Shrinking Daisy

You DO Read My Blog!!!!

Friday, January 15th, 2010 | Recipe | No Comments

Yes, it’s true, sometimes you just need to know somebody is reading… it’s enough to make you want to write those posts! So that’s MY resolution this year, to be a better blogger and keep you abreast of all of the wonderful discoveries, amazing recipes, and motivational tidbits I collect!!!

I’m pumping up the filling foods this week. It’s hard to adjust back to normal amounts of food after a decadent holiday season sometimes, so give yourself a break and focus on comforting stuff you can indulge in a lot of without feeling bad about it.

I suggest we kick this off with a soup!  Not only will it warm your soul with comforting goodness, but people, it’s been a cold winter so far, hot soup sounds fantastic!!! This one is so smart… you start out by making a big pot of veggie soup, and can customize it in different ways on different days to come up with a totally new meal!!! Start with the base, then add the variations.  It’s easy and takes stress out of your life… that’s a great idea!  Try this one out below, and leave me a comment, let me know what your favorite winter soup recipe is!

There are lots of variations on this recipe, but the original came from  Good HouseKeeping:

All-You-Can-Eat Soup (serving is 1c)

• 1 pound carrots, sliced
• 3 medium (1 1/2 pounds) onions, chopped
• 4 stalk(s) celery, sliced
• 2 large cloves garlic, crushed with press
• 2 can(s) (28 ounces each) whole tomatoes in juice
• 1/2 small (1-pound) head green cabbage, thinly sliced
• 3/4 pound(s) green beans, trimmed and each cut into thirds
• 1 can(s) (48-ounce) chicken broth
• 6 cups water
• 1 teaspoon salt
  
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 3 medium (1 1/4 pounds) zucchini, sliced into half-moons
• 2 bag(s) (6 ounces each) baby spinach leaves

1. Coat 12-quart stockpot (or 2 large saucepans) with nonstick cooking spray. Over medium-high heat, add carrots, onions, celery, and garlic; cook 8 minutes or until veggies soften, stirring occasionally.
2. Add tomatoes with their liquid, breaking up tomatoes with side of spoon. Add cabbage, green beans, broth, water, salt, and pepper; heat to boiling over high heat, stirring occasionally.
3. Reduce heat to low; cover and simmer 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Increase heat to high; stir in zucchini and spinach and heat to boiling. Reduce heat to low; cover and simmer 10 minutes or until all vegetables are tender.

Calories	45
Total Fat	1g
Saturated Fat	–
Cholesterol	–
Sodium	410mg
Total Carbohydrate	9g
Dietary Fiber	4g
Sugars	–
Protein	2g

Minestrone Variation

• 2 cup(s) All-You-Can-Eat Soup Basic Recipe (above)
• 1/2 cup(s) drained and rinsed canned white kidney beans (cannellini)
• 1/2 cup(s) whole wheat fusilli  or rotini cooked
• 2 tablespoon(s) (plus 1 additional tablespoon for serving) freshly grated Parmesan cheese
• 1 tablespoon(s) chopped fresh basil

Heat up 2 cups of your basic soup, add all other ingredients for a quick and easy minestrone! Make sure you count for the extra ingredients!!!

Goulash Variation

• 2 cup(s) All-You-Can-Eat Soup Basic Recipe, (above)
• 4 ounce(s)ground turkey breast
• 1/2 teaspoon(s) paprika
• 1 pinch(s) caraway seeds
• 1 pinch(s)salt
• 1/2 cup(s) egg noodles or whole wheat egg noodles  cooked as label directs
• 2 tablespoon(s) reduced-fat sour cream or greek yogurt

In nonstick saucepan, cook turkey, paprika, caraway seeds, and salt 4 minutes or until turkey is browned and cooked through, stirring to break up turkey. Stir in Basic Soup; heat to boiling. Reduce heat; cover and simmer 5 minutes to blend flavors. Stir in cooked egg noodles. Remove saucepan from heat; stir in sour cream.
Red Beans and Rice Variation

• 2 cup(s) All-You-Can-Eat Soup Basic Recipe, (above)
• 2 ounce(s) turkey kielbasa, cut into 1⁄2-inch pieces
• 1 thinly sliced green onion
• 1/2 cup(s) drained and rinsed canned red beans
• 1/2 cup(s) cooked brown rice
• 1/8 teaspoon(s) Cajun seasoning
• Hot sauce, for garnish

In saucepan coated with nonstick cooking spray, cook kielbasa with onion (white part only; reserve green part for garnish), until sausage browns lightly. Add Basic Soup, beans, rice, and Cajun seasoning; heat to boiling. Reduce heat; cover and simmer 5 minutes to blend flavors. Sprinkle with reserved green onion. Serve with hot sauce.

