Souper Easy Potato Soup (see what I did there?) (no dairy)

Hurricane Sandy was barrelling up the coast and I was glued to the weather channel for hours upon hours.  Someone on my facebook feed mentioned they'd made soup, and I suddenly thought "omg, we need soup too!".  We were under threat of losing electricity and since we heat and cook with electric, that means huge impact for us.  I figured if I made soup, I'd forget about the scary weather!  Ha.

Here's what I did.  You can adjust according to your own tastes, of course.

• 8(ish) cups chicken broth - I used 1 pod of Knorr's new chicken bouillon that I've mentioned before to 3-1/2 cups of water - then another 4 cups of water mixed with 2 packages of goya brand vegetable seasoning/broth. 
• 1 medium sized onion, chopped
• 5-7 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 Tbs. oil
• 5-6 potatoes, peeled and cubed
• 2 good sized stalks of celery, chopped
• 2 bay leaves

Optional:  bacon (I used real bacon pieces that you use on salads), cheddar cheese, green onion

1. Lightly brown garlic in oil.  
2. Add onion and celery and saute until soft.
3. Add broth and potatoes.
4. Simmer until potatoes are tender.
5. Strain 3/4 of the potatoes out and mash.  You could do them all if you wanted, but I like chunky.
6. Re-add mashed potatoes to soup.
7. Add a couple of bay leaves.  I waited until this point so that the bay seasoning would not overtake the whole soup.
8. Stir well - this should thicken your soup.  

If it's not thick enough, you could always add a couple of tablespoons of flour to some cold water (cold is important) - mix it until it's dissolved and then add to the soup, until it's to your liking.

I added bacon and cheddar to my own bowl, and it's absolutely delicious!

Potato soup garnished with cheddar cheese and bacon bits.

How to roast a pumpkin

Whenever I need to use pumpkin for a recipe, I always roast my pumpkins.  It's so much fresher tasting than using a canned pumpkin, and of course, there are no preservatives.

Roasting a pumpkin is simple.  This is for a pumpkin that is roughly 1-2 pounds (typically called a pie pumpkin).  Line a baking sheet with foil.  Spray the foil with cooking spray or, as I did this time, drizzle a small amount of (almond) oil.

Split the pumpkin in half. Scoop the seeds and other gunk out and set aside (roasted pumpkin seeds are awesome!).  Place the pumpkin halves open side down on the baking sheet.

Bake at 375 degrees (f) for 1 hour or until you can pierce the pumpkin easily with a fork.

Allow the pumpkin to cool for a few minutes before attempting to scoop out the "meat".  Once it's out, you're ready to add it to your soup or make that yummy pumpkin bread!  Enjoy!

(Not) "Beef" and Potato Pie

I initially found this recipe in the June 2012 issue of All You magazine (p. 75), which is my absolute favorite magazine.  When I finally decided to make it, though, I knew I'd have to make some changes, as we do not use any kind of ground beef.  So here is my version of "Beef" and Potato Pie, and it was hands down, the HIT of the week in our house.

The original recipe said it made 4 servings.  I doubled the amount of ground turkey because I have to feed 5, but 3 of those 5 are adults!

Le finished product

Ingredients:

• 2 tsp. canola oil
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1-1/2 lbs. ground turkey, 97/3  (this is approximately 2-1/2 times the amt called for in the original recipe, but I have to feed 5)
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 2 ribs celery, thinly sliced
• 2 carrots, chopped (I omitted this the first time)
• 2 medium red bliss potatoes, scrubbed well, sliced thin (I used my mandoline)
• salt & pepper to taste
• 2 Tbs. wheat flour  (I probably used 3 Tbs. because I used twice the amt of meat called for in the recipe)
• 1-1/4 c low-sodium beef broth. I used Knorr's new Homestyle Stock (beef), and used the whole tub of the broth, because I needed it to really flavor the turkey.
• 1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce (I probably used 2 tsp., also because of the doubled meat)
• 2 tsp. unsalted butter, melted

Ok, I know it seems like a LOT of stuff, but it goes together really quickly.

