Soup
Roasted Butternut Squash Soup
As Christmas day approaches, our calendars get filled up with activities….shopping, decorating, gathering together with family and friends. The days are getting colder and the hours in the day seem to get shorter. When dinnertime comes around it is nice to have an easy dinner to serve for your family. One that is filled with wonderful flavors and incredible health benefits is an added bonus to help sustain the energy needed to accomplish all the things you have on your “to-do” list. This roasted butternut squash soup is easy to prepare and lasts for days in the refrigerator. It is a wonderful soup to pull out if a friend stops by around lunch time. Put on your favorite Christmas carols and take an hour to unwind as you fix this delicious soup for your family.
Ingredients
1 large butternut squash (2-2 ½ pounds) peeled and cubed
2 Tablespoons olive oil
½ teaspoon sea salt
½ teaspoon freshly ground pepper
2 Tablespoons fresh rosemary chopped fine
1 tablespoon butter
1 large leek, washed and chopped (2 cups)
4 cups fat free, low sodium, organic chicken broth (vegetable both for vegetarians)
½ cup sherry
6-8 fresh sage leaves chopped fine
¼ cup plain greek yogurt
Preheat over to 400 degrees. Mix cubed squash with olive oil, rosemary, salt and pepper in a large bowl and spread on a foil lined 15×10 jelly roll pan that has been sprayed with non-stick cooking spray. Bake 45-50 minutes until squash is fork tender. Allow the squash to cool. While squash is roasting melt the butter in a large stock pot and add the chopped leeks. Turn heat to medium and cook the leeks until translucent, stirring occasionally about 6-8 minutes. Add the cooled squash and the broth, sherry and sage and turn heat to high. …
Smoked Paprika Chickpea and Chard Soup
October has ushered in the fall season and even though the weather has not cooled down during the day, in our hometown, the evenings are brisk and perfect for a bowl of hearty soup. This vegetarian selection of chickpeas and chard combined with nutty farro makes a delicious soup. I served it to our family this weekend and it was a 10 out of 10. As we continue our Healthy Mind and Body challenge we encourage you to join us, click here for more information.
Ingredients
2 Tablespoons olive oil
2 cups chopped carrots
2 cups chopped onion
1 cup chopped celery
1 cup chopped parsley
3 cloves garlic chopped
2 teaspoons fresh rosemary chopped fine
1 bay leaf
3 cups organic vegetable broth
4 cups water
1 ½ teaspoons Spanish smoked paprika
1 teaspoon black pepper
½ teaspoon salt
1 can rinsed and drained chickpeas (garbanzo beans)
1 (14.5 ounce) can fire roasted diced tomatoes, undrained
4 cups chopped swiss chard
3 cups cooked farro (cook as directed on package)
½ cup green onions
½ cup grated parmesan cheese
Directions
Heat olive oil in a large soup pot. Add onions, carrots, celery, parsley, garlic and bay leaf. Cook for 8 minutes until vegetables are tender. Stir frequently. Stir in broth and water and spices, chickpeas and tomatoes. Bring to a boil. Stir in swiss chard and farro and cook until chard wilts. Stir in green onions and top with cheese. Keep well in refrigerator for 5-6 days.
Serves 8
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Simple Chicken Noodle Soup
Simple Chicken Noodle Soup — An EASY, HEALTHY meal that everyone in your family will enjoy! While we were eating this meal, my husband, a self proclaimed expert in the area of EATING 🙂 said,
“I really like this meal! It’s simple, but really good!”
And it is! I like eating the soup plain with lots of the veggies, but my husband loves adding the noodles to his bowl for a more hearty meal.
Ingredients:
Olive Oil
2-3 Chicken Breasts, cubed
Chicken Seasoning
2 Cans Chicken Broth Low Sodium (14.5 oz each)
2 Cups of Water
1/2 Onion, Chopped
2 Large Carrots, Peeled, Sliced, and Halved
1/2 Stalk of Celery
1/2 tsp Salt
1/2 tsp Pepper (add more to taste)
1 Lb Bag Whole Wheat Pasta (Optional- We use penne or fusilli but any pasta will work)
Directions:
1. Chop onion, carrots, and celery. Coat a frying pan with the olive oil and sauté the vegetables, with the salt and pepper, for 5-8 minutes or until almost tender. (We like the veggies to be a little crunchy to add something different to the soup, but this is preference. If you don’t want it as crunchy, sauté longer)
2. Cube the chicken. Coat another frying pan with olive oil and cook the chicken, season with a mild chicken seasoning, until fully cooked.
3. Place the water and chicken broth into a pot. Set aside.
4. Combine the vegetables and chicken in the pot with the chicken broth mixture. Put the burner on medium and stir. Cook until fully heated. Add pepper to taste.
5. (Optional) Cook noodles as instructed on the package while stirring the soup.
6. Serve and Enjoy! Add a delicious cheese bread from a fun bakery or make your own grilled cheese with whole …
Read MoreItalian Kale and White Bean Soup
Kale is one of the new SUPER foods that everyone is talking about. I am always looking for recipes that use kale and this one is absolutely delicious! A friend gave it to me and I made a few adjustments in the seasoning to make it my own.
Ingredients
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 large onion chopped
3 cloves garlic chopped
1 red or yellow bell pepper chopped
4 chicken or turkey Italian sausages (I used Trader Joe’s Sweet Basil Pesto Chicken/Turkey sausage)
1 bag (10 oz) Italian Kale
2 quarts chicken stock
2 cans (14.5 oz) diced tomatoes
1 can (15 oz) Great Northern white beans
1 tsp salt
1 teaspoon seasoned pepper
1-2 teaspoons oregano
Saute the onion and garlic in olive oil. Add the chopped yellow bell pepper and Italian sausages that have ben sliced thin and cook until sausage gets a tiny bit brown. Add chicken stock, diced tomatoes, beans and seasoning. Add kale and bring to a boil. Turn to low and simmer 30-45 minutes until kale is soft and tender. Serve with crusty rustic wheat or sourdough bread.
Have you tried a new recipe using kale? Please share it with us!
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Skinny Vegetable Minestrone Soup
Skinny Vegetable Minestrone Soup (adapted from http://www.gimmesomeoven.com/minestrone-soup/)
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Ingredients…
Vegetable Delight Lentil Soup
It’s cold out there! What better than a warm bowl of soup for dinner. I love soup, but I have a hard time with the cold and dark weather of the winter. So I try to make new recipes for wonderful healthy soups to cheer up my days. Then I get warmed up from the inside out. Here is a recipe I adapted for a healthy lentil soup.
Ingredients: …
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