Hearty Potato Soup

Recipe Courtesy of Southern Living 1998

Ingredients

• 6  potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch cubes (2 1/2 pounds)
• 2  medium onions, diced
• 2  carrots, thinly sliced
• 2  celery ribs, thinly sliced
• 2  (14 1/2-ounce) cans low-sodium fat-free chicken broth
• 1  teaspoon  dried basil
• 1  teaspoon  salt
• 1/2  teaspoon  pepper
• 1/4  cup  all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2  cups  fat-free half-and-half
• Italian Bread Bowls

Preparation

Combine first 8 ingredients in a 4 1/2-quart slow cooker.

Cook, covered, at HIGH 3 hours or until vegetables are tender.

Stir together flour and half-and-half; stir into soup. Cover and cook 30 minutes or until thoroughly heated. Serve in Italian Bread Bowls, and garnish, if desired.

Nutritional Information

Calories:

207

Fat:

0.3g

Cholesterol:

0.0mg

Sodium:

365mg

• 
  

Lean Pulled Pork from a Pressure Cooker

Recipe courtesy of NoFoodLeftBehind.blogspot.com


 The real key to success for this is that the moist cooking in the pressure cooker really counteracts the lack of fat in the tenderloin. I loved this because I knew it was lean and yet it had just as much moisture as the regular pulled pork with all that fat from the butt.

Pulled Pork
Originally uploaded by Food Fanatic.

2 lb. pork tenderloin
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 onion, finely diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup ketchup
2 Tbsp brown sugar
2 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
2 Tbsp apple cider vinegar
1/4 tsp dry mustard
1/4 tsp chili powder
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. pepper
1/4 cup water

In a 6-quart pressure cooker, brown the pork tenderloin in the olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the onion and garlic, and sauté until softened. Add the remaining ingredients and mix to combine. Bring to a boil, cover the pressure cooker and bring to pressure. Cook for 45 minutes at 15 psi. Release the pressure and, using two forks, pull the pork into shreds. Toss the shredded pork in the pan drippings, if desired. Serve hot on rolls.

Adapted from “Speedy Pulled Pork” by Ronda L. Carnicelli athttp://www.seasoned.com

Baked Crispy fish or Chicken

Recipe courtesy of denverpost.com

Personal chef Colleen Clarke's solution to fried chicken (or fish) fingers is this baked version developed for people who are gluten-intolerant. Gluten-free cereals and bread crumbs are sold at Whole Foods, Vitamin Cottage and Wild Oats grocery stores. Serve with green beans and a tomato-cucumber salad. Makes 4 cups of coating.

Ingredients

3 cups Health Valley Rice Crunch 'Ems cereal

1 cup brown rice "bread crumbs"

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

1/4 teaspoon oregano

1/4 teaspoon marjoram

1/4 teaspoon thyme

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1 1/2 cups olive oil (more, if needed)

1/2 cup butter, melted

2 lightly whisked egg whites

2 pounds raw chicken tenders or fish strips (cod, haddock, hake or sea bass)

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Place rice cereal in a food processor and process to desired consistency. Add brown rice crumbs, garlic powder, oregano, marjoram, thyme, salt and pepper, and combine ingredients.

Dip chicken (or fish) in olive oil, then butter, egg white (or water) and finally into bread-crumb mixture. Place chicken (or fish) on a nonstick cookie sheet and bake for 15-20 minutes or until crumbs are brown.

Oven Fried Chicken

Recipe Courtesy of Cooking Light, October 2006

I love this recipe because it gives you the flavor of fried chicken without all the grease.

Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 15 minutes
Yield: 4 servings (serving size: 1 chicken breast half or 1 drumstick and 1 thigh)

Ingredients

• 1  cup  low-fat buttermilk
• 2  large egg whites, beaten
• 1  cup  all-purpose flour (about 4 1/2 ounces)
• 1/3  cup  cornmeal
• 1  teaspoon  salt, divided
• 3/4  teaspoon  freshly ground black pepper
• 1/4  teaspoon  ground red pepper
• 2  chicken breast halves, skinned (about 1 pound)
• 2  chicken thighs, skinned (about 1/2 pound)
• 2  chicken drumsticks, skinned (about 1/2 pound)
• 2  tablespoons  canola oil
• Cooking spray

Preparation

Preheat oven to 425°.

Cover a large baking sheet with parchment paper. Combine buttermilk and egg whites in a shallow dish; stir well with a whisk. Combine flour, cornmeal, 1/2 teaspoon salt, black pepper, and red pepper in a separate shallow dish; stir well. Sprinkle chicken evenly with remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt. Dip chicken in buttermilk mixture; dredge in flour mixture.

Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add chicken to pan; cook 4 minutes on each side or until lightly browned. Place chicken on prepared baking sheet; lightly coat chicken with cooking spray. Bake at 425° for 30 minutes or until chicken is done.

Nutritional Information

Calories:

450 (28% from fat)

Fat:

13.8g (sat 2.5g,mono 6.1g,poly 3.6g)

Protein:

43.5g

Carbohydrate:

35.3g

Fiber:

1.7g

Cholesterol:

109mg

Iron:

3.2mg

Sodium:

803mg

Calcium:

88mg

Spicy Kobacha Pumpkin Soup with Spaghetti Squash

Recipe Courtesy of Stella Ortega

This recipe was given to me by my mom who made it one time for everyone at work.  It was given rave reviews.

Olive oil ,   4 Tbsp butter,    2 medium onions, chopped ,      3 tsp minced garlic,  1/4 tsp crushed red pepper flakes,     2-3 tsp curry powder,      1/2 tsp coriander,    1 tsp thyme,      2 bay leaves,        2 tsp parsley,               1 tsp sage,    1/2 tsp cinnamon,    1/2 tsp nutmeg,    1/2 tsp allspice,    1/2 cup brown sugar,     2 cups milk,          1/2 cup heavy cream,   juice from 1 lemon,  pinch cayenne pepper,   salt and pepper to taste,   5 cups chicken or vegetable broth,  1 large Kabacha pumpkin (green round pumpkin),    1 spaghetti squash


Cut pumpkin and spaghetti squash in half, sprinkle with salt and pepper and olive oil.  cover with foil.  Cook in oven at 400 degrees for about 1 hour until soft.  Squash and pumpkin are done when you can push in softly.
After pumpkin is done, cool and scoop out, and set aside.  When spaghetti squash is done, cool and scape with a fork from top to bottom, so that the squash comes out stringy. Set aside.

Heat oil and butter in a sauce pan, add onions and garlic and cook until soft.  Add curry, coriander, thyme, parsley, sage, cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice for 1 minute.  Add pumpkin and broth and stir well.  Add bay leaf, cayenne pepper and crushed red pepper flakes.

Transfer soup, in batches to the blender or food processor.  Fill half way with soup and pulse a few times and then blend.  Return soup to saucepan.

With soup on low, add brown sugar and mix slowly, add milk while stirring to soup.  Add heavy cream and lemon.  If soup is too spicy, add more cream.  Salt and pepper to taste.  Remove bay leaf.  Add spaghetti squash and simmer for 15-20 minutes.