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.

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’!

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.

Good for you Creamy Tomato Soup

I had forgotten about this wonderful tomato soup recipe.  I'm glad I clicked over to link the focaccia bread to its original source.  As I recall, I made this soup and declared it my favorite tomato soup ever.  I'll be making it again.  Maybe tonight...with focaccia bread...even though we had focaccia bread last night....it's autumn so bread with every dinner is appropriate, right?

Good for you Creamy Tomato Soup

Estimated Cost: $5.50 for four servings

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 onion, chopped

2 carrots, peeled and chopped

3 cloves garlic, chopped

2 (14 ounce) cans Italian style diced tomatoes, undrained

2 cups chicken broth or stock

pinch of red pepper flakes

1 teaspoon balsamic or red wine vinegar

1 teaspoon honey

3/4 cup evaporated skim milk, or 4 ounces 1/3 less fat cream cheese

chopped fresh basil or parsley for serving

In a large pot, heat oil over medium high heat. Add oniion and carrots and saute for five minutes. Stir in garlic and saute an additional minute. Add tomatoes, broth, red pepper flakes, vinegar, and honey. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Bring to a boil; cover, reduce heat to medium and simmer for 20 minutes, or until all vegetables are tender. For a creamy soup, transfer to blender and blend, or use an immersion blender directly in the pot. (Immersion blenders are a must have for soup lovers!) Soup can be made up to 2 days ahead of time to this point. Just before serving, add evaporated skim milk (or cream cheese of half and half) to pot. Warm through, but do not boil. Serve immediately with basil or parsley, and hopefully some warm focaccia.

Creamy Tomato-Pesto Soup

We loved this soup.  I have another tomato soup recipe that I like better, but this was really delicious -- and EASY.

Creamy Tomato-Pesto Soup
1 can Campbell's Tomato Soup
1 can skim milk
1 can petite diced tomatoes, drained
2 Tbsp. pesto (I bought mine from the refrigerated section at the grocery store)
Freshly grated parmesan cheese (again, purchased mine from the refrigerated section already shredded)
Herb croutons (I omitted these)

Heat soup with milk and diced tomatoes.  Stir in pesto.  Sprinkle with parmesan and croutons.

This tasted fancier than its ingredients would let on.  Again, my kids enjoyed this, although next time, I'll probably do some pureeing with my immersion blender -- I wasn't a huge fan of the chunks of tomato and they were a bit of a deterrent to my children, as well.  Great soup, though...

Pumpkin Soup

This was really creamy and savory.  A great fall soup.

Pumpkin Soup

6 cups chicken stock 
1 1/2 tsp. salt
4 cups pumpkin puree
1 tsp. chopped fresh parsley (I used 1 Tbsp. dried)
1 cup chopped onion (I used 1/4 cup dehydrated onion)
1/2 tsp. chopped fresh thyme (I used 2 tsp. dried)
1 clove garlic, minced (I used 2-3 cloves -I always add extra garlic- and just sliced it)
1/2 c. heavy whipping cream (I used 1/2 c. 2% evaporated milk)
5 whole black peppercorns

Heat stock, salt, pumpkin, onion, thyme, garlic, & peppercorns (basically everything but the cream).  Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low, and simmer for 30 minutes, uncovered.
Puree the soup in small batches (1 cup at a time) using a food processor or blender. (I used my immersion blender and just pureed it all at once right in the pot).
Return to pan, and bring to a boil again.  Reduce heat to low, and simmer for another 30 minutes, uncovered (I only let it simmer for another 10 minutes because it was getting late for dinner).  Stir in heavy cream (I my case, evaporated milk).  Pour into soup bowls and garnish with fresh parsley (omitted that part, of course).

This serves 6 and claims to be just 92 calories per serving, although I haven't double checked that.  It does seem reasonable, though, considering the ingredients.
It was a tasty soup and all my children ate it willingly.  Recipe courtesy of Lea Ogawa, www.allrecipes.com. 

White Chicken Chili

I've really enjoyed this recipe from Allrecipes.com this fall.

Cha Cha's White Chicken Chili

Rated: Submitted By: Cathy Photo By: MesaMa Prep Time: 10 Minutes Cook Time: 20 Minutes Ready In: 30 Minutes Servings: 4

"Delicious white bean chili. Cha Cha says: 'It's kinda spicy, so watch out!' Substitute mild green chiles for the jalapenos if you're scared! Use more chicken and cheese as desired."

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon vegetable oil 1 onion, chopped 3 cloves garlic, crushed 1 (4 ounce) can diced jalapeno peppers 1 (4 ounce) can chopped green chile peppers 2 teaspoons ground cumin

1 teaspoon dried oregano 1 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper 2 (14.5 ounce) cans chicken broth 3 cups chopped cooked chicken breast 3 (15 ounce) cans white beans 1 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese

Directions:

1.	Heat the oil in a large saucepan over medium-low heat. Slowly cook and stir the onion until tender. Mix in the garlic, jalapeno, green chile peppers, cumin, oregano and cayenne. Continue to cook and stir the mixture until tender, about 3 minutes. Mix in the chicken broth, chicken and white beans. Simmer 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
2.	Remove the mixture from heat. Slowly stir in the cheese until melted. Serve warm.