Roasted Poblano Corn Chowder

We had some roasted green chilies that I wanted to use up in the freezer and since I love soup so much, I figured this would be a perfect way to use them up. I got the idea from a blog, but I kind of deviated from the recipe a bit to make it to my taste. I will note my changes in parenthesis.This was a very yummy, hearty and fairly healthy soup.

Source:http://theothersideof50.blogspot.com

Ingredients:

4 slices of center cut bacon, diced and cooked until crisp
3 poblano peppers, washed, halved and seeded
1 red bell pepper, washed, halved and seeded
3 Tbsp olive oil
1 onion, diced
1 stalk celery, diced ( I omitted)
2 cloves garlic, diced
1 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp oregano ( I omitted)
salt and pepper
3 Tbsp all-purpose flour ( I used 1 tbsp)
1 1/2 quarts chicken broth ( I used 4 cups)
1 1/2 pounds red-skinned potatoes, scrubbed, unpeeled, diced into small cubes
1 20-oz tube of frozen creamed corn, thawed ( I omitted)
2 cups frozen corn kernels
1/2 up half & half

Directions:

Broil pepper halves, skin side up, on an aluminum foil-lined baking sheet 6 inches from heat for 7-8 minutes or until pepper looks blistered. Place peppers in a ziploc baggie, seal closed and let stand for 10-15 minutes. Peel skin from peppers and dice. In a small skillet, cook bacon until crisp and drain of all extra fat.

Heat oil in large soup pot over medium heat. Add onions and celery. Season with cumin, oregano, salt and pepper and saute until onions are translucent, 5-7 minutes. Add garlic and saute for another minute or two. Sprinkle flour over all and stir to combine. Cook, stirring frequently, for 2-3 minutes. Slowly add broth to pot. Increase the heat a bit and bring to a boil. Season with more salt (1/2-1 tsp) and add potatoes, frozen corn and diced roasted peppers.
(Take approximately 2 cups of the soup and blend it in a blender or food processor until creamy and return to the pot.)
Reduce heat and simmer for 15-20 minutes, or until potatoes are almost fork tender. Remove from heat and stir in half & half and add the cooked bacon, stir to combine.

I also added chopped scallions and cilantro to provide extra flavor.

Vidalia Onion Soup

I love a good cup of French Onion Soup. I have attempted to make it at home, but it doesn't turn out well for me. When I saw this recipe I decided to make another attempt at it. It was a really good attempt too. My 15 year old dd raved about it saying that it was one of the best things that I have ever made. The recipe says to put cheese and croutons on it an broil for a few minutes. I didn't want to do that so I just sprinkled Parmesan on top.

Source:http://vintagevictuals.com

Ingredients:
4 tbsp butter ( I used 2 tbsp)
4 large Vidalia onions, sliced ( I used 3)
5 cups chicken stock ( I used 4)
A pinch of dried thyme
A pinch of dried parsley
salt and pepper to taste
1 c Parmesan cheese
Mozzarella cheese ( I omitted)
2 tbsp cognac ( I omitted)
Croutons ( I omitted)

Melt the butter over medium heat in a pot. Add the sliced onions and cook for 35-40 minutes, until soft and golden brown.
Add the chicken stock, and turn the heat to medium-high. Bring just to a boil. Turn the heat down to a simmer.
Add herbs, cognac, pepper and salt. Cook for 15 minutes.

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Place croutons and one tablespoon of Parmesan cheese on the bottom of each bowl. Add soup, and top with mozzarella cheese. Bake for 10 minutes, or until the cheese melts.

White Chili

One of my favorite Food Network stars is Ellie Krieger, but she comes on too early in the morning for me to watch. I really like that her recipes are really simple, but also healthy and flavorful at the same time. I also like that her recipes have all of the nutritional information listed. This recipe like all of the other ones that I have tried, was simply delicious! I think it is so much better that regular chili. I love the flavor combination of lime, cilantro and cumin, but I think that what made this dish even better was the hominy.



