Italian Soup with Cornmeal Dumplings (my favorite diet food)

Lately I have been trying to slim down. I have been cutting out butter, bacon, pastry, baking, cookies, sugar, coffee, dressing, breads, grains, sweets, rice, pasta, desserts, and potatoes. I have been eating lettuce and chicken.
Just kidding.

But sometimes it feels like that-right?
My husband told me that  friend of his has been eating light soups. I checked the price and at 2.99 each can, my budget can't handle that. I opted to make my own soup, that costs around $5 and lasts all week for me, my husband, and my sister.
In my quest for a comfort food lunch that still met my lo-cal requirements, I made up this soup. I hope you enjoy it, and you will find the dumplings are delicious and satisfying, but far lower in calories due to the cornmeal and restricted butter.

Italian Soup with Cornmeal Dumplings

For the soup:
12 cups chicken stock
2 cups carrots, in a large dice
1 cup sliced celery
1 cup green beans, cut into 1-inch pieces
1/2 cup chopped onions
4 cloves of garlic, chopped
1 bell pepper, chopped
2 cups shredded chicken
2 Tablespoons tomato paste
1 Tablespoon Italian seasoning

6 cups spinach (for serving)
1 bunch parsley (for serving)

For the dumplings:
2/3 cup flour
1/3 cup cornmeal
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 Tablespoon butter
1/2 cup buttermilk

Makes 12 servings

Combine soup ingredients in a large saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and cook until the vegetables are soft, about 25 mins.

Meanwhile, make the dumpling dough. Combine the flour, cornmeal, baking powder, sugar and salt in a medium bowl. Work in the butter with your fingers. Add the buttermilk and stir with a spoon.
Drop pea-sized dumplings into the soup and cook for another 5 minutes or until the dumplings puff up and are cooked through.

Ladle soup into a bowl, top with 1/2 cup spinach and chopped parsley.

For your information, the dumplings are fine if you refrigerate the leftovers. They absorb more liquid as they sit so you might need to thin out the soup with more chicken stock.

Chicken with Asian Peanut Sauce

On the heels of my DIY peanut butter post I thought it would be highly appropriate to include a recipe that uses peanut butter! I know there is not a lack of recipes using peanut butter, but this one is so delicious, so easy, and just, plain, different, that I wanted to share it. This is one of the best kept Asian secrets ever. I don't know why its not more popular, and when you take one taste, you will see what I am saying. You might think to yourself, at first, that you are not sure if you should try an Asian peanut butter sauce. TRUST ME. This passes Everybody's Preference Test (also know as EPT-the test all foods must pass to be fed to the family) with flying colors. You could use it with beef or tofu, or even just vegetables. You could also toss it with Asian noodles, or use it on a cabbage salad for an Asian inspired cole slaw. It adds a wonderful dimension to your same old-same old Asian cooking. You will like having this one in your back pocket.

Chicken with Asian Peanut Sauce

For the chicken;
1 lb chicken, cut into bite size pieces
1 Tablespoon Asian sesame oil
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper

For the sauce:
1/2 cup creamy peanut butter (homemade works great, if you have it)

1/3 cup water
2 Tablespoons soy sauce
2 Tablespoons rice vinegar
1 Tablespoon honey
1 Tablespoon Asian sesame oil
1 1/2 teaspoons grated fresh ginger (I always buy this brand from the refrigerator section at the grocery store-delicious fresh flavor)
1 medium clove of garlic, minced
1/4 cup cilantro leaves
pinch of cayenne pepper or dash of chili sauce

4 cups steamed broccoli (or vegetable of your choice)
4 cups steamed white rice

thinly sliced green onions for serving

Allow the chicken to marinate for 10-20 minutes, or up to overnight. Quickly fry in a hot saucepan for 3-4 minutes, or until cooked through. Combine sauce ingredients in a blender or food processor. Toss chicken with a little bit of the sauce. Place rice and broccoli on a plate, top with chicken more sauce, and green onions. This can also be served satay style, by skewering the chicken and grilling it, brushing it with the sauce periodically.

