Creamy Basil Polenta with Roasted Tomatoes

I am a huge fan of polenta that comes in a log (see polenta pizzas!), but I always like to try new things.  SO - when I saw this recipe for the creamy polenta verity I wanted to give it a try.  This is a very filling dinner, my husband couldn't event eat his full portion! Original recipe found here.

Servings: 3
Serving Size: About 1 cup polenta and 1/2 cup roasted tomatoes
Points Plus: 7pp
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Level of Difficulty: Easy

Ingredients
Roasted tomatoes:
2 cups grape tomatoes
3 cloves garlic
1 t. olive oil
Salt + pepper to taste

Polenta:
1 cup instant polenta
1 T light butter
1/4 cup milk
1/4 cup shredded parmesan cheese
1/3 cup chopped basil
Salt + pepper to taste

Instructions
Preheat your oven to 400. Place the tomatoes and garlic cloves on a large baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil and toss until tomatoes are well coated. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Place in the oven and roast for 20 minutes, until tomatoes are squishy and an even deeper red.

While the tomatoes are roasting, make the polenta. Make polenta according to package instructions (which is normally a 1 polenta to 3 water ratio). After you mix the dry polenta into the water, stir in butter, milk, parmesan cheese, and basil. Season with salt and pepper.

As soon as the polenta is well combined and cooked through place it into individual bowls.  It is important to do this right away because it will firm up quickly. Top with roasted tomatoes.

Tip
You can top this dish with any veggie you like!  I also tried it with roasted mushrooms and thyme, and substituted gorgonzola cheese for the parm!

XOXO - Katie

Orange Poppyseed Scones

Can I just tell you how much I LOVE scones?? I know they are typically full of butter and therefore high in pp, but nothing is better to me than a hot scone straight from the oven with a cup of coffee!  This recipe is for a zesty combo of orange and poppyseeds.  I think the portion size of these scones are very generous given they are only 5pp.  Serve these delicious breakfast treats next time you host a brunch!

Servings:  12

Size:  1 scone

Points Plus: 5pp

Level of Difficulty:  Easy

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time:  20 minutes

Ingredient List:

2 ¼ cups flour

½ cup sugar

¼ cup poppyseeds

1 tsp. cream of tartar

¾ tsp. baking soda

½ tsp. salt

½ cup butter

½ cup orange juice

1 egg

1 ½ tsp. orange zest

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 375°.  Mix together flour, sugar, poppyseeds, cream of tartar, baking soda and salt.  Using a pastry blender, cut butter into flour mixture until it resembles cornmeal or coarse crumbs.  In a separate bowl, beat egg slightly into orange juice.  Add in the zest.  Add liquid mixture to dry mix (use fingers if necessary) and gently shape dough into a ball.  Divide dough into two halves.  Pat out each half on a piece of wax paper with flour into an 8-inch circle about ½ inch thick.  Cut each half into 6 wedges.  Place on baking sheet.  Bake for 15-20 minutes, or until golden brown.

Tip:

These scones have great flavor as described above!  However if you are looking to amp up the orange flavor even more, consider using fresh squeezed orange juice and add in a bit more zest to really have the orange flavor pop!

XOXO Megan

Caprese Skewers

Who doesn't love caprese salad?  It's a delightful combination of ripe tomatoes, creamy fresh mozzarella cheese and bright basil leaves.  Turning this salad into a quick appetizer makes for a really easy thing to bring to any dinner party!  I added some cucumber to give these a little each crunch.  You could serve a large platter with a variety of appetizer skewer recipes.  Check out our Hawaiian Luau Party Skewers and our Salami, Green Olive and Gouda Skewers to add to your party platter!