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
2. Melt 1 tsp. butter in your frying pan.  Once that's melted, add the oil - it helps the butter to not burn.   Once that's heated, lightly saute the garlic. After about a minute or two, add the rest of your chopped vegetables.  See, that didn't take long, did it?
3. Saute the vegetables for about 2 minutes or so. You don't want them to get too soft, though.
4. Add the ground turkey, and mix everything up in the pan.  At this point, I also added the broth, to really cook the flavor into the meat.  This cooks for as long as it takes to cook the meat thoroughly.  It probably took about 10 minutes (some of my turkey came out of the microwave slightly frozen still, so it probably took me 15 minutes).  
5. While the meat/vegetable mixture is cooking, I scrubbed and sliced my potatoes.  The original recipe calls for you to boil the slices in a pan with water.  I microwaved mine for about 3-4 minutes in about 1/2 inch of water in a casserole dish.  Same thing, really - and fewer pans to wash.  Ultimately, though, it's whatever you feel like doing. Just do NOT let the potatoes turn to mush.  You want them slightly cooked, but still firm.
6. Once the meat mixture is thoroughly cooked through, sprinkle the flour over it and blend it in well.  This will thicken the juices and make a sort of gravy.  Now things are really picking up!
7. Now you will layer the slices of potatoes across/around the top of the meat mixture. Because my frying pan is all metal, I can put the whole thing in the oven, so that's what I did.  However, if you cannot do this, then you would transfer the meat/veggie mixture into a oven-safe dish before doing the potatoes on top.
8. Once the potatoes are arranged on top (in a pretty pattern, no doubt!), brush them with 1 tsp. of melted butter.  This helps them brown in the oven.  You can also sprinkle with salt (I used my Lawry's garlic salt).
9. Transfer your pan/dish to the oven that you've had preheating (375ish.)  The original recipe calls for you to bake it for 30 minutes or until the middle is hot.  I cooked it while I was preparing the next recipe (apple cake), so it may have cooked longer than 30 minutes.  As long as you don't burn it, you're fine :D  You can also turn on the broiler at the end to brown up the potatoes, but I didn't even have to do that.  The butter took care of it for me.

I served this with some steamed vegetables and as I said, it was an absolute HIT!  There was NO leftovers (which kinda sucks), and everyone left the table with happy, full bellies.

Notes:

• Next time, I'm thinking about maybe putting this in a pie crust.  Not sure, though, but it SEEMS like it would be yummy.
• Keep in mind that if you DO use ground beef, you will have to drain off the oil when you're done cooking it, before adding the broth.  With the 97/3 turkey, there is no fat to drain off.  Score!
• I will probably up the amount of celery and add the carrots next time, just to make this go farther.
• My son wants me to use more potatoes next time. :)  

Lazy Chicken Enchiladas

Sorry for the poor photo quality!

I have no idea if this idea is replicated a thousand times elsewhere on the Internet.  All I know is that I threw this together last night and my family absolutely LOVED it.  Seeing as that's a huge requirement to my posting things on here, here you go.

Lazy Chicken Enchiladas

• 2-3 boneless chicken breasts
• 1 small can enchilada sauce (mild)
• 6 burrito-sized flour tortillas
• 2 cups mexican flavored cheese
• cooking spray
• sour cream (optional)
• green onion (optional)

First, I sauteed the whole chicken breasts in a frying pan with the can of enchilada sauce.  This was my time to figure out what else I was going to do with the chicken, but I figured it would be a good start.

Once the chicken was cooked completely through (probably 15 minutes), I shredded it and chopped it up with 2 forks.

I spread some enchilada sauce from the pan into the bottom of a 9x12" baking dish.  In the future, though, I will remember that tortillas STICK TO GLASS, so I will spray with cooking spray!

2 tortillas down, then I spread out the equivalent of 1 chopped chicken breast across.  I then put approximate a handful (cup?) of cheese over the chicken, and then spread a THIN layer of enchilada sauce over it all.  Don't use too much, you don't want it to be soupy.  I laid 2 more tortillas across and added another layer of chicken, cheese and sauce. It was much like making a lasagna.

I topped it off with another layer of tortillas, and then spread another layer of cheese and sauce across the top.  I baked it in the oven approximately 20 minutes (at 425 degrees), until the top was nice and bubbly.