Panko and Coconut Crusted Steelhead

We love fish around here. Anything that comes from the ocean makes us happy, even the littlest of the crew. When we were first married, we were staying with my parents in between apartments, and our money was tight. It was so tight I was selling stuff out of the closet and wondering how we would get ourselves out of the mess we were in. I had told my husband not to spend a penny on anything. I found something in the freezer to make for dinner. Fish sticks. The corn dog of the sea. I felt some nostalgia about the, we ate them on a fairly regular basis growing up. My mom had a little stash so I threw them in the oven and made a side. On his way home, my husband asked what was for dinner. I almost didn't tell him, because I thought he might turn up his nose, but I told him anyway.
At dinner he didn't quite finish all his food, telling me that he wasn't feeling that good. I thought it was a little odd, but I had other things to be worried about. He got in the shower and I started a load of laundry. While emptying his pockets, I found a receipt for gas station food. I felt my blood pressure rising, and it all came down. I just could not believe that I told him we had no money, and he went and bought food at the gas station when there was dinner at home! I don't remember exactly what happened, probably because I blacked out from lack of oxygen to my brain.

Needless to say I have never made fish sticks again. But, that doesn't mean baked fish is off the menu. This crunchy panko and coconut crusted steelhead is a new family favorite. It's like coconut shrimp with this dipping sauce that goes along side, but a lot more bang for your buck. And nobody is throwing this baby in the trash.
 You can make this without coconut, for those who don't like it, or put the whole thing on chicken, for those who don't like fish (we have a little bit of all of that living in the same house right now)
Panko and Coconut Crusted Steelhead with Tangy Citrus Dipping Sauce

1 1/2 lbs steelhead, any skin removed, cut into 1-inch wide pieces
1 cup coconut sweetened shredded coconut
1 cup panko
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
3 eggs

Dipping Sauce:

1/2 cup orange marmalade
1 Tablespoon stone ground mustard
1/4 cup honey
3 dashes hot sauce (such as Tabasco)
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes

Preheat the oven to 450. Prepare a tray with foil or parchment paper. Sprinkle the salt and pepper over the fish. Crack eggs into a bowl and scramble with a fork. Combine coconut and panko in a bowl. Dip fish into egg, then coconut panko mixture. Press mixture into the fish pieces. Place on baking sheet and put into the oven. Bake for 10-12 minutes, or until fish is done.

Combine all of the dipping sauce ingredients into a small saucepan on the stove. Heat over medium heat until simmering.

Sloppy Joe's and the Boyfriend

You know when you have one of those days. It's really long, really tiring, and instead of just getting a pizza or something, you dutifully head to the kitchen. Or, you decide what you are going to make on your way home from the very long day, but you need a few things from the grocery store. Then, while you are at the grocery store, with three little monkeys hanging on you, your sister calls, and asks if Boyfriend can come over. Sure. Why not. So, you buy another package of ground beef, to make the meal stretch, and another bag of chips, to go with salsa. Forty minutes later, leaving the store, your sister tells you Boyfriend's not coming. Ok, you can put the beef in the freezer.
You get home and start cooking. There's a text message from your sister:  Boyfriend is coming. Fine. Start cooking. Chopping veggies while 6-year-old Boy is freaking out because his video game isn't working. Mommy fixes it. Trying to put a load in the dishwasher while 2-year-old Boy is screaming at you because he doesn't want the yogurt you're trying to feed him, he wants whats cooking on the stove. Buttering bread. 3-year-old Boy is chanting, "I need milk. I need milk. I need milk.", while spinning figure eights in the kitchen.
It all comes to a head when dinner takes longer than you think, and after it's all said and done, Boyfriend doesn't want to eat. You narrow your eyes, wondering if he's not who he pretends to be. Then consider smashing his face into the plate of food, but realize that may not be the best choice. Instead you scrape all the extra meat you made into a container for the fridge, and call it a night. Sound familiar?
 