Servings: 10 (total recipe will make 20 skewers)

Serving Size: 2 skewers

Points Plus: 2pp

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: n/a

Ingredient List:

5 slices of cucumber
20 cherry tomatoes
10 oz. fresh mozzarella cheese

Fresh basil leaves

Toothpicks

Directions:

Slice the cheese into 1/2 oz. pieces.  Wash the cucumber and slice into 1/4 inch thick slices, then quarter each slice into 4 pieces   Rinse the cherry tomatoes. Assemble each skewer by starting with a piece of cucumber, then a cherry tomato, a fresh basil leaf folded in half and finally finish off with a 1/2 oz. wedge of fresh mozzarella. Arrange on a serving platter and set out for your guests to enjoy!

Tip:

Serve these little appetizers at your next Italian themed dinner party!  They are sure to be a hit.  And at only 1pp per skewer you can make sure you stay in control instead of over-indulging in appetizers and ruining your dinner appetite!

XOXO Megan

Baked Avocados with Quinoa, Tomatoes and Feta

As you may know, I am on a continued quest to like avocado.  Well, I decided I do like it, when it's warmed up!  In fact I love it when it's warmed up.  This recipe, originally found here and slightly modified, was seriously a 10 people, and very filling. I want to eat warmed up avocados every day!

Servings: 2
Serving Size: Half of recipe or about 1 1/2 cups
Points Plus: 8pp
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes
Level of Difficulty: Easy

Ingredient List:
1 rip avocado
1 cup cooked brown rice or quinoa
1/4 cup reduced fat feta
1 rip tomato, diced
Salt + pepper to taste

Directions:
Preheat your oven to 375 degrees.  Cut your avocado in half and remove the seed.  Remove the inside of the avocado, carefully cut into small cubes and place in a bowl. Add cooked brown rice or quinoa, diced tomato and salt + pepper to taste.  Carefully mix in the feta.  Put mixture in an oven safe baking dish and bake until warmed, about 10 minutes.

Tip:
Here comes the weird part.  The original recipe says to stuff each half of the avocado with the filling you just made.  I found that there was way too much filling to fill the avocado halves.  So, I stuffed about 1/4 of the mixture into the two avocado halves and ate the rest of my portion on mixed greens (yum, but I know I know, not warmed).  Try it both ways everyone! Stay tuned for many more warmed avocado recipes! Also - try something new every day!

XOXO - Katie

Turtle Cheesecake

Happy Birthday foodlove!  That's right, foodlove is 1 year old! In the past year we have posted over 200 recipes (wow), can you believe it!? We hope that you have found some favorites that have helped you eat healthier at home.  And this recipe below my friends, might just be one of my favorites!  You have seen our mini cherry cheesecakes, and our mini pumpkin cheesecakes.  Now check out our MINI TURTLE CHEESECAKES! What better way to celebrate a birthday than with hot fudge, caramel and Oreos? Enjoy!

And before you whip these up, enter your email to the right under 'follow up' to get all of our delish recipes delivered right to your Inbox! AND - don't forget to follow foodlove on Facebook.

Servings: 18 cheesecakes
Serving Size: 1 cheesecake
Points Plus: 5
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 25 minutes
Level of Difficulty: Easy

Ingredient List:
3/4 cups sugar
2 eggs, room temperature
16 oz low fat cream cheese (not fat free), room temperature
1 T. vanilla
18 reduced fat oreos
18 pecans, broken into pieces
18 t. Mrs. Richardson's Hot Fudge
18 t. Mrs. Richardson's Caramel

Directions:
Preheat your oven to 350. Line a cupcake tin (or two) with 18 liners. Place an Oreo in the bottom of each liner. Using an electric mixer, beat together sugar, eggs, vanilla and cream cheese until well blended and not lumpy.  Put 1/4 c. of cream cheese mixture into each cupcake tin. Bake for about 20-25 minutes, until lightly browned on top and fork comes out clean.  Remove from cupcake tins and let them cook completely.

Toast your pecans! Place your broken pecans on a rimed cookie sheet. Using your preheated 350 degree oven toast the pecans for about 5 minutes, watching them closely so they don't burn. When you can start to smell them baking, remove them!

