Recipe Round-Up: Soups

It is that time of year: SOUPS!  One of the things we love the most about fall is a big pot of healthy soup simmering on the stove (or in the crockpot).  With the NFL season kicking off tonight (and yes, we BOTH love some football… GO COLTS), what a better time than to share some of our favorite soup recipes.

Hollie

In our house, once football starts, we designate every Sunday as “Soup Sundays” until March- that is 6 months of soups!  I almost always double the recipe so Josh can have some quick, easy lunches during the week.  While the hubby always insists on kicking off the first “Soup Sunday” with his famous, yummy chili we have some other favorites in our house as well.

One of the easiest crowd-pleaser soups is my Crockpot Tortilla Soup.  I have adapted several recipes to get this one ” just how I like it”: yummy & easy.  I love recipes that you can just throw in the crockpot and let it do it’s magic.

INGREDIENTS:
3-4 Chicken Breasts
1 can whole or diced  tomatoes (if you use whole, mash them)
1 can of black beans
1.5 cups red enchilada sauce
Onion-to-your- liking chopped (I only use a half)
1 small can chopped green chili peppers
1 can chicken broth
1 can water
small bag of frozen corn

SPICES:
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 bay leaf

DIRECTIONS:
1.  Place all of the ingredients (except the corn) & spices in the crockpot.
2. Cook on low for 6-8 hours.
3. Take a fork and pull apart the chicken- this should be very easy.
4. 30 minutes before serving, add a small bag of frozen corn
5. Enjoy!

Jamie

I LOVE Hollie’s “Soup Sunday” idea – – I may have to steal that for our house this year!  I can be found whipping up soup at LEAST 1x a week here once the temps start going down.  I love how versatile soup can be &  let’s be honest, they are just a good opportunity to put HEALTHY ingredients in front of my family, so I’m all in!  While I mentioned COOLER temps for soup, do NOT let me forget that I took advantage of our bountiful tomato harvest here earlier in the week & came up with my own Balsamic Roasted Tomato Soup – – a super simple & clean recipe (see below):

 

1.  Cut & seed 8-10 fresh tomatoes & put onto baking sheet.  Drizzle with olive oil & season with fresh garlic, salt, pepper & a splash of balsamic vinegar.  Roast at 450 until tomatoes start to brown.

2.  While tomatoes are in the oven, chop 1/2 onion and 3-4 carrots.  Add to a soup pot and saute with a touch of olive oil and garlic.  Once softened, add 1 carton of organic reduced sodium chicken broth.  Let this simmer while tomatoes are roasting.

3.  Add tomatoes to the pot, and toss in some fresh basil (to taste).  Let simmer together for 10 minutes or so.  (Shake in some Parmesan cheese for some extra tang).

4.  Use an immersion blender to blend the soup into more of a puree (a blender can be used as well).

5.  Keep on stove until serving – – serve topped with Parmesan cheese (always a winner with kiddos), chunks of avocado, maybe some blue corn tortilla chips for crunch.  Enjoy!

Favorite Recipes:
Check out some of the other favorite recipes that frequent our homes.

• Tortelinni Vegetable Soup (add spinach & kale to this)
• Creamy Mushroom & Chicken Soup (use coconut milk instead of cream & olive oil to sautee veggies for a cleaner version)
•  (Copycat) Petite Chou Tomato and Artichoke
• Tuscan Ribollita (excluding the bread)
• Chicken Avocado & Lime (similar to the way I make my homemade chicken tortilla soup)
• White Bean, (Kale) and Sausage (I add kale to this recipe).

These are both from Tosca Reno’s Eat Clean cookbook, but I managed to find the recipes on the web for your easy-viewing.  I love all her recipes:

• Maui Black Bean Soup 
• Zesty Spinach Soup 

What are YOUR fave cooler weather soup recipes? Please Share.

How to Build a Healthy Salad

Let’s talk one of my favorite topics:  SALADS!  I eat a salad daily & LOVE mixing up ingredients to make them healthy, satisfying and delicious!  Many of you probably rolled your eyes when you saw the word SALAD in the title of this post, but trust me – – – salads do NOT have to be boring!  I try to stick to this formula when making a salad (give or take the “healthy extras” option as many times this is when sugar and additional fats can sneak into your salads):

My favorite & always my “go to” combo is as follows:  1.  spinach as the base  2.  green onions as extra greenery  3.  strawberries as a pop of color  4.  sunflower seeds or sliced almonds for crunch 5.  roasted chicken breast for protein  6.  homemade balsamic dressing.  It’s foolproof & always healthy + delicious!   My basic vinaigrette dressing is as follows:  6 tbsp. balsamic vinegar, 4.5 tsp dijon mustard, 1/4 tsp salt, 1/4 tsp black pepper, 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil – – clean & easy!   When eating OUT beware of UN-healthy salads and salad toppings that are empty calories, specifically the following:  fried chicken atop salads, excessive amounts of cheese, candied nuts, sweetened dried cranberries/fruit, croutons, sour cream, and heavy salad dressings.  Always ask for grilled chicken, light or no cheese, and the dressing on the side!  Unhealthy salads can be a dangerous trap when eating out – – modify them & remember, the more colorful (with fresh veggies and fruit), the better!

