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.

Happy Birthday!-Kerala Style Beef Stew

January  19th marks my blog's 3rd birthday. Hard to imagine, because I feel like I have been writing on this thing forever. I actually double-checked to make sure I was right. This is my 175th post in three years!
This recipe is for my sister, Abby. She loves, I mean loves this stew. It is a standard beef stew with a couple of different ingredients, and the result is absolutely delicious.
I don't have a picture. I will get one soon.
I have made a few slight changes, but for the most part it is just like the recipe I read in Bon Appetit. It has coconut milk in it, but don't let that deter you from trying it. My sister and dad and mom don't like coconut AT ALL, but they love this soup. It is a bit sweet and a bit spicy, and so different from your usual beef stew.
My sister liked it so much she asked me to make it on her birthday. And then she asked me for the recipe, so I told her I would post it here.

No Complaints- Chicken and Dumplings

I know making meals that please the whole family, and are healthy, that don't take up your whole evening are sometimes difficult to come up with. Trust me. I know. My husband likes spicy, my dad doesn't. I love trying new things, my mom doesn't. Middle son doesn't like potatoes, my sister doesn't like condiments, fresh tomatoes, or anything out of the ordinary. My oldest son doesn't really care for fresh veggies, or large pieces of cooked veggies. I try to cook low calorie, our youngest son needs high calorie foods. On top of all the preferences, we are very busy. My husband has two jobs, I teach music lessons part time and home school our two oldest children. Gasp. I know. It wasn't my plan, but our youngest son has special needs and we end up traveling several times a month for appointments. Add to that his therapy sessions and it seemed best for everyone if I home schooled. For now.

For those of you who don't know, our youngest son was diagnosed with William's Syndrome about two years ago, when he was eight months old.

Beef with Tomato Gravy

On these cool wintery days I find myself craving comfort food. Gravy, mashed potatoes, buttery peas, and homemade desserts. The sort of food that you just can't find when you eat out.
Here is a recipe born out of desire. Just kidding. Well...maybe not. I was in the mood for something a bit like beef stew, but I didn't have the time or ingredients to make beef burgundy. So I took some elements that are usually present, trimmed it down and created another dish. My sister said she likes this better. I am not so sure, but it is up there. This has more tomato flavor, and a thick, rich gravy envelopes the small bits of meat. Some creamy, buttery mashed potatoes make the perfect vehicle for this gravy. And like I said, throw some buttery peas up in there and you have a deliciously comforting dinner in about 35 minutes. Not bad.

Beef with Tomato Gravy

2 Tablespoon bacon grease, plus 4 Tablespoons
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 lb beef stew meat, chopped into small pieces
1/4 cup flour, plus 1/4 cup
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
 1/4 teaspoon espresso powder
1 12 oz can tomato sauce
4 teaspoons beef bouillon
1 Tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1/8 cup brown sugar
1 cup carrots, thinly sliced
1 sprig thyme (about 4 inches)
Chopped parsley for garnish

Heat 2 Tablespoons bacon grease in a large pot or dutch oven over medium heat with onion. Cook until onion is soft. Combine 1/4 cup flour with salt and pepper. Dredge beef pieces. Drop into hot fat and cook for 4-6 minutes, until browned. Remove with a slotted spoon. Meanwhile, mix tomato sauce, beef bouillon, Worcestershire sauce, and brown sugar with enough water to equal four cups. Heat in the microwave or in a saucepan.
Add 4 Tablespoons bacon grease or butter to pan drippings and melt. Add 1/4 cup flour and 1/4 teaspoon espresso powder, and whisk, cooking until dark brown.
Add heated tomato sauce mixture, whisking until smooth. Add beef, carrots, and thyme. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer, cover, and continue cooking for about 20 minutes more.
Serve over mashed potatoes or rice.
Garnish with fresh parsley.