When cakes are cool, heat up your fudge in the microwave until easily spreadable.  Using a teaspoon (for proper portion control) top each cake with 1 teaspoon of fudge.  Repeat this step with the caramel. Divide the broken pecan pieces between each cheesecake and press them into the caramel layer a bit so they stick. 

Tip:
To reduce these babies by 1pp (making them just 4pp each) you can use a chocolate wafer cookie in the bottom as a crust instead of an Oreo. I personally loved the Oreo!

XOXO - Katie

Egg Muffin Cups

This recipe makes a quick and easy breakfast!  The options for these egg muffins are basically unlimited.  I chose to put some diced ham, green onions and a little bit of shredded cheddar.  You could opt for the tradtional ham and cheese, southwest style with jalapenos and mexican cheese or whatever your favorite egg/omelette fillings are.

Servings:  12

Size:  1 egg muffin cup

Points Plus:  2pp

Level of Difficulty:  Easy

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Bake Time:  25-30 minutes

Ingredient List:

9 eggs

3 egg whites

1/2 cup green onions, chopped

3 slices of ham, diced

6 oz. shredded cheddar, reduced-fat

Salt & pepper to taste

Cooking spray

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.  Wash and chop the green onions and dice the ham.  Spray the muffin tin with nonstick cooking spray.  In a large bowl, break the eggs and egg whites and beat well.  Season with salt and pepper to taste.  At the bottom of each muffin cup, add a sprinkle of green onion, ham and about 1/2 oz. shredded cheddar.  Pour the egg mixture into each muffin cup and give each cup a little stir with a fork to evenly distribute the ingredients. You want the muffin cups to be about 2/3 full.  Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until they are set and just starting to brown.  Serve immediately!

Note: Egg muffins will keep in the fridge for about a week.  They make for a perfect breakfast on the go!

Tip:

Make sure you spray the muffin tin well for this recipe!  We made these up at the cabin in older muffin tins and they got stuck and make it difficult to get a full egg muffin AND clean-up was a pain!

XOXO Megan

Kale + Brie + Harvest Grains

What do you do when you buy a wheel of brie for a recipe, and then only need a few oz, and then have the rest left over?? This recipe came together when attempting to clean out my fridge, and it was tasty, and now I have leftovers for lunch for the rest of the week, and that was also my goal, so YA! Cranberries and brie go together like peanut butter and jelly (yum!). And for some reason when I eat craisins I also like to mix in celery. And well, harvest grains from Trader Joes is good with anything so TADA!

Servings: 6
Serving Size: 1 cup
Points Plus: 5pp
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes
Level of Difficulty: Easy

Ingredients
1 bunch of kale, ripped into small pieces, rinsed and dried
1/4 cup craisins
1 1/4 cup uncooked Trader Joe's Harvest Grains
1 bullion cube, any flavor
2 stalks of celery, chopped small
Green Onion, chopped small
2 oz light brie, chipped into small cubes using a sharp cheese knife
Salt + pepper to taste


InstructionsBring a saucepan to a boil with your bullion cube, and cook Harvest Grains according to package directions (about 10 minutes). Meanwhile, get out a mixing bowl and add your craisins, celery, kale and brie (in that order). When grains are cooked put them on top of the veggie/cheese mixture and mix. Let the mixture cool for about 5 minutes, allowing the kale to cook a bit and the cheese to melt.  Enjoy!


Tip
Kale can be really dirty - so make sure you rinse it! A salad spinner comes in really handy for this.  Just rip, rinse and spin for delightfully clean (and not soggy) lettuce every time!
XOXO - Katie

Chicken Taco Chili

Last weekend it was chilly outside and I was craving a chili.  I found this recipe on Skinnytaste with a twist on the tradtional chili - basically think crockpot chicken tacos + regular chili ingredients!  Again, I can't tell you how much I love cooking chicken in the crockpot.  It is just SO EASY!  This recipe came together so quickly and then cooked all day in the crock.  Also, this made for a lot of leftovers so we were set for dinner for the week almost!

