Healthy Summer Recipe: Chilled Avocado Soup

My food magazine addiction has led me to believe that cold soups are a great summer trend.  I have always been a little unsure of these soups...they sound strange and isn't soup supposed to be hot?   Before stumbling upon this recipe I had never 1)found cold soups to be appetizing or 2)eaten a cold soup.  I found the recipe on another foodie blog All Day I Dream About Food and decided to give it a whirl.  I had some friends over for dinner and the soup went over very well.





A few recommendations:

• Serve it with some crackers or tortilla chips to add a little texture
• Use as a sauce over BBQ cilantro lime chicken
• If you have leftovers it works great in Mexican burritos or tacos
• I used only about a tablespoon of whipping cream and omitted the sour cream entirely

Chilled Guacamole Soup

2 ½ cups low-sodium chicken broth, divided
2 avocados, peeled and pitted
2 cloves garlic, coarsely chopped
1 jalapeno, seeded and coarsely chopped
¼ cup red onion, chopped
1 tbsp lime juice
1 tbsp fresh cilantro, chopped
1/2 tsp salt
¼ tsp pepper
¼ tsp cayenne
¼ cup whipping cream
2 tbsp sour cream
6 tbsp cheddar cheese, shredded

In a food processor combine 1 cup of chicken broth with avocados, garlic, jalapeno, lime juice and cilantro. Puree until smooth. Add remaining 1 ½ cups broth, salt, pepper and cayenne and blend. Transfer mixture to a large bowl and stir in whipping cream. Cover and chill for at least 1 hour and up to 12 hours.

Divide soup among 6 bowls. In the center of each bowl, dollop 1 tsp (5 mL) of sour cream. Sprinkle each with 1 tbsp shredded cheese.

Serves 6 (1/2 cup servings). Each serving has a total of 7g of carbs and 2g of fiber.

**If you're like me and looking to save some money remember that you can find great recipes from your favorite magazines online for free.  Below are some of my favorite blogs and food sites:
Cooking for Assholes
All Day I Dream About Food
Cooking Light
Eat Better America
Food Network

Oatmeal never tasted this good before!

I've recently started eating oatmeal every morning for breakfast so I had some laying around.  I was having a craving for a sweet treat and had an idea!  Why not use the oatmeal in the dessert...

Ingredients:

1 package quaker maple brown sugar instant oatmeal
1 scoop vanilla ice cream
Magic Shell chocolate coating

Directions:
Empty oatmeal into a bowl.  Add 1/2 c water and microwave for 1 minute.
Remove oatmeal from microwave and scoop ice cream on top.
Add a healthy layer of chocolate

ENJOY!

Cooking Around the World

I was inspired by the movie Julie and Julia...unfortunately I don't think that I can commit to cooking my way through that entire cookbook!

So I decided to create my own challenge.  Over the next year I am going to explore the food of different cultures and try to post at least 3 different receipes per week.  I look forward to my journey around the world over the next year.  Wish me luck!

Some of the cuisines I will be exploring include....

 

1. African
2. American
3. Barbecue
4. Brazilian
5. Breakfast
6. British
7. Cafeteria
8. Cajun
9. Central American  
10. Chinese
11. Cuban
12. Ethiopian
13. French
14. German
15. Hamburgers
16. Homestyle Cooking
17. Indian
18. Irish
19. Italian
20. Jamaican
21. Japanese
22. Korean
23. Mexican
24. Middle Eastern 
25. Pizza
26. Polynesian
27. Russian
28. Sandwiches
29. Seafood
30. Scandinavian
31. Spanish
32. Soul Food
33. South American
34. Steak
35. Vegetarian
36. Tex-Mex
37. Thai
38. Vietnamese

Gourmet On A Budget: Brussels and Parmesan

 

Ingredients

1 lb whole wheat spaghetti

 

15 Brussels sprouts, cleaned and halved

 

1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved

 

