, and sauce.
Nutrition facts per serving: 278 calories, 22g protein, 23g carbohydrate, 12g fat (2.2g saturated), 5g fiber

Loaded Crock Pot Potato Soup

Trying this tonight.  I'm already certain I will be adding celery and carrots and more garlic.  I will use half real butter and half lower-fat spread.  I'll definitely be using extra sharp cheddar cheese and fat free half and half, as well.  So perhaps I should say "I'm trying my own version of this tonight." 

Recipe from:  http://crockpotgirls.com/crock-pot-mondays/loaded-baked-potato-soup/

Loaded Baked Potato Soup – Crock Pot

6 large potatoes, peeled and cubed
1 large onion, diced
1 quart chicken broth
3 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 cup butter
Salt to taste
Pepper to taste

1 cup cream or 1 cup 1/2 and 1/2 cream
1 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese
Garnish: chives, sour cream, bacon, and cheese

Directions:

Combine first 7 ingredients in a large slow cooker and cook on high for
4 hours or low for 8 hours (potatoes should be tender). Then you will
need to mash potatoes until coarsely chopped and soup is slightly
thickened. Stir in cream and cheese. Garnish with toppings.

Simple and Satisfying!

Such a simple and tasty soup that really fills you up! We loved the spin on regular potato soup… adding bacon, sour cream, cheese and chives to make it like the oh so yummy loaded baked potato! Served with cornbread, this was SUCH a yummy meal! We hope you guys enjoy this recipe as much as we did, especially with that crisp fall air we seem to be seeing more and more of! Happy Crockin’!

Avalanche Bars

I love pinterest.  I do.  Where else would I be able to find recipes from a million different websites and be able to narrow them down by how delicious they look?!  Here's another find for Fun Friday.  I stole that idea from my friend Abbie who never blogs anymore so I won't even link to her blog even though it would probably take as long as it has taken me to write this run on sentence.  Anyway, she makes a special treat every Friday for her kiddos - I love that!  It makes it so I can feed them healthy every other day and they can't complain because, hey, Fun Friday!  Nice, right?

So, here's today's treat.  Original recipe, commentary, and photos from:  http://cookiesandcups.com/avalanche-anyone/

Avalanche Bars

12 oz bag of White Chocolate Chips

1/4 cup creamy peanut butter

3 cups Rice Krispies, or “Puffed Rice” if you’re buying generic

1 1/2 cups mini marshmallows

1/4 cup mini chocolate chips + 2 Tbsp for garnish.

Lightly grease a 9×9 pan (or 8×8 if you prefer thicker bars)

1.  In microwave-safe bowl dump in white chips and heat on med power for 1 minute.  Stir and continue in 30 second increments until chips are melted.

2.  Combine the peanut butter with the melted chips

3.  Add the krispies.

4.  Let cool approx 15 – 20 minutes stirring every 5 minutes or so to help cool.

5.  Add the marshmallows and the mini chocolate chips and stir to combine.

6.  Dump mixture into the prepared pan and spread evenly, pressing lightly with the back of your spoon, but do not compact too much, otherwise they will get hard.

7.  Press the remaining chocolate chips into the top for garnish.

When the bars are completely cooled cut into squares and enjoy!

These will be the only avalanche that I will ever love

Chicken Noodle Soup

This recipe is one of those great standbys.  I do it over and over and over.  I used to make the noodles from scratch, but there is a great brand of frozen homemade egg noodles at my grocery store -- they're way better than any egg noodles I've ever made and so much more convenient.  They win.

Cherie Clawson's Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup
(Cherie is the mother of one of my oldest friends, Rachel)

Bring a whole chicken to boil in 3-4 quarts of water.  Add 1 tsp. salt, a bay leaf, a peeled and diced onion, and a cup of diced celery.  Simmer for a couple of hours.  Remove chicken and add 2 cups of diced carrots and 6 diced potatoes.  Simmer carrots and potatoes until tender.  While they are simmering, remove the skin and bones from chicken.  Cut into bite sized pieces (alternately, I just learned that you can use the paddle attachment on a KitchenAid or Bosch to shred chicken in seconds - this would be the perfect place to try that).  After carrots and potatoes are tender, add noodles and simmer until done (7-10 minutes).  Add 2 cups frozen petite peas.  When peas are tender but firm, return chicken to the soup and heat to desired temperature.  Season with salt and pepper.  Add chicken bullion if desired (I actually add beef base, which you can purchase in the seasonings aisle of Sam's Club). 

I love this soup.

Italian Bean Soup - A Weight Watchers Remix

This recipe is in the Weight Watchers cookbook and is delicious.  I made a few adjustments for our tastes, but left the overall calorie content pretty much unchanged.  Well, it doubled from 2 points to 4 points simply because we liked a double portion from what the recipe called for.  Otherwise, though, points are the same as the cookbook.  This is crazy fast to put together, pretty enough for company, and, with the exception of the spinach (which was my own addition, anyway), entirely from the pantry.  And good for you!  A winner.

Italian Bean Soup

4-5 cloves garlic, minced
4 tsp. olive oil
2 cans (15 oz) white beans, rinsed and drained
2 cans (14.5 oz) chicken broth
2 Tbsp. dried rosemary, crushed between hands or rough chopped
1 tsp. sea salt
Several grinds black pepper
4 handfuls spinach

Heat oil in soup pot, sautee garlic till fragrant (about 30 seconds to a minute).  Add all other ingredients and simmer for 10-15 minutes.