Servings:  10

Size:  1 1/4 cups chili

Points Plus: 6pp

Level of Difficulty:  Easy

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 5-6 hours

Ingrdient List:
2 large chicken breasts, skinless and boneless
1 medium onion, chopped
1 15 oz. can kidney beans
1 15 oz. can black beans
1 8 oz. can tomato sauce
2 14.5 oz. cans diced tomatoes with chilies
10 oz. frozen corn
1 taco seasoning packet
1 Tbsp. chili powder
1 Tbsp. cumin
Shredded cheddar, reduced-fat (1 oz. per serving)

Directions:
Put all ingredients besides the chicken in the crockpot and stir until everything is well combined, especially the spices.  Add the chicken breasts and make sure the chili mixture is covering them.  Cook on high for 5-6 hours, stirring occasionally.  Once the chicken is fully cooked, remove for the crockpot and shred with forks.  Return the shredded chicken to the crockpot and cook for an additional 30 minutes.  Serve with chopped fresh cilantro and 1 oz. shredded cheddar per serving.  Enjoy!

Tip:
Just a heads up - this recipe calls for a full Tbsp. of chili powder - so it definitely has some kick!  We love spice, so it wasn't too spicy for our tastes, but you might want to scale it back to your liking. 

XOXO Megan

Cauliflower Mac & Cheese

Healthy Mac & Cheese everyone! I love hiding veggies in meals to the point that you barley even notice they are there! Remember our wildly popular mashed cauliflower? Well, here is another healthy twist on a traditional indulgence.  The cheesy creamy sauce mixed with pasta and cauliflower is sure to become a new staple! This recipe is adapted from Eat Yourself Skinny.

Servings: 8
Serving Size: 1 cup
Points Plus: 5pp
Prep Time: 10-15 minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes
Level of Difficulty: Easy

Ingredient List:
1 head of raw cauliflower, chopped into small pieces
2 cups whole wheat small pasta shells, uncooked
1/2 cup fat free half and half
4 T Parmesan cheese
4 oz reduced fat cream cheese
1 cup reduced fat cheddar
Salt + pepper
Parsley

Directions:
Clean your cauliflower and cut it into small pieces, ideally the size of grapes. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil, and when it is rolling, add your cauliflower and pasta.  Cook according to package directions. While that is cooking, mix half and half, parm, cream cheese and cheddar in a small saucepan, until melted, warm and thick. When cauliflower and pasta are finished cooking drain and return to pot. Pour sauce over pasta mixture and combine. Salt and pepper to taste. Dish up and sprinkle with a bit of parsley!

Tip:
I think it would be totally awesome to add some extra veggies to this! How about tossing in some tiny pieces of broccoli in with the cauliflower and pasta, delish!

XOXO - Katie

Prosciutto, Goat Cheese & Fig Crostini

I'm always looking for quick and easy new appetizer recipes, but I also want them to be delicious!  You want a go to dish that you can bring to book club or to dinner at a friend's house.  These little crostinis might be my new favorite go to appetizer for just about any occasion.  The combination of prosciutto, goat cheese and fig is delightful! And who doesn't love crostini?  I found these delicious little apps on the Italian Dish's blog.

Servings:  12

Size:  1 crostini

Points Plus: 3pp

Level of Difficulty:  Easy

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Bake Time: 10 minutes

Ingredient List:

1 fresh baguette
6 tsp. olive oil
Kosher salt
6 oz. goat cheese
6 Tbsp. fig jam
3 slices prosciutto
12 fresh basil leaves

Directions:

Slice the baguette into 12 slices, each slice should be about 1/2 inch thick.  Lightly brush the tops of each slice with 1/2 tsp. olive oil and add a sprinkle of kosher salt on top.  Bake on a baking sheet for about 10 mintues or until the bread starts to turn crispy (be careful to not burn these!).  Spread 1/2 oz. goat cheese on top of the crostini.  Next add 1/2 Tbsp. fig jam and finally top with 1/4 slice of prosciutto. 

