Spicy Corn Soup

This recipe was an attempt to experiment with some CSA corn on the cob.  Unfortunately the corn didn't turn out after I boiled it, so I used canned instead.  This soup turned out spicy with a ton of flavor!

Servings: 6
Size: 1 1/2 cup
Points Plus: 3 pp
Level of Difficulty: Easy
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Rating: 3 stars - Good

Ingredient List: 
1 T. olive oil
1/2 cup white onion, chopped small
1 red pepper, chopped
1 green pepper, chopped
1 clove garlic
1 Kohlrabi, shredded
2 cups of corn
6 cups of chicken stock
1 bay leaf
1 can spicy Ro*tel tomatoes
1 1/2 t. ground cumin
1 t. ground turmeric
Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
Heat olive oil in dutch oven.  Sautee onion, peppers and garlic for about 5 minutes.  Add remaining ingredients and bring to a boil.  Let simmer for about 30 minutes.  Don't forget to remove the bay leaf before serving!

Tip:
I used Kohlrabi in place of a potato and it turned out really nice.  I also shredded it to add a different texture than the other chopped veggies!

XOXO - Katie

Breakfast Tacos

Saturday morning we decided to come up with a creative breakfast simply by using up what we had in our fridge!  Paul came up with the idea for these breakfast tacos since we had some leftover corn tortillas and an avocado.  This makes for an easy breakfast!

Servings:  2

Size:  2 breakfast tacos

Points Plus: 8pp

Level of Difficulty:  Easy

Prep Time: n/a

Cook Time: 10 minutes

Rating: 4 stars – Very good

Ingredient List:

3 eggs

4 corn tortillas

½ Tbsp. olive oil

½ avocado, diced

3 Tbsp. salsa

2 oz. shredded cheddar, reduced-fat

Salt & pepper to taste

Directions:

In a large frying pan, prepared scrambled eggs seasoned with salt and pepper.  In a small skillet, lightly fry/brown the corn tortillas in olive oil.  Dice the avocado.  Assemble the tacos by layering eggs, salsa, and avocado and sprinkle the top with cheese.  Enjoy!

Tip:

You can easily adapt these tacos to whatever you have on hand or any ingredients you really like!  Some people aren’t huge fans of avocado so go ahead and substitute other veggies into your breakfast tacos instead.

XOXO Megan

Pasta with Cauliflower and Orange

You may remember me mentioning Bar La Grassa aka the best restaurant of all time.  Anywhoo, they make an amazing AMAZING gnocchi dish with roasted cauliflower and a creamy orange sauce that is just really amazing! I have been wanting to recreate it for a long time, and when we receive a fresh head of cauliflower in our CSA this week I knew the time had come.  I didn't have any gnocchi at home, but decided to go for it using regular pasta.  This recipe is a great example of how you can eat healthy while still using 'taboo' (delish) ingredients.  For example, heavy whipping cream?!?!?*  I created just enough sauce to create a strong creamy orange flavor to cover the pasta without over doing it (meaning using more sauce than needed).  Next up, their lobster and soft egg bruscetta - for real I have the recipe!

Servings: 2

Size: 2 cups! (see tip below)

Points Plus: 9pp

Level of Difficulty: Easy

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 25 minutes

Rating: 5 stars - Excellent!!!!!!

Ingredient List:

1 head uncooked cauliflower

1 T. olive oil

Red pepper flakes to taste (optional)

Salt and pepper

1 cup uncooked whole wheat pasta

1/4 cup heavy whipping cream

1 T. orange juice 

Garlic salt, to taste

A sprinkle of parsley for color

Directions:

Preheat your oven to 500 degrees. Cut cauliflower into small pieces (chunks) OR slice it thin as they do at Bar La Grassa. Put cauliflower on a large cookie sheet, don't crowd, and sprinkle with salt, pepper and red pepper flakes to taste.  Put in the oven and roast for 17 minutes, stirring every 5.  Cauliflower should be browned. While cauliflower is roasting boil water in a small sauce pan and cook noodles according to package directions.  When pasta is done put it into a large bowl.  In the same small saucepan heat heavy cream, orange juice and a sprinkle of garlic powder.  When warmed pour over pasta and stir.  Then add cauliflower to bowl and season with salt and pepper to taste!  I added a sprinkle of parsley solely for adding color purposes. 

Tip: 

I LOVED this recipe (duh), but a few suggestions.  I think adding a few snipped chives on top would be delish.  If you like a stronger orange flavor add a touch of orange zest during the final steps.  Try it with 1 cup of gnocchi!

*My husband, who is not a Weight Watcher, said that he would have liked more sauce.  I disagree, but feel free to double the sauce for additional points plus!

Finally, I am a 'quantity eater' so 2 cups was a nice dinner for me.  You could split this recipe into 4 1 cup servings for 5 pp eat.

XOXO Katie

Turkey and Feta Stuffed Peppers

I found this recipe on Pinterest and it comes from the eatliverun blog.  This was an easy weeknight meal for Paul and me.  I loved that it made four servings too – sometimes it’s so nice to have leftovers and not have to cook again!

