Bean and Barley Soup

The finished product.

We really enjoyed this super healthy soup which I found on daily meal via pinterest. I doubled it and didn't regret it - yummm!

Ingredients
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 white or yellow onion, chopped2 stalks celery, with leaves, chopped
2 carrots, chopped
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 teaspoon dried marjoram
1 teaspoon dried thyme
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon pepper
1/2 cup barley
1/3 cup lentils
2 red or white creamer potatoes, cut into chunks
One 15-ounce can red kidney beans, drained and rinsed

Soup in process

Directions

Heat the olive oil in a medium to large soup pot over medium heat. Add the onion, celery, and carrots. Sauté until the vegetables begin to soften and become fragrant, about 3-5 minutes. Stir in the tomato paste. Season with the dried marjoram, thyme, salt, and pepper. Sauté for 3-5 minutes, stirring so the flavors meld and the spices are evenly distributed.

Add the barley, lentils, potatoes, and kidney beans and stir to combine. Pour in enough water to cover the soup contents by about 2 inches. Stir to combine, cover partially, and simmer for about 1 hour. Remove the soup from the heat and let sit a few minutes before serving.

4 servings (Calories: 121; Total fat: 3.7 g; Saturated fat: 0.5 g; Cholesterol: 0 mg; Sodium: 1,265 mg; Total carbohydrate: 18 g; Dietary fiber: 6.9g; Sugars: 4.2 g; Protein: 5.2 g.)

Moroccan Vegetable Salad

For dinner tonight, I adapted a recipe from an old WeightWatchers cookbook from the Turn Around Program. We added butter lettuce and grilled chicken to the original. Delicious, crunchy and filling.

Ingredients
1 pint grape tomatoes, larger ones halved
1 large red bell pepper, seeded and chopped
1 medium cucumber, seeded and chopped
4 Tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
2 teaspoons olive oil
1 garlic clove, minced
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
1 cup canned chickpeas, rinsed and drained
1/3 cup fat-free sour cream (or yogurt)
2 grilled chicken breasts, sliced
1 head butter lettuce, cleaned and cored

Directions
Combine the tomatoes, peppers and cucumbers in a medium bowl with 2 Tablespoons of lemon juice and the salt and pepper. Stir well, cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes to give the flavors a chance to marry.
Meanwhile, heat the oil in a small skillet over medium heat. Add the garlic and cook, stirring constantly, about 30 seconds. Add the cumin and toast, stirring constantly, about 1 minute.
Puree the chickpeas, sour cream, remaining 2 Tablespoons of lemon juice in a food processor. Add the garlic mixture; pulse until combined.
Put several leaves (about 1/4 of the head) of butter lettuce on each plate, then top with one-fourth of tomato mixture. Top with about 1/3 cup of the chickpea puree and about half of a chicken breast.

Serves 4.

Taco Casserole

taco casserole, via pinterest

We made this yummy casserole for dinner Sunday after seeing it on pinterest. It promised to appeal to the whole family and it did - T loved it! We used green pepper from our garden (miraculously our pepper plants survived the heat of the summer, and so far the cold of the winter as well). 

peppers from the garden

Ingredients

1 lb ground skinless chicken breast
1/2 c onions, chopped
1/2 c bell peppers, chopped
1 clove garlic
1 pkg taco seasoning mix
8 ozs taco sauce
1 c fat-free sour cream
1 c fat-free cottage cheese
1 c low-fat tortilla chips, whole or broken up (we used Tostitos baked scoops)
1 c low-fat cheddar cheese, shredded
3/4 c salsa

Directions
Preheat oven to 400. Spray cooking spray on bottom of a 2-quart casserole dish; set aside. In a skillet, cook chicken, onion, peppers, and garlic clove until tender. Add seasoning mix and taco sauce; mix thoroughly and set aside. In a medium bowl, combine sour cream and cottage cheese; set aside. Place half the broken chips in the bottom of casserole dish. Add meat mixture to cover the chips, then cover the meat with sour cream mixture. Sprinkle with cheese and remaining crushed chips. Bake, uncovered, for 30 minutes or until cheese has melted. Top with 3/4 cup salsa if desired.

Makes 8 (1 Cup) Servings

Nutritional Info Per Serving:
287 Calories; 4g Fat; 25g Protein; 34g Carbs; 43mg Cholesterol; 2g Fiber; Points Plus+ 7

Note: I accidentally used fat-free cheese in this recipe, which I would not recommend. It dried out a bit and had to be cut with a sharp knife. Luckily it still tasted good. We'll try 2% cheese next time!

Fresh Vegetable Soup

Slightly adapted from the original recipe, we enjoyed this tasty and very healthy soup for lunch on Sunday. The only changes we made were to up the amount of broth (6 cups was not enough for the 8+ cups of veggies involved) and to increase the Swiss chard (T enjoyed chopping it a lot!). 

2 clove(s) garlic clove(s), minced
2 medium uncooked carrot(s), diced
2 small uncooked zucchini, diced
2 cup(s) uncooked savoy cabbage, or other variety, shredded
2 cup(s) uncooked Swiss chard, chopped
2 cup(s) uncooked cauliflower, small florets
2 cup(s) uncooked broccoli, small florets
1 medium uncooked onion(s), diced
1 medium sweet red pepper(s), diced
1 rib(s) uncooked celery, diced
2 tsp fresh thyme, chopped
10 cup(s) vegetable broth
2 Tbsp fresh parsley, or chives, fresh, chopped
1/2 tsp table salt, or to taste
1/4 tsp black pepper, or to taste
2 Tbsp fresh lemon juice, optional

Directions
Put garlic, vegetables, thyme and broth into a large soup pot. Cover and bring to a boil over high heat; reduce heat to low and simmer, partly covered, about 10 minutes.

Stir in parsley or chives; season to taste with salt, pepper and lemon juice. Yields about 1 cup per serving.

PointsPlus value 1
Servings 12