Tip:
Finish off these crostinis with a fresh basil leaf for garnish and a pop of color!

XOXO Megan

White Chili

Before we move on to Spring I wanted to post ONE more tasty soup recipe. And a chili no less! And a WHITE chili no less!  I had never made white chili before, and this turned out really good. I adapted my recipe from Skinnytaste's White Bean Chili. I changed the proportions a bit and added a few additional veggies.  This is great as soup but would also make a tasty chili dip with veggies! Beware, this chili has a kick!

Servings: 14
Serving Size: 1 cup
Points Plus: 5pp
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour
Level of Difficulty: Easy

Ingredient List:
Cooking spray
1 onion, chopped into small pieces
1 Tbsp. minced garlic
1 tsp. chili powder
1 bay leaf
2 tsp. cumin
2 tsp. oregano
1 tsp. red pepper flakes
2 lbs ground turkey, lean
1 can cannellini beans, rinsed and drained
1 can yellow corn
2 cups chicken broth
1/2 cup reduced fat sour cream
Salt + pepper to taste
Green onions, chopped

Directions:
Spray a large dutch oven and heat. Add onions and garlic and cook for about 5 minutes, siring a few times. Add the ground turkey and cook through, about 5 more minutes. Add a pinch of salt, cumin, oregano, red pepper flakes and cook for 2 more minutes. Add beans, corn, broth and bay leave - allow soup to simmer for 1 hour. Stir in the sour cream and let cook about 3 more minutes.  Top green onions!

Tip:
The great thing about chili is you can use whatever is in your fridge or pantry! I thought garbonzo beans would also work well in this soup.

XOXO - Katie

Buffalo Chicken Potato Skins

First of all, I LOVE chicken in the crockpot!  It makes for such delicious tasting chicken and it’s so easy.  This recipe from Skinnytaste is for a lightened up version of potato skins.  I made these as part of an appetizer dinner a few weeks ago.  I love finding recipes for traditionally unhealthy appetizers that are made over into something that you don’t feel guilty eating.  Skinnytaste has this delicious recipe for low-fat homemade blue cheese dressing.  I didn’t use it when I made these potato skins, but have made it in the past… check it out!

Servings:  12

Size:  1 potato skin

Points Plus: 3pp

Level of Difficulty:  Easy

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 3-4 hours (buffalo chicken), 25 minutes (potato skins)

Ingredient List:

Chicken-

12 oz. chicken breasts, boneless and skinless

1 stalk of celery, diced

½ medium onion, diced

1 clove garlic, minced

16 oz. chicken broth

1/3 cup hot sauce (Frank’s brand is great!)

Potato Skins –

6 medium russet potatoes

12 Tbsp. shredded cheddar cheese, reduced-fat

½ cup carrots, sliced into matchsticks

½ cup celery, sliced into matchsticks

¼ cup light blue cheese dressing

Directions:

Get out your crockpot – one of my favorite kitchen tools!  Add the chicken breasts, celery, onion, garlic and broth making sure you have enough broth to cover the top of the chicken.  Cover and cook on high for 3-4 hours, or until the chicken is fully cooked through.  Once the chicken is done cooking, remove from the crockpot and shred with two forks.  Save about ½ cup of the broth mixture.  Discard the remaining broth.  Place the shredded chicken, reserved broth and hot sauce back in the crockpot and stir until well mixed.  Cook on low for an additional 30 minutes (this is really just to get the buffalo flavor to settle into your chicken and to keep it warm). 

