White Bean and Kale Soup

You will want to eat this soup for breakfast, it is that good.

Olive Oil
1 large onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
1 red bell pepper, chopped
2 carrots, peeled and diced
2 stalks of celery, diced
2 cans white beans, drained and rinsed
4 cups chicken or vegetable broth
1 bunch kale, rinsed, stems removed, and leaves chopped
1 tsp of cayenne pepper
Salt and pepper to taste

In a soup pot or dutch oven, heat about a tablespoon of olive oil over medium heat. Add onion and garlic and cook until onion begins to soften. Add red pepper, carrots and celery and cook until all the vegetables soften. Add in 1 can of the beans and two cups of the broth. Bring to a boil and reduce heat to simmer. Using an immersion blender (or a regular blender, working in small batches) blend the soup until it has thickened and become smooth (blend more or less, depending on your preference). Add remaining broth, second can of beans, kale, and cayenne pepper. Simmer on low for about 30 minutes until kale is soft. Season with salt and pepper as needed.

Red Beans and Rice

When my husband was deployed the first time and I moved into our first apartment by myself, I looked for easy things to make for one person. I love to cook, but I don't cook for just me, so I ate a lot of Lean Cuisine and easy boxed dinners like Zatarain's. While Zatarain's Red Beans and Rice is quite yummy, I realize now that the amount of sodium I took in was outrageous, and there is no way I will feed my little boy salty food like that. So I developed this yummy, cheap, and healthy dinner that is as good, if not better than the boxed stuff!

1 onion, diced
1 carrot, diced
1 red pepper, diced
1 green pepper, diced
2 gloves garlic, minced or pressed
2 cans red beans, drained and rinsed
1 cup uncooked brown or white rice
1/2 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper (more or less, depending on heat preference)
1 tsp paprika
1/4 tsp thyme
1/4 tsp oregano
2 tsp chili powder
2 15 oz cans low sodium chicken/vegetable broth

In a large sauce pan with a lid, heat about a tablespoon of olive oil. Add onion, carrot, peppers, and garlic and saute until veggies soften. Add spices and rice and stir for about a minute, until coated. Add beans and broth, bring to a boil and then reduce heat to simmer and cover. Cook for about 30 minutes until rice is tender and liquid has greatly reduced.

Serve with green onions, sour cream, tortillas, corn bread or whatever your little heart desires.

My Favorite Smoothie

Don't be frightened by the "special" ingredient in this smoothie. You don't even taste it and with all its added benefits, it makes this smoothies especially healthy!

Serves about 2

1 cup plain, nonfat Greek yogurt
1 to 1 1/2 cups frozen strawberries
1 banana
2 cups fresh spinach
1/2 cup orange juice
1/2 cup nonfat milk

Place ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth. Use more or less liquid depending on how thin or thick you like your smoothie.

Fish Tacos with Homemade Salsa and Nonfat Cilantro Lime Dressing

Fish tacos are pretty much the best, especially during summer. They are so fast to make, very healthy, and taste so great. I use tilapia because it is a very inexpensive fish, but very good for you.

(Serves 2)

Salsa
6 roma tomatoes, halved and seeded
1 jalapeno, seeded, deveined, and chopped
1/2 an onion, coarsely chopped
2 cloves garlic
juice of 1/2 a lime

Place all ingredients in a blender and blend until desired consistency. Place in a bowl and refrigerate. When ready to use, pour off some of the excess liquid.

Cilantro Lime Dressing
1/2 c nonfat Greek yogurt
1 handful cilantro (about a 1/2 c)
juice of 1/2 a lime

Blend all ingredients until smooth.
Tacos
2 medium to large tilapia fillets (you could also use salmon or halibut)
1 tbs chili powder
pinch of cayenne pepper
1/2 a lime
Salt and Pepper
About 4-8 corn tortillas, depending if you like to double up

In a dish, place fillets and season with a little salt and black pepper. In a small bowl, combine chili powder, cayenne, and lime, pour mixture over fish and allow to marinate for about 10 minutes.