I served it topped with sour cream and chopped green onion and like I said, my family sucked it down!  I served it with a package of Mexican rice (Knorr), into which I also threw a cup of frozen corn.  It was a delicious dinner, pretty low-cost and low fat.  Delicious!

The only thing I might do next time is perhaps use 2 cans of sauce, or maybe just the bigger can - or maybe mix it with a can of tomato sauce - not sure yet.  You could also throw in a can of beans of your choice (I usually use kidney beans), but I didn't last night because the kids had told me they were getting tired of beans LOL.  I might also try this with ground turkey instead of chicken.

Next time, I promise to take BETTER photos!

Updated Parmesan Encrusted Tilapia

Ever since I posted the recipe for parmesan encrusted tilapia nearly 5 years ago, it's been a pretty popular search term for My Tasty Space.  It's a wonderful recipe, and so easy to make.  A couple of months ago, though, I decided to try and update it, to see what I could do with it.  The results were so delicious, I felt I HAD to share them here.  So here's my updated Parmesan encrusted tilapia!

• 1-1/2 lbs tilapia
• 1/2 cup panko breadcrumbs
• 1/2 cup regular breadcrumbs - I used seasoned
• 1/4 cup freshly shredded Parmesan cheese
• 2 Tbs. butter (unsalted)
• 2 Tbs. olive oil
• garlic powder
• garlic salt
• onion powder

Preheat oven to 400° F.

In a bowl, melt butter and combine with olive oil. 

Rinse fish and check for bones.  Towel the fillets dry. I put my fish in a large metal bowl and pour the butter/olive oil mixture over them, tossing the fish to be sure they're evenly coated.

In a large zip-type bag, combine breadcrumbs, and sprinkle a liberal dose of garlic powder and onion powder. I don't measure, I just sprinkle.  I also toss in a healthy sprinkle of Lawry's Garlic Salt and some pepper.  Toss this around so that it's well mixed.  Add the fresh Parmesan cheese.

Spray the cooking sheet or aluminum foil with a cooking spray, to prevent the fish mixture from sticking.

Now, toss 1-2 pieces of fish into the bag to coat well.  Place them on the sheet and repeat the process until all fish are coated.  Then take the leftover crumbs and spread them evenly over the fish.

Bake in the oven for 15-20 minutes or until the fish flakes with your fork.  

Serve with something yummy, and a side of something yummy, and voila!

Parmesan encrusted tilap-ia!

Vegetable Quiche (no milk)

One afternoon, I wanted to experiment with quiche. I'd never made one and I love to eat them. But the ones in the frozen foods section of the market are loaded with stuff I don't need, like fat and fat and more fat.  So I decided to try one on my own.  The results were AMAZING!

yum!

Dawn's Veggie Quiche

• 5 eggs, scrambled
• 1 frozen pie crust
• 3/4 lb. fresh spinach
• 3 cloves garlic, sliced or crushed
• 1 Tbs. olive oil
• 1 cup julienned zucchini strips
• 1/4 c. light vanilla soy milk

First, I heated the oil up in a skillet and sauteed the garlic. Once it began to get fragrant, I added the spinach and tossed until it wilted, gradually adding it all.

In a mixing bowl, I scrambled the eggs, added about 1-1/2 handfuls of a mexican cheese blend (but you could really use any cheese), the zucchini and finally the spinach.  I blended everything together with a fork, then poured it into the pie crust.

I put this on a baking sheet and put it in a preheated 375 oven.  I cooked it for 45 minutes.  I let it cool for 10 minutes.  My kids absolutely LOVED it, as did I.


According to the info on sparkrecipes.com, after I entered in the recipe, this is what this recipe contains:

Amount Per Serving
Calories		174.7
Total Fat		12.1 g
	Saturated Fat	4.1 g
	Polyunsaturated Fat	1.4 g
	Monounsaturated Fat	5.0 g
Cholesterol		121.9 mg
Sodium		207.9 mg
Potassium		173.7 mg
Total Carbohydrate		9.9 g
	Dietary Fiber	0.7 g
	Sugars	2.2 g
Protein		6.7 g

So then I compared that to Trader Joe's spinach quiche  here, and wow.  I think mine was a LOT healthier.  Next time, I'd like to add tomato, maybe substitute some of the eggs for eggbeaters, not sure.  But it was awesome!

Want some?

