Grandma's Potato Soup Supreme

There is nothing that can compare to Grandma Myers' potato soup. And even though she died at age 96 in 2012, her spirit and legacy live on through many things, including a variety of comfort-food recipes that have been passed down through the generations. 

The aroma of the potatoes, onions, garlic, and oregano as they simmer makes my mouth water. And it really doesn't get any easier than this: just potatoes, onions, milk, and a few seasonings. Chop, simmer, and done! Here is the recipe:

POTATO SOUP SUPREME

4 cups potatoes, cut into 1” cubes

2 medium onions, chopped

¾ cup water

1 tsp. salt

½ tsp. garlic salt

½ tsp. oregano

¼ tsp. pepper

4 cups milk

¼ cup butter

Combine the first 7 ingredients in a large pan. Cover and bring to a boil, then simmer until potatoes are tender, about 20 minutes.

Mash potatoes slightly; add milk and butter. Heat through.

Jen

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Skinny Chicken Enchiladas

Have you ever come back from vacation and wished that someone had cooked dinner for you, cleaned your house, unpacked your bags and started the laundry?

Yeah, me neither. However, this recipe is the next best thing to having dinner already made. The hardest thing about it is cooking the chicken. That's it. The rest is a piece of cake...um, chicken.

Although the recipe doesn't specify, it is important that the tortillas be the larger size (10 or 12 inch tortillas). Unless you are a professional enchilada roller and then go for the 8 inch size.

Here are a couple of pictures of the finished product. We served the enchiladas with lettuce, tomato and avocado on top.

For my family of two (me and my husband), there will be plenty of leftovers!

Here is the original posting of this recipe at skinnymom.com.

Enjoy! - JC

SKINNY CHICKEN ENCHILADAS


Ingredients
         • 16 oz. fat free sour cream
         • 1 can fat free cream of chicken soup
         • 1 tbls. fresh chopped cilantro (1/2 tbls. dried)
         • 2 1/2 cups cooked shredded chicken breast
         • 1 can Mexican Rotel
         • 1 cup chopped onions (optional)
         • 8 low carb tortillas
         • 1 cup shredded pepper jack and colby cheese blend
         • 1 can diced green chiles
        
Instructions
1.            Directions
2.            In a saucepan, mix together sour cream, soup and cilantro. Heat through and set aside.
3.            This is will get to the bubble up/boil stage quickly and make a huge hot mess if you don't keep stirring. I learned the hard way.
4.            Twice.
5.            Combine the chicken, rotel, onions and green chiles in a pan sprayed with cooking spray. Heat until onions are transparent. Or if you omit onions like I have done, for a few minutes to blend the flavors and juices.
6.            Warm the tortillas until flexible. (I microwave them for 10 seconds sandwiched between two damp paper towels.)
7.            Fill each tortilla with about 2 tbls. of the chicken mixture.
8.            Top with about 1/2-1 tablespoon of cheese (or a medium sized pinch if you measure like I do)
9.            Roll the tortilla up and place seam side down (or they will unravel and you will be annoyed.) in a 8x11 dish sprayed with cooking spray.
10.        Directions on how to fold a burrito can be found HERE)
11.        Pour/Spread the sour cream sauce over enchiladas
12.        Top with the remaining cheese
13.        Bake at 350°F for 25-30 minutes until bubbly and cheese is melted.
Notes
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 275; Total Fat: 8g; Total Carbs: 30g; Protein: 14g

Jillian Michael's Low Calorie Brownies

So I was pretty excited when I saw this recipe. Brownies...healthy? 86 calories a serving?? Hmmm...

So today was the day I tried these. My grandson, David, is in town and I was dying to bake something for him. We have been apart for 3 months since I moved to California and one of the things I love to do with him is bake goodies to eat.

My guess is that he will not like these. They just don't taste like regular brownies. In order to make them taste somewhat like brownies, I added the optional items of walnuts and chocolate chips (dark chocolate). They taste pretty good to my adult palate but I don't think they will go over very well with the 3 and under crowd!

Here is what they looked and the link to the recipe follows. Let me know if you try them!

Jillian Michael's Low Calorie Brownies

Enjoy! - JC

Yogurt Covered Strawberries

It is strawberry season here in California as it is in Florida, too. And that means that my grandson, David, will be eating his weight in strawberries now!

So here's a quick recipe for a healthy dessert or a Valentine's Day treat or just a snack to get you through the day.

YOGURT COVERED STRAWBERRIES

12 oz. Vanilla flavored Greek yogurt

2 pints strawberries

Dip strawberries in yogurt; coat well. Place on plate covered with wax paper or aluminum foil. Put strawberries in the freezer for 2 hours. Serve cold! (or the yogurt will melt quickly...not a bad thing, just messier!)

P.S.: If you want to make some for your whole family, double the recipe. My husband and I devoured these when the power went out during the Super Bowl!