Happy Autumnal Equinox

I like soup. There is something downright homey about a pot of soup simmering away all day on the stove, tantalizing everyone with its aromas, and the occasional rattling lid. Whether it is for a first course, or just served with a grilled cheese sandwich as dinner, I am really quite fond of soup. It changes so easily, and can accommodate so many extra ingredients. Just a dash of this, a dab of that, and a handful of chopped vegetables (that would otherwise be left to eventually meet their end in the compost pile) and you can change a soup entirely. Add some cream or noodles, voila. A bit of shredded beef or some shrimp, some beans and fresh herbs and you are crossing continents. I cannot say I had anything to do with this recipe. I wish I could say I altered the ingredients, or improved upon it in some way, but you can see it in all its glory right here, exactly the way I found it.

There was a large pile of fresh, ripe tomatoes sitting on the counter, wondering if they would be left to shrivel or turned into something marvelous. I wanted to redeem them, I truly did, but I was trying my best to use what was in the fridge.
But, I was in one of those moods. The mood where I don't leave the kitchen until the sink is full of dishes and the counters are lined with cooling racks, loaded with goodies. The unfortunate part was, its not quite cool enough to do that so the entire house was a bit warmer than was appreciated. It always happens when the mornings start getting cooler, and I get that fall itch to start making soups, roasts, and sweet goodies.
I wanted to blog about this, not so I could share some wonderful recipe I developed, but so next fall, when I feel like defying the last of summer's heat, I will know just where to find the perfect recipe to use up the last of those fresh, garden tomatoes.
Serves 4
Soup

3 pounds plum tomatoes, halved lengthwise
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 large or 4 small cloves garlic, unpeeled
1 teaspoon finely chopped fresh thyme leaves or 1/4 teaspoon dried
1/2 teaspoon dried crushed red pepper
4 cups chicken  stock
Lid
6 1-inch slices from a large loaf of sourdough or bread of your choice, buttered, cut into cubes and toasted until hard.
1 tablespoon grated raw onion
1 cup coarsely grated cheddar (or more to taste)
Make soup: Preheat oven to 400°F. Wrap garlic cloves in a tight foil packet. Place tomatoes, cut side up, on large baking sheet. Sprinkle generously with salt and pepper. Drizzle tomatoes with olive oil. Add foil packet of garlic to tray. Place on center rack of the oven and roast until tomatoes are brown and tender (garlic will be very tender), about 1 hour. Cool slightly.

Unwrap garlic packet and peel cloves. Transfer cloves, tomatoes and any accumulated juices to a blender or food processor and pulse machine on and off until tomatoes are a chunky puree. Transfer tomatoes to medium pot and add thyme, crushed red pepper and stock and bring to a boil Reduce heat to a simmer and cook, uncovered, for 25 minutes. Remove from heat and adjust seasonings to taste.
Create cheddar lid: Preheat oven to 350. Arrange four ovenproof soup bowls, crocks or large mugs on a large, foil-lined baking sheet. Stir grated onion into the warm soup. Float bread cubes in each bowl and divide grated cheese generously over top. Bake soups on tray for 15 to 20 minutes, until cheese on top is bubbling and brown at the edges. Serve immediately.

To Soup or Not To (Spicy Sausage and Fennel Soup)

I felt like it was very appropriate to write about soup today. It is one of those wonderful things we can look forward to in the wintertime. On a cold winter day, there is nothing quite as satisfying as coming home to a bowl of something that has been simmering on the stove all day. Soup is so versatile. It can be made from all kinds of  vegetables, pretty much anything you have lying around. You can just chop up a bunch of stuff and throw it in there and it will pretty much end up delicious. As I am writing this I am going through different soups in my mind. I think I am going to make a spicy sausage, potato, and kale soup (zuppa toscana) again. So good and satisfying! We also love roasted butternut squash soup around here. Chicken noodle, turkey and dumplings, and spicy wonton soup. French onion soup made it to our Thanksgiving Dinner, year before last. A delicious and flavorful addition to your holiday buffet. Minestrone ("the big soup" or "the one with many ingredients") is delicious with just about anything you want to throw in there. Noodles, zucchini, tomatoes, sausage, chicken, etc. you name it, throw it in there.