Servings:  4

Size:  1 stuffed bell pepper

Points Plus: 7pp

Level of Difficulty:  Easy

Prep Time: 25 minutes

Cook Time:  30 minutes

Rating: 4 stars – Very good

Ingredient List:

4 large green bell peppers

1.5 lbs ground turkey

1 28 oz. can diced tomatoes

1 small onion, diced

1 Tbsp. olive oil

2 tsp. minced garlic

2 Tbsp. tomato paste

2 tsp. dried oregano

1 tsp. dried basil

¼ tsp. red pepper flakes

2 tsp. kosher salt

1 cup crumbled feta cheese, reduced-fat

Directions:

In a large skillet, heat the olive oil over medium heat.  Add in the diced onion and garlic – sauté until the onion is tender, about 5 minutes.  Add in the tomato paste and mix well.  Next, add the ground turkey, breaking into smaller pieces; cook until browned.  Add in the can of diced tomatoes along with the oregano, basil, red pepper flakes and salt.  Simmer and cook the mixture for about 15-20 minutes to help reduce the sauce down.  While the turkey is browning, wash the green bell peppers and slice off the top and remove the seeds and fleshy part inside the peppers.  Line a cookie sheet with tinfoil and place the peppers on it.  Once your turkey stuffing is done cooking, scoop the mixture into each pepper.  Top each pepper with crumbled feta.  Place another piece of tinfoil over the tops of the peppers to seal.  Bake your peppers in a 350° oven for approximately 30 minutes.

Tip:

My pepper stuffing mixture ended up being very runny – I would recommend trying to drain out some of the liquid from the can of diced tomatoes to help cut back on this.

XOXO Megan

Salad for One! (chicken, veggies, cottage cheese and evoo)

Sometimes salads sound so blaaaaaah.  Sometimes all you need though, is a new mix of salad ingredients to reinvigorate your salad love.  Example - one day my weight watchers leader said 'I love to mix cucumbers, tomatoes, lettuce, feta, evoo and salt'! I went home, made that salad, and then ate it practically every day for weeks!  Here is an easy salad that I made in an effort to use up some CSA veggies. Also, I am a quantity eater, and I love that this salad is huge, filled my WHOLE plate and made me full. It is packed with protein and made for a great dinner for one!

Servings: 1

Size: 1 salad!

Points Plus: 9 pp (keep in mind this salad is HUGE and could be split in 1/2)

Level of Difficulty: Easy

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Cook Time: n/a

Rating: 3 stars - Good

Ingredient List: 

1 handful of mixed greens

4 oz. rotisserie chicken

1/2 cup sliced cucumber

1/2 tomato

2 T. fat free feta

1/2 cup 1% cottage cheese

4 basil leaves, chopped

1 t. olive oil

Kosher salt

Directions:

Mix first 7 ingredients in a bowl. Add olive oil and salt, then toss.  Put on a plate and enjoy!

Tip:

1. I love using cottage cheese as salad dressing, try it! 2. There is something about tossing your salad together at home that makes it feel fancier, try it!

XOXO Katie

Mint, Cucumber and Bubbly Vodkas

This is a light, summery drink that is oh so good!  My friend Jessica made this as our signature cocktail for my bachelorette party last weekend.  I love any cocktail that involves a simple syrup and I especially love ones with champagne.  I LOVE champagne!! 

*This recipe came from the MN Monthly magazine.

Servings: 1

Size: 6 oz.

Points Plus: 5pp

Level of Difficulty: Medium (just because of the simple syrup) 

Prep Time: Syrup - 25 minutes; Cocktail - 2 minutes
Cook Time: n/a
Rating: 4 stars - Very Good

Ingredients:

Ingredients for 1 drink:

1 1/2 oz. Prairie Vodka

3 oz. honey-mint-cucumber simple syrup

2 oz. champagne

Simple Syrup:

1 cup honey

2 cup water

Handful of mint leaves

1 6-inch cucmber, grated
Pinch of sea salt

Directions:
Prepare the simply syrup by simmering the honey with water and mint leaves until reduced by half or about 20 minutes.  In a small bowl, grate the cucumber and add the pinch of sea salt; let stand.  When the syrup is reduced, pour over the grated cucumber.  Cool to room temperature, then strain into a jar and chill.
Note: The simple syrup will last you through multiple cocktails. The pp value above is for just one drink. 

To prepare one cocktail, add the drink ingredients into a chilled glass.  We chose to use stemless wine glasses.

Tip:
The lemon zester I mentioned in this post would work GREAT for grating the cucumber for the simple syrup - test it out when you make this summer drink!

XOXO Megan

Caprese Salad

Everyone loves a caprese salad, especially during the summer months when fresh tomatoes are EVERYWHERE!  A caprese salad can be an appetizer, side dish or even sometimes a full meal.  I served this as the first course to a multiple course Italian feast, and it was the perfect size to get things rolling.

Servings: 4
Size: 1 caprese stack
Points Plus: 3pp
Level of Difficulty: Easy
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: n/a
Rating: 4 stars - Very Good

Ingredient List:
1 Heirloom tomato
4 t. olive oil
5 basil leaves
4 oz. fresh mozzarella
Kosher salt and pepper

Directions: 
Slice your tomato into four thick pieces horizontally, saving the top and bottom piece for personal consumption (0pp)! Slice your mozzarella ball into 4 1 oz slices horizontally.  Clean your basil leaves.  Layer on each serving plate 1 tomato slice, 1 basil leaf and 1 mozzarella slice. Drizzle each serving with 1 t. olive oil and then salt and pepper to taste.

Tip:
This is hands down the BEST cheese knife ever.  It works best for soft cheese, and makes cutting nice and clean.  The knife is a little pricey but for sure worth the investment!

XOXO - Katie