Heat up an indoor grill (tilapia is a little too fragile for the outdoor grill, unless you use a special pan), grill pan, or nonstick skillet to about 350 degrees that has been sprayed with a little nonstick spray. Put fillets on grill/pan and cook for about 4 minutes per side. Be very gentle when flipping since tilapia is not the sturdiest fish. When cooked, I like to halve the fillets for each taco.

Serve fish on warmed tortillas with the salsa, dressing, avocado, and lettuce.

The Perfect Oatmeal Raisin Cookie

If I said I never had an issue making oatmeal raisin cookies, I would be a big, fat liar. These cookies have eluded me... until now. I had tried every recipe I could find, I tried adding more flour, more oatmeal, less wet ingredients, soaking the raisins, not soaking the raisins, butter, shortening, butter and shortening. But, to be blunt, they all sucked. Today I decided to combine a few different elements from a few different recipes. They rocked. They were chewy, sweet, and just the right mixture of soft and crispy. Plus I made them with my little man, and there is nothing sweeter than that!

Yield-- about 4 dozen

1 c (2 sticks) softened butter
1 c brown sugar
1/2 c white sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/2 c all purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
3 1/2 cups old fashioned 0ats
1 c plump raisins

Preheat oven to 350.

Cream together the butter and sugars. Beat in the eggs one at a time. Add the vanilla and mix in. In a separate bowl combine flour, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon. Slowly add the flour mixture into the butter mixture until just mixed. Add in the oatmeal, one cup at a time, followed by the raisins.

Drop by teaspoonful onto a cookie sheet and bake for 10-12 minutes. Cool on pan for a few minutes then transfer to a cooling wrack.

ENJOY!

Mongolian Chicken

I always order Mongolian Beef from my favorite Chinese food restaurant when I am visiting my parents, but in between visits I make this version to ease my cravings. I made it with chicken this time and it was delicious.

Olive Oil
1 small onions, diced
About a 1/2 tsp fresh ginger, grated
2 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
1/3 c soy sauce
1/2 c water
1/2 c brown sugar
1/2 tbs red pepper flakes
2-3 boneless chicken breasts, cut into bite size pieces
1/4 c corn starch
3 green onions

In a sauce pan, heat about a teaspoon of oil over medium heat. Add onion and cook until translucent. Add ginger and garlic and cook for about a minute, but be sure not to let it burn. Add soy sauce, water, sugar, and pepper flakes. Increase heat to medium high and bring to a boil for about 3 minutes until sauce is thickened.

In a medium sized bowl, add corn starch and chicken. Toss to coat chicken in corn starch. In a large pan or wok, heat about a 1/4 cup of oil until very hot. Add chicken and cook until chicken is brown and slightly crispy, about 7 minutes. Cut a piece of chicken to make sure it is no longer pink. Remove the chicken to a plate lined with a paper towel. Drain excess oil from pan and put the chicken back in. Add sauce and simmer for a minute. Add green onions.

Serve over rice with steamed veggies.

Broccoli Pesto

Who doesn't want to eat more veggies? Ok, maybe a lot of people. But if you are one of the people who wants to fit more veggies into their diet, consider this recipe. It is a great way to pack in a bit more veg, plus it is super yummy.

1 lb of whole wheat pasta
1 large head of broccoli, chopped
1 clove of garlic
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
2 tbs olive oil
1/4 cooking water from pasta (plus more if needed)
Salt and pepper to taste

Cook pasta according to directions.

In a microwave safe bowl, place broccoli and about 1/2 cup of water. Cover and cook at full power for about 5 minutes or until the broccoli is fork tender, but not overcooked. Place broccoli in a food processor with the garlic clove and pulse until well pureed. Add Parmesan and pulse until mixed. Repeat with the cooking water. Drizzle in the olive oil while pulsing the broccoli mixture. Add more cooking water if the pesto is too thick for your taste. Mix with pasta and serve.