Sloppy Joe's

2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 an onion, chopped
1 jalapeño pepper, diced

1 green bell pepper, diced
3 cloves crushed garlic
2 pounds ground beef
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon pepper
1 cup tomato sauce
3 tablespoons tomato paste
1/2 cup ketchup
1 teaspoon Tabasco sauce
2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
3 Tablespoons brown sugar

Heat oil in large frying pan over medium heat. When oil is hot, add the onion, jalapeño, and bell pepper. Cook until soft. Add the garlic and continue cooking for 3 or 4 minutes.

Increase heat to medium-high and add the ground beef to the skillet. Cook meat until browned (about 10 to 12 minutes). Season with salt and pepper.

Lower heat back to medium and add the tomato sauce, paste, ketchup, Tabasco, Worcestershire sauce, and brown sugar. Cook, stirring, until the liquid is reduced and the mixture is thick (15 to 30 minutes).

Season with salt and pepper and serve on toasted hamburger buns.

Have a little leftover? Make sloppy joe nachos with cheddar cheese and sour cream. Yum Yum!

Pomegranate Mustard Pork Chops

During the warmer days of late spring, when we are tempted to laze about outside with a cool drink and let the children play in the shade, nobody wants to spend hours in the kitchen 'slaving' over a hot stove to yield a delicious roast or a stew. We crave light dishes with bright flavors and minimal effort, usually with a bit a healthy spin to try and counter act the excessive eating we have been doing during the previous, cooler months. What's funny about the meals during these months, is that they don't generate the hype that those comfort foods do.

Crispy, crunchy

I really love reading through cookbooks. If I haven't looked through one in a while, I will just put it on my nightstand, and pick it up when I am trying to get sleepy or waiting to watch a movie. I love cookbooks that have lots of pictures (sad...I know) and who's author shares personal experiences and thoughts. One of my favorite books is Feast by Nigella Lawson. It is really fantastic. She has food for every special occasion you can think of, and an entire chapter devoted to chocolate cakes! You should buy the book just for that!
I love her book because she thinks of food the way I do. Over the top. Large portions. It's fun to eat and make things that are delicious and decadent, but you don't always have time.
That's where this recipe comes in. I was reading through her book...again...and I came across a recipe for crispy pork chops. We like pork chops, but I always ALWAYS make this recipe. It's delicious, and we all love it. It's also great for company, which is another reason I love making it. But when I read this recipe in Nigella's book, I thought...I need to switch up the pork chops a little bit...and as I perused the ingredient list, thinking of how the flavors will go with each other, I began thinking to myself that this dish would be absolutely amazing.
So, I put it on the menu. About a week later, I made it for my family, and it was just as delicious as I thought it would be. I had changed around a few of the ingredients, but if you look at the original recipe it is quite similar.
Another bonus about this meal...its quick. Perfect for a night when you want a quick and easy dinner...especially when there are no kids around, since this is a quick dinner for two. There is a healthy dose of garlic, so eat up and smooch while you both have garlicky breath.

Crunchy Pork Chops

2 8-oz thin-sliced pork chops
1 egg
1 Tablespoon Dijon
½ teaspoon dried, ground oregano
1 cup breadcrumbs
2 Tablespoons Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup oil for frying
3 medium tomatoes
½ clove garlic, minced
1 Tablespoon olive oil
Juice from ½ a lemon
4 cups baby spinach leaves, washed
Combine egg, mustard, oregano, and salt and pepper in a shallow dish. In another dish, combine bread crumbs and Parmesan cheese.
Press the chops into the egg mixture, coating both sides. Then dip the chops into the breadcrumbs, covering them evenly. Let them lie on a wire rack to dry slightly while you heat the oil in a large frying pan. You need to cook the chops until they’re a deep golden color, about 5-7 minutes a side.
Meanwhile, quarter the tomatoes and take out the seeds, then cut them into strips and dice them. Combine diced tomato, minced garlic, oil and lemon juice in a bowl, and add salt and pepper.
When the chops are ready, toss the spinach in the tomato mixture, and divide the salad between two large plates, and place pork chop alongside.