Cook the potatoes, either by microwave or by oven (you will save time in the microwave!), making sure to pierce each potato with a fork to allow the steam to come through.  Allow the potatoes to cool after you have finished cooking to make it easier to make them into potato skins  Slice the potatoes in half horizontally and scoop out the filling leaving about ¼ inch wall of potato in each potato skin.  Preheat the oven to 450°.  Season the potato skins with salt and pepper.  Bake potatoes on a baking sheet lined with foil for about 10 minutes.  Add two Tbsp. of buffalo chicken and one Tbsp. shredded cheddar to each potato skin.  Pop them back in the oven to cook for a few minutes or until the cheese melts.  To assemble, add 1 tsp. light blue cheese dressing and a sprinkle of carrot and celery matchsticks on top.  Serve immediately!

Tip:

If you have a lot on your party menu, making the buffalo chicken ahead of time would be a great time saver!  The chicken will keep in the fridge so you could even make it the day before if need be.

XOXO Megan

Kale, Carrots & Pine Nuts Salad

I first had this salad at one of my husband and my favorite restaurants, Yum! Kitchen & Bakery in Saint Louis Park.  It’s a great blend of flavors on a bed of baby kale.  I decided I could easily recreate this at home since the ingredients are all relatively common.  Look for currants in the dried fruit section of your grocery store, near the raisins!  Also, I suggest you serve it with a lemon vinaigrette dressing just like they did at Yum!

Servings:  4

Size:  ¼ of salad

Points Plus: 5pp (does not include pp value of any dressing)

Level of Difficulty:  Easy

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time:  n/a

Ingredient List:

Large bunch of baby kale
1 cup shredded carrots
1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
½ cup dried currants
½ cup pine nuts
2 oz. Parmesan cheese, flakes

Directions:

Wash and prep the baby kale and add to a large bowl.  Dice the cherry tomatoes in half. Add tomatoes, carrots, currants and pine nuts to the bowl.  Toss the salad so all the ingredients are evenly distributed.  Serve in salad bowls and top with ½ oz. of parmesan cheese and your dressing of choice. 

**Note - when I made this salad at home for the first time I had some baby spinach I wanted to use up, so I included a mix of spinach and kale.  The original at Yum just included kale.  Either way, it's a delicious, healthy salad!

Tip:

Who doesn’t love to use shredded carrots instead of slicing them in matchsticks yourself?  They can be a great time saver!

XOXO Megan

Hungry Girl Crock Pot BBQ Chicken

Ok - for real - we ate this recipe so fast that I forgot to take a picture! It was crazy (crazy good haha).  In a quest to love my crock pot I gave this easy recipe a whirl.   What is easier than dumping a few simple ingredients into a crock and turning it on? You might think to yourself, why not just put the chicken into my crock with store bought BBQ sauce, that would be easier? Well people, home made is always better and I could for sure taste the difference in this sauce vs. a store bought! This chicken is delish on a bun, on a salad or just on a plate!

Servings: 6
Servings Size: 1/2 cup
Points Plus: 4pp
Prep Time: 3 minutes
Cook Time: 3-4 hours on high or 7-8 hours on low
Level of Difficulty: Easy

Photo from www.hungrygirl.com

Ingredient List:
3 chicken breasts
1 cup canned marinara sauce
1/2 cup ketchup
2 Tbsp. brown sugar
2 Tbsp. cider vinegar
2 tsp. garlic powder

Directions:
Put all ingredients except chicken in the crock and give it a stir. Add the chicken and coat with sauce. Cook on high for 3-4 hours or low for 7-8 hours.  When the chicken is done cooking remove it from the crock and shred it using two forks.  Return it to the crock, stir, and serve!

Tip:
This chicken freezes extremely well. It is a long story, but trust me I know ;)

XOXO - Katie

Asparagus, Brie & Truffle Oil Sandwich

Would you believe me if I told you that one of the best sandwiches I have ever eaten was purchased at an airport convenient store? Well, believe it sister! (or brother) A part of me thinks that perhaps it was the truffle oil that just made everything taste so luxurious.  Or perhaps it was the fact that it was only 8am and I had been up and at them for a good 6 hours already. The combo of flavors in this sandwich is really unique and seriously impressive!

