Vegetarian White Chili

I got this recipe off of a new favorite website - Sparkpeople.com. It's a great place to track your nutrition and fitness, as well as a good resource for health information.

Ingredients:

• 3 cans white beans (navy, great northern, cannellini, ) undrained
• 1 Onion, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 teaspoon Oregano
• 1 1/2 teaspoon Cumin
• 1/4 teaspoon Ground Cloves
• 1/4 teaspoon Cayenne
• 2 cups water (more or less depending on taste)

Directions: Combine all ingredients in a crock pot or soup pot and heat. Serve with Whole wheat rolls. Serves 6. If you have room for some more calories in your day, add cooked shredded chicken breast.

Nutritional Info (without chicken)
Fat: 0.5g
Carbohydrates: 22.0g
Calories:119.4
Protein: 7.9g

Creamy Tomato Bisque

Oh my goodness, has it really been nearly a month since my last recipe? Oh this just won't do! Here's tonight's dinner - Creamy Tomato Bisque. I love it served with a salad and French Bread, but if you need to serve more people, use it as a sauce on Pasta! I actually got this recipe from my friend Karol. She thought of it when we shared our dinner at Palermo, Elk Grove's best Italian Ristorante! I made a few adjustments, mostly due to not shopping in advance!

Ingredients:

• ½ cup chopped onions (chop them as small as possible! A pampered Chef food chopper works wonders!)
• 3/4 cup unsalted (I used salted) butter
• pinch dill seed
• dash dill weed
• 1 tsp. oregano
• 1 tsp. basil
• 1 28-ounce can crushed tomatoes (add an extra can of tomatoes if tripling recipe)
• 2 cups chicken broth
• 4 Tbsp. flour
• 2 tsp. salt
• pinch white pepper
• ¼ cup chopped fresh parsley (I used some fresh, some dried)
• 2 Tbsp. honey
• 2 cups heavy cream
• 1 cup half and half
• 1/2 cup gorgonzola or parmesean cheese

Directions:
If you have a food processor - get it out. You'll need it to puree the soup. If you DON'T have a food processor, I advise chopping the onions to smithereens before cooking, and combining all other veggies and herbs in a blender before they go in the soup pot.

In a large pot, saute onions in 6 Tbsp. butter along with dill seed, dill weed, and herbs for 5 minutes, or until onions are translucent. Add tomatoes and chicken broth and heat.

Make a roux (thickening paste) by blending 4 Tbsp. butter and 4 Tbsp. flour, whisking constantly over medium heat for 3 minutes, without browning. Add roux to soup and whisk to blend. Add salt and pepper. Bring to a boil, stirring occasionally, Reduce heat and simmer 15 minutes. Add chopped parsley, honey, cream, half and half and cheese. Remove from heat and puree. Strain. (I just poured it through a wire strainer). Reheat to serve. Since this soup is thin, it is best served in a mug. Dip Fresh warm french bread in it if you like!

Repost into it's own blog - Twice baked Potatoes

Twice baked potatoes

I’ve made these so much I don’t have an “actual” recipe any more. So this is less than precise! Let me know if something is really unclear!

Bake potatoes [1.11 for 2], and allow to cool. Cut in half lengthwise to make “boats”. Scoop out the meat of the potato, leaving about ¼ of an inch on the skin. (If it's hard to get the potato scooped, bake some more!)
Put the potato innards in a bowl and add some combination of:

• butter (about ½ tablespoon per potato) [on hand]
• salt
• pepper
• cream (either sour cream or whipping cream, a dash of milk works too.) [1.79 for half pint]
• chopped onion (green, white, red or yellow, or just some dried minced onion) [0.44]
• garlic (fresh minced or powder) [on hand]
• bacon pieces [3.35]
• Chopped Broccoli [1.00]
• Shredded cheese (or save to sprinkle on top) [2.50]
• Beaten Egg whites (this makes it fluffy, but it's still optional!, add last and fold into the mixture gently) [on hand - Mom has chickens]

Spoon the mixture back into the potatoes, and bake at 375 for about 20-30 minutes (long enough that they’re hot in the middle!) You’ll probably have leftover filling, so have an oven safe bowl around to cook that in. That’s your leftovers to take to work the next day.
[This costs about $12 to make 4 potatoes or 8 servings]