1 tablespoon butter

3 cloves garlic, minced

 

2 tbsp olive oil, divided Pantry

 

zest and juice of one lemon

 

1/4 cup parmesan cheese

 

 

Directions

• Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.
• In a medium bowl, toss together the Brussels sprouts, garlic, lemon zest and juice and 1 tbsp of the olive oil until well-coated. Spread on a baking sheet, top with cubed butter, and roast for 20 minutes.
• While the sprouts roast, cook the pasta according to directions in salted water until al dente. Drain.
• Toss the pasta together with the remaining olive oil, tomatoes, salt and pepper. Sprinkle the parmesan cheese over the top.
• Makes 4 servings.

 

 

 

 

Chicken Juicy Lucy

It's BBQ season and Juicy Lucy's are kind of a BIG DEAL in Minneapolis.  However I'm not a big fan of ground beef.  This is my take on the classic juicy lucy.  If you don't know what a juicy lucy is let me explain....A CHEESE STUFFED BURGER!

Hope you like!







Ingredients

1 package of ground chicken
1/2 brick of pepperjack cheese
1 clove of garlic
1 egg
1 tablespoon Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 teaspoon of flour
2 teaspoons zesty italian dressing or other marinade that you have laying around
Salt and Pepper


Directions

Start by slicing the garlic and then cooking it in a pan with olive oil.  Cooking the garlic before you BBQ helps tone down the taste. Once the garlic is browned combine with the remaining ingredients except for the cheese.  Mix well.  Form medium sized patties and put on a plate.  Thinly slice the cheese.  Place 3 pieces of cheese on one of the patties.  Then put another patty on top and seal.  Do this with all remaining cheese and patties.  Grill for 8-10 minutes or until done!

Subgum Chicken Chow Mein

This is one of my favorite meals that I have tweaked to accomidate my food allergies. I am allergic to nuts and sesame so it is hard to find chinese food I can eat. Hope you enjoy the recipe! I love it!


Ingredients 

1 package of thinly sliced chicken breasts
1 1/2 cups of chicken broth
1 yellow onion
3 stalks of celery
1 tablespoon Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 teaspoon of butter
2 teaspoons brown sugar
Soy Sauce
2 cups uncooked rice
1 tablespoon Extra Virgin Olive Oil
2 cups water
2 cups chicken broth
crunchy chow mein noodles

Directions

Start by cooking the rice. You will want to give this time to cool after it has cooked.
Combine 2 cups rice and 1 tablespoon of olive oil and saute in pot until rice starts to take on a light brown color. Then add the 2 cups of water and 2 cups of chicken broth. Bring to a boil, then turn heat to low and cover. Simmer on low for 20 minutes.
Slice celery and onion into small bite size pieces.
In your saute pan put 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Add chicken. Continue to cook chicken until cooked all the way through. Add butter,chicken broth, and brown sugar and bring to a simmer. Remove chicken and put on a plate. Add celery and onions to broth mixutre. continue to simmer until onions are soft. Slice up chicken breasts and place back in saute pan. Add Soy Sauce. Remove from heat.
Combine fluffed rice and chicken and vegetables mixture. Add some chow mein noodles on top for a little extra crunch! Enjoy!

Artichokes: God's Gift To Man

Artichokes...Need I say more?


Ingredients 

2 Large Artichokes
3/4 Cup Parmesan Cheese
1/2 Cup Bread Crumbs
1 Tablespoon Butter
3 Cloves of Garlic

Directions 

Bring a large pot of water to a boil.
Cut the stem off of both artichokes.
Cut the artichokes in half lengthwise.
Scoop out all of the small leaves and artichoke "hairs"
Boil artichoke for 40 minutes.
Place oven on Broil
Drain artichokes.
Lay them in an oven safe dish scooped out side up.
sprinkle parmesan cheese, bread crumbs, butter, and garlic on the inside of each artichoke half.
Broil for 5 minutes.
Enjoy!