Now…..I give you a small compilation of some of my salad masterpieces over the last couple of months.

   What is YOUR favorite “go to” salad?  
What toppings can you not do without?

Quick & Easy Chicken Tortilla Soup

One day last week I was in a bind…..my only option, upon looking in my fridge, for dinner was a breakfast at dinner & while my hubby and kids LOVE that option, I just wasn’t in the mood for my house to smell like bacon all night (shhhh….don’t tell them I nixed this!)  I realized that I had some reduced sodium chicken stock…..a can of tomatoes with green chilis and LOTS of taco-ish fixings – – a perfect start to my quick Chicken Tortilla Soup!!  I only need a few inexpensive (and quick) items at the store & I knew I could whip up a pot of this yummy soup in no time!  This is SUCH a great way for me to get veggies into my kiddos since I usually add whatever veggies I can – – red/green peppers, tomatoes, carrots, sometimes even celery!  Here’s my recipe from last night:

1 rotisserie chicken (skin removed & shredded)

1/2 onion, diced

4 carrots peeled & sliced

1/2 each red & green peppers, diced

1 can tomatoes with green chilis

1 can corn, drained (you can obviously use fresh corn – – we just didn’t have any!)

1 carton reduced sodium (organic if possible) chicken broth

cumin, garlic, chili powder, pepper

1 lime

Blue corn chips, jalapeno peppers, cojita cheese, sour cream – – for toppings

(I also made brown rice on the side for my kiddos’ bowls – – they like their soup thick & it helps create less of a mess the less broth they are spooning into their mouths!)

1.  Saute the veggies with 1-2 cloves of garlic & a splash of olive oil until they start to soften.

2.  Add cumin, chili powder, pepper to taste & squeeze 1/2 of lime over veggies.

3.  Add the can of tomatoes, corn &, chicken & chicken broth and bring to a boil.

4.  Let soup simmer for 30-45 minutes.

5.  Top with your fave fixin’s & enjoy!

What is a quick go-to recipe in your house?

Grilled Pizza

Going out for pizza or a quick, easy dinner seems to be the weekend ritual for most families.  In both of our houses, grilled pizzas have turned into our weekend ritual.  Just like going out, these are quick and easy.  We know it is not the healthiest meal of the week, but it sure beats the pizza at your favorite joint.  Plus, YOU are in control of the serving sizes of all your toppings and can choose the crust.  It is also a fun way to involve your kids in the kitchen- they will love topping their own pizzas and you may have a better chance of getting them to even sneak some veggies on that pizza.

Directions: 

Simply brush crust of choice with olive oil, place on grill for 3-5 minutes.  Remove from grill & top with your favorite toppings & then place the pizza(s) back on the grill long enough for the cheese to melt.  Enjoy!

Favorite Combinations

• Magherita: olive oil as the sauce, sliced tomatoes, fresh basil & mozzarella
• Pesto as the sauce, sun dried tomato & mozzarella
• Pizza sauce, turkey sausage, sun-dried tomatoes, grilled sweet peppers, fresh basil & fresh mozzarella
• BBQ: BBQ sauce, shredded chicken, red/green peppers & colby jack cheese
• Veggie: pizza sauce & all of your fave veggies (black olives, peppers, tomatoes (seeded), onions, etc.)
• Greek:  pizza sauce, kalamata olives, sun-dried tomatoes, artichoke hearts & feta

Crusts

• The Fresh Market Panini Bread: This is Jamie’s family’s choice of bread. You can find it in the bakery section with the fresh baguettes & look like individual pizza’s.  For $2.99 they are a STEAL- head to your local TFM.

• NAAN Panini Bread: Hollie’s family have tried two different bread and this one seems to be the winner.  It can be found at any local grocery store and usually near the deli.

• Flatout Flatbread: Another option that has been tried is the Flatout Flatbread.  This option give you more crusts in a package and also a thinner crust.  I would recommend cooking this for less time as it tends to curl up on the sides.  Can be found at most grocery stores most likely in the deli section.

 

Try out these Grilled Pizzas and tell us what you think!

What is your favorite weekend go-to meal?
What is your favorite pizza combination?