Come up with your own variations and let me know how it goes!!!

Tags: cajun, filling food, goulash, italian, minstrone, Soup, vegetable

Seize the Season - Pomegranates, CSAs and Soup

Friday, November 14th, 2008 | Recipe | No Comments

One of the things I look forward to most throughout the year is the wonderful fruits and vegetables that peak in each season. I’m always excited when summer rolls around and it seems that mouthwatering produce is everywhere you look. But now it’s almost winter, the tomatoes are yucky, the late apples are everywhere, but more exciting than that is pomegranates!

I love Pomegranates! They’re weird, hard to figure out but full of great nutrients and anti-oxidents, not to mention they taste great! So… what do you do with them? Well, first of all, you have to get into them, it’s really quite easy even if not completely obvious.

1. First, fill a big bowl with water.
2. Then, put the pomegranites in the bowl, submerging completely under water.
3. Third, quarter each fruit with a knife while submerged under water (this avoids spurts of tasty yet possibly staining fruit juice from ruining your favorite sweater)
4. Finally, scrape out seeds with your fingers, the white pith will float to the top of the water discard this, the seeds will sink
5. Load seeds into a container and store in the fridge until you get hungry!

Now that you’ve gotten the good part out of the pomegranate, what do you do with it? First of all, you eat the seeds, (call arils) all of them, it’s kind of like a grapenut with a little burst of juice. I love to eat them straight, they take forever and are great if you’re munchy at work or while watching tv. You can also throw them in yogurt, add them to pancakes, fruit salad, as crunch for salads, and they are traditional in Indian cooking. Have a great time being creative and coming up with your own great pomegranate ideas!

—-beep beep—-beep—beep beep beep—–

This is a public service announcement! Now is the time to sign up for your local Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) Make sure you get in on next year’s program before enrollment is done in your area, and enjoy a year of fresh local foods, while supporting local farming and industry!

While I’d love to claim that I’ll plant and tend to a giant garden of vegetables and fruits, I probably won’t. This is the next best thing. I’ve already gotten on the list, and am anxiously awaiting a 2009 of produce!

Find out about local CSAs in your area by clicking here.

Crockpot Alert!

It’s cold, and rainy. My husband whipped up this weightwatcher friendly soup/stew (originally given to him by our WeightWatcher leader) and it was wonderful and warming on a cold day!

Stuffed Pepper Soup

• 1 pound 93% lean ground beef or turkey
• 28 ounce can diced tomatoes
• 28 ounce can tomato sauce
• 2 cups diced green peppers
• 1/2 cup uncooked rice
• 2 cups water
• 1 cup chopped onions
• 1 can beef broth

Combine all ingredients, add salt, pepper and garlic if you’d like, and throw it in your crockpot. Cook on low 6-8 hours.

Nutrition Facts
Serving Size 1.5 cups Servings Per Batch 12
Amount Per Serving
Calories 100.2	Calories from Fat Y (xx%)
	% Daily Value *
Total Fat 2.6g	14%
Saturated Fat 1.1g	xx%
Monounsaturated Fat 0g
Polyunsaturated Fat 0.1g
Trans Fat 0g
Cholesterol 21.7mg	xx%
Sodium mg	xx%
Potassium mg	xx%
Total Carbohydrate 10.5g	xx%
Dietary Fiber 2.1g	xx%
Sugars 4.5g
Protein 9.8g	xx%
Vitamin A	xx%
Vitamin C	xx%
Calcium	xx%
Iron	xx%
* The Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet, so your values may change depending on your calorie needs. The values here may not be 100% accurate because the recipes have not been professionally evaluated nor have they been evaluated by the U.S. FDA.

Tags: Crock Pot, CSA, Fruit, Pomegranate, recipes, Seasonal Fruit, slow cooker, Soup, weightwatcher recipes, Winter Fruit