Servings: 8 open faced English muffins
Serving Size: 2 open faced English muffins
Points Plus: 7pp
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Level of Difficulty: Easy

Ingredient List:
4 whole wheat English muffins
16 spears asparagus, raw
4 oz light brie cheese
4 t. truffle oil
8 slices of red onion, sliced thin
Cooking spray
Salt + Pepper

Directions:
Preheat oven to 400. Rinse your asparagus and snap them in half, discarding the tough ends. Lay them in a single layer on a rimed baking sheet and spray them with cooking spray to cover. Sprinkle them with salt and pepper, and roast them in your hot oven for about 20 minutes, until they start to turn crisp.

Meanwhile, toast your English muffins. Using a mandolin, slice the red onion into 8 very thin slices. When asparagus is done roasting, remove it from the oven and allow it to cool for about 5 minutes.  Then, cut each piece in half.

To assemble. Top each English muffin with 2 thin slices of red onion, 2 pieces of asparagus (actually 4 because you cut the large pieces in half), 1 oz of light brie cheese and 1 t. of truffle oil. Give each muffin another light sprinkle of salt and pepper.  Place them into your pre-heated oven and allow the cheese to get soft, about 5 minutes.  Serve as open faced sandwiches or squish two muffins together to make a tasty sandwich!

Tip:
Truffle oil really makes this sandwich, and can also be super expensive.  I found mine at Marshall's (of all places, a place that previous to this purchase I was totally grossed out buying food at) for a great price. You only need a teeny tiny touch. You could also add a teeny tiny touch to most veggies and pastas for a delish add-on.  If you don't have truffle oil and live in the MSP area come on over and I will let you try some of mine!

XOXO - Katie

Roasted Red Pepper & Cauliflower Soup

You guys know how much we LOVE soups!  Here's another tasty recipe to check out.  Katie actually found this recipe on Closet Cooking's blog.  This is a hearty, vegetarian soup that makes for a perfect weekend lunch in winter and/or early spring.  The blend of cauliflower, roasted red peppers and spices/herbs all come together to produce a creamy, flavorful, healthy soup!

Servings:  6

Size:  1 1/4 cups

Points Plus: 3pp

Level of Difficulty:  Easy

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 60 minutes

Ingredient List:

4 red bell peppers, halved and seeds removed

1 small head cauliflower, cut into florets

2 Tbsp. olive oil

1 onion, diced

2 cloves garlic, chopped

1 tsp. thyme

1 pinch red pepper flakes

4 cups chicken broth

1 tsp. smoked paprika

Salt & pepper to taste

Directions:

Turn on the broiler.  Place the red peppers, cut side down, on a baking sheet.  Broil the peppers for 10 minutes or until the skins are blackened.  Immediately put the peppers in an air-tight container to let steam for 20 minutes (this will make it really easy to remove the skins before dicing).  Place the cauliflower florets on another baking sheet with 1 Tbsp. olive oil; roast for 20-30 minutes in a 400° oven.  You will want to stir the cauliflower a few times in between to make sure it’s evenly roasted and not sticking to the pan.  Return to the red peppers and remove the skins and dice.  Heat the remaining oil in a large Dutch oven or stockpot.  Add the onion and sauté until tender, about 5 minutes.  Add the thyme, red pepper flakes and cook for an additional minute, stirring well.  Add the roasted red peppers, cauliflower, chicken broth, paprika and salt & pepper.  Simmer for about 10 minutes.  Using an immersion blender, puree the soup mixture to your desired level of consistency. 

Tip:

Using a jar of roasted red peppers would save time if you want to make this recipe when you are short on time.  You would still have to roast the cauliflower to get a smoky, roasted flavor, but you could start the rest of the soup while the cauliflower roasts. 

XOXO Megan