Source: foodnetwork.com



Ingredients:

1 tbsp olive oil

1 medium onion

2 stalks celery, diced

3 medium poblano peppers (4 oz each) seeded and finely diced ( I used roasted poblanos)

1 garlic clove, minced

1 tsp cumin

1/2 tsp ground coriander

1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

1 pound white meat ground turkey

2 (15.5 oz) cans white beans, drained and rinsed

4 c low sodium chicken broth

3/4 tsp dried oregano

1 (15.5oz) can hominy, drained and rinsed

salt

1/4 c nonfat plain yogurt, Greek style

2 tbsp chopped fresh cilantro

lime wedges

Directions:
Heat oil in a large pot or Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the onion, celery, poblanos and cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are soft, about 8 minutes. Add the garlic, cumin, coriander and cayenne and cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 30 seconds.

Add the ground turkey and cook until the meat is no longer pink, about 2 minutes. Add the white beans, hominy, broth and oregano. Cook, partially covered, stirring occasionally, for 25 minutes. Serve with cilantro and lime.

Weight Watchers Potato and Bacon Slow Cooker Chowder

This soup is really delicious, hearty and healthy. You can't get much better that that in my book.

Source: http://laaloosh.com/
Serving Size 1 2/3 cup
Each serving = 3 WW points

Ingredients
2 c potatoes, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
1 large carrot, diced ( I used 3 carrots)
1 c leeks, chopped, white part only ( I substituted this with onions)
1 medium garlic clove, minced
4 c chicken broth, fat free
1/2 c uncooked barley ( I omitted)
1 bay leaf
1/4 tsp dried thyme
black pepper
4 oz Canadian bacon, cut into 1/4 inch pieces
1/2 c fat-free evaporated milk
2 oz fat-free half-and-half

Directions:
In a slow cooker, combine poatoes, carrots, leeks, garlic, broth, barley, bay leaf, thyme, pepper and bacon; cover and cook on low for 6 hours.
Stir in evaporated milk and half-and-half; heat through uncovered, about 10 minutes more.

Buffalo Chicken Chili

Every so often I get a craving for hot wings, but I don't normally indulge because of all of the fat and calories. I would rather use up my calories for baked goods such as cookies! Anyway, I was craving the taste of wings, so I went looking for Rachael Ray recipes. She always comes up with great recipes that are on the different side of the spectrum. It was on her website that I found this chili. It was everything that I like in a chili and it incorporated hot wing sauce, score! This chili is delicious! I used mild hot wing sauce because I don't care for too much heat, but you can adjust the heat to your preference.

Source: http://rachelray.com

Ingredients:

2 tbsp EVOO ( I used 1)
2 pounds ground chicken
2 large carrots, peeled and finely chopped
1 large onion, chopped
4 ribs celery, finely chopped
4 cloves garlic, chopped
1 tbsp smoked sweet paprika ( I used Hungarian)
1 bay leaf, fresh or dried
salt and pepper
2 c. chicken stock
1/2 c hot sauce
1 can tomato sauce (15 oz)
1 can stewed, fire-roasted or crushed tomatoes (15 oz)
1 sack whole grain tortilla chips
3/4 pound blue cheese, crumbled (I omitted)
Parsley, chopped (I omitted, but I think cilantro would work really well with this dish)

Directions:
Place a large pot over medium-high heat and add the oil. Add the ground chicken and break it up, lightly browning it for 5 minutes.
Add the carrots, celery, garlic, paprika and bay leaf and season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring frequently, for about 7-8 minutes. Add the chicken stock and scrape up any brown bits on the bottom of the pot.
Add the hot sauce, tomato sauce and the stewed, fire-roasted or crushed tomatoes to the chili and bring to a bubble. Simmer for 8-10 minutes more to allow the flavors to come together.
While the chili is simmering, preheat the boiler.
Spread the chips on a cookie sheet. Top with crumbled blue cheese and transfer to the oven to melt the cheese, 2-3 minutes. Remove from the oven and sprinkle withe the parsley.
Top each serving of the chili with a few blue cheese chips.