There is another soup we really enjoy, and that is a spicy sausage and fennel tomato soup. It is an adaption of one of Rachel Ray's recipe adaptions. You begin by browning some spicy sausage with olive oil. After that, saute some onions, garlic and fennel until soft. You add beef stock, tomato puree and some spices, and viola! A wonderfully flavorful and satisfying soup. It is especially good with a grilled cheese sandwich, made with brown sugar ham and provolone or manchengo cheese on sliced, fresh artisan bread.

I know what we are having for dinner tonight....

Spicy Sausage and Fennel Soup

1 Tablespoon Olive Oil

1 pound hot Italian sausage (if you prefer you can use mild)

1 fennel bulb, thinly sliced

1 medium onion, diced

4 cloves of garlic, smashed

3 cups beef stock

1 (28-ounce) can of crushed tomatoes

salt and pepper to taste

Place a large pot on the stove over medium high heat. Add the olive oil and sausage. Brown sausage and remove with a slotted spoon to a bowl. Reduce heat to medium and add fennel, onion, and garlic, and cook for about 10 minutes, or until the onion is soft. Add the beef stock, cooked sausage and crushed tomatoes. Simmer for another 15-20 minutes, or until the soup has thickened.

Serve with grilled ham and cheese....yummy!

Warm Thoughts

I keep notebooks. What I mean is, I write things down; things that I plan to do, things I make, recipes, ideas, short stories and math problems. I make lists and lists and lists. I make lists of what I should do each day, what I am going to make for meals for the next two weeks, what I should buy from the store, what we should have on Thanksgiving and what I am going to buy people for Christmas. If I lost my notebook, I don't know what I would do.
Once, when I was catering a banquet, one of the servers got my book wet. I almost lost it. I started freaking out. Everything is in that book. Notes on food, amounts, time lines, and measurements. I know, I sound a bit obsessive, but we have to have some measure of stability in this ever-changing world, and my stability is my notebook.
So, as I was flipping through my notebook today, I found this recipe for soup. I like soup. Especially on a cool day, or when I don't want to fuss too much with something. I like to just throw everything into a big pot and let it simmer away. It's comforting, it's quick and usually it's easy.
That is the case with this soup. I had a jar of homemade beef and barley soup on hand that I needed to use up, we had already had beef and barley soup a few times (this is what happens when you don't can something properly-you have a limited amount of time to consume 5 quarts of beef and barley soup) anywhoo...
I was tired of the beef and barley soup, so I decided to gussy it up a bit, and make a Mexican soup. I chopped away and threw everything into the pot. It was really good. It's a fairly light dish. It was easy. It was fast.
Did I mention it was really good?
I think chicken and rice soup would be a better base, so that is what I am going to call for in this recipe. This soup is really good. I can't say that enough. I really like it. A little spicy, just the way I like it. As a matter of fact, I think I will have some now...

Fast and Easy Chicken Tortilla Soup

1 32 oz Can condensed chicken and rice soup
+ 1 can water
1 Green bell pepper, chopped
1 Large tomato, chopped
3 Small corn tortillas, cut into strips
1 Tablespoon cumin
1 Tablespoon Mexican hot sauce, like Tapatio
1 Lime, cut into 6 wedges
Additional hot sauce

For garnish (optional, but I would recommend it):
Sour cream
Grated cheddar cheese
Cilantro

Combine soup and water, bell pepper, tomato, corn tortillas, cumin and hot sauce in a large saucepan. Bring to a simmer. Ladle soup into bowls and squeeze one lime wedge over each bowl, and drop in a few extra drops of hot sauce. Add sour cream, cheddar cheese and cilantro if desired.

Serves 4