Enjoy - JC

Zuppa Toscana

Sorry it's been a while since I posted. Vacation time got in the way. We traveled to Bogota, Colombia. Here is a picture of me making arepas and our finished product!

Hopefully, there will be a post soon of me making these on my own here in my own kitchen. I have to find a cheese that is comparable to the one my father-in-law makes from the milk of his own cows. Once I have that, believe me, I will making some arepas of my own! :)

Now, on to the Zuppa Toscana. This is my husband's favorite soup from the Olive Garden. It does not matter if we go there for lunch, dinner, a big family gathering or a special date night, every time we go to OG, he orders soup and salad. And every time, it's the same soup: Zuppa Toscana. (I personally like the Chicken Gnocci, but that's another blog, too!)

So, I decided to try my hand at making this. There are plenty of recipes out there and you can make this in the crock pot or on the stove. I chose this recipe for its simplicity; I continue to make it b/c it tastes just like the original.

BTW, the third time I made this, I put in all chicken broth instead of chicken broth and water. It still tasted fine but it wasn't the carbon copy of the OG soup. 

Look at all the flavor in there! And, if you ask me, you have to use kale and not some other green. That curly, crunchy texture is a perfect counterpart to the creamy goodness of the rest of the soup.

Here's the recipe. Enjoy! - JC

ZUPPA TOSCANA (Just like Olive Garden)

Ingredients

◦                                  1 lb Italian sausage (I used spicy, chicken sausage)

◦                                  2 large russet baking potatoes, sliced in half, and then in 1/4 inch slices

◦                                  1 large onions, chopped

◦                                  1/4 cup bacon bits, optional (The original recipe says optional, but it is NOT)

◦                                  2 garlic cloves, minced

◦                                  2 cups kale or 2 cups swiss chard, chopped

◦                                  2 (8 ounce) cans chicken broth

◦                                  1 quart water

◦                                  1 cup heavy whipping cream (I used half and half)

Directions

1.            Chop or slice uncooked sausage into small pieces.

2.            Brown sausage in your soup pot. Remove sausage from pot.

3.            Add chicken broth and water to pot and stir.

4.            Place onions, potatoes, and garlic in pot.

5.            Cook on medium heat until potatoes are done.

6.            Add sausage and bacon.

7.            Salt and pepper to taste.

8.            Simmer for another 10 minutes.

9.            Turn to low heat.

10.        Add kale and cream. Heat through and serve.

Stuffed Chicken

Oh my! I combined this recipe for Stuffed Chicken with the Mashed Cauliflower. It was amazing, fantastic and delicious, all rolled into one!

So sorry but I have no idea where I got this recipe, so I can't give credit to the source. Also, be aware that I made a couple of changes/additions. The first time I made this recipe, I followed it exactly. However, after working my butt off to make a fabulous meal, my husband informs me (after he licked his plate clean) that he doesn't really like goat cheese. So this time around, I made the recipe with feta cheese instead. Also, I added a couple of handfuls of frozen peas at the very end. There was leftover cheese (I only had 2 chicken large chicken breasts instead of 6 regular sized pieces), so I sprinkled that on top before serving.

This is how it looked before serving. Doesn't it look awesome??!!

Here is the recipe:

STUFFED CHICKEN

1 cup goat cheese,

1 tsp dried Italian herbs

1 tsp chopped fresh Italian parsley

Salt and pepper

6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

1/4 cup of olive oil

4 cloves of garlic, chopped

1/2 cup sun-dried tomatoes, chopped

1 cup heavy cream

Mix goat cheese, dried Italian herbs and parsley; season with salt and pepper. Make a slit down the side of 6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, creating pockets. Spoon a layer of cheese mixture inside each breast. Season with salt and pepper.

In a sauté pan over medium-high heat, heat olive oil; cook chicken, turning once, 6 minutes each side. Remove chicken. Add garlic, sun-dried tomatoes and heavy cream. Scrape all bits off bottom of pan. Bring to a boil; simmer 5 minutes. Spoon sauce over chicken.

Jen

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Creamy Mashed Cauliflower

These are so yummy! 

A few years back, I went on the South Beach Diet. I lost 25 pounds by following the diet pretty closely. There are quite a few recipes that I still use from that time.

In one of the recipe books that go along with the South Beach Diet, there is a recipe for South Beach Mashed "Potatoes." The following recipe is NOT that recipe. It is BETTER! One of the reasons it is better is the addition of garlic. Garlic makes everything better. Well, garlic and wine make everything better but that's another story!

Anyway, I came across the following recipe on Pinterest. I love the flavor of the mashed cauliflower and you can use it as a substitute for any mashed potatoes. It has a great consistency, stiffer than its South Beach cousin.

Here is the link to the original website.

CREAMY MASHED CAULIFLOWER

Servings: 4 servings, 3/4 cup each

Prep: 15 mins

Total: 30 mins

INGREDIENTS

8 cups  bite-size cauliflower florets, (about 1 head)