What's up with that?

Visitors to my blog may notice that my recent recipes are being photographed on styrofoam plates.  While I'm far from being a FOOD photographer, I will admit that I've taken better photos in the past.  What happened was, on January 16th, I underwent a rather extensive abdominal surgery and wound up with a 9 inch incision running down the center of my belly.  So standing at the sink to wash dishes is out.  The dishwasher is out of order, so that's out too.  My family apparently has some sort of severe allergy to washing dishes, so what's left?  DISPOSABLE!  While it's not ideal, it DOES cut down on sink time, so that's what's up!

Tomato & Basil Rotini with Chicken

Tomato & Basil Rotini with Chicken

For a detailed reason of why my dishes are appearing on styrofoam plates, click here.

• 1 lb. Mueller’s Whole Wheat Rotini pasta, cooked 
• 2 chicken breasts, cut into bite-sized pieces  
• 1 package chicken broth powder 
• 1 cup hot water
• 1 lb frozen green beans 
• 1 16oz. package Philadelphia Cookin Crème “Tomato & Basil” 

 

1. Begin by essentially steaming your chicken in a skillet with the broth. This keeps the fat content down considerably, and the broth helps insure you don’t wind up with bland chicken. 
2. Once the chicken is mostly all cooked (all the pieces have turned that white/tan color), add the bag of green beans on top. Cover for 5-10 minutes, while you boil the water for the pasta.
3. Cook the pasta in salted water.  I’ve found that the only way to palate whole wheat pasta is to cook it beyond al dente.
4. Once the pasta is cooked, drain thoroughly, and then return to the pan you cooked it in.  
5. Add dollops of the Cooking Crème throughout the pasta, so that it melts with the heat of the pasta.  Once you’ve added ¾ of the package, add the now cooked chicken and green beans to the pasta pan.
6. Add the rest of the Cookin Crème and toss gently to cover everything.
7. Plate it and finish it off with a nice health shaving of parmesan or mozzarella.
   
   Dinner’s ready!  

Easy replacements would be delicious. I’ve used spinach, broccoli and a host of other vegetables. I’ve also used more than 1 at a time.  There’s more than enough Cookin Crème to cover everything.  We’ve been moving away from using a lot of meat, but I think this would also work with ground turkey, too – or really ANY meat, including maybe some pork or hamburger.  It would also work with NO meat. It’s a very versatile recipe!  Enjoy!  

Baked, Stuffed Tomatoes

We have had stuffed tomatoes before - but we've always used some sort of meat to do the stuffing.  This time, I wanted to skip the meat, as this was going to be a side dish for another recipes - steamed fish packets.  I've adapted this recipe based on the ideas I got from reading other recipes, and it turned out wonderful!

Baked, Stuffed Tomatoes

Preheat oven to 400f.

8 tomatoes. I used on-the-vine tomatoes, because they're bigger and cheaper at this time of year.
1 cup couscous
1/4 c. (or more) feta cheese
1/2 onion, chopped
3-4 garlic cloves, sliced
1 T. olive oil
1 T. unsalted butter
1 c. water or broth

1. Cut the core from the tomato, and then using a spoon, remove the juice and pulp from them. I wasn't REALLY precise, but the more you leave it, the soggier your couscous will get.
2. Melt butter in a skillet, add olive oil.
3. Add onions and garlic- saute' until they're soft.
4. Add dry couscous. The couscous will absorb the butter/oil mixture. Toast the couscous for 2-3 minutes.
5. Add water, a little at a time, and allow the couscous to cook - probably 5 minutes or so - just until the water is fully absorbed.  I typically use chicken broth to cook couscous, but I used plain water this time.  When it was finished, I sprinkled it with garlic salt. Remove from heat.
6. When you're ready to stuff the tomatoes, toss the feta with the couscous.  You don't want the cheese to melt in the pan, so let the pan sit for a couple of minutes to cool.  Add the feta and gently toss with the couscous.
7. Using a spoon or ice cream scoop as I did, stuff the tomatoes. 
8. Place tomatoes in a baking dish - I lined mine with fresh spinach, but they wound up drying out. lol
9. Bake for 20 minutes.  Enjoy!

PS - I apologize for the poor quality of the photos - my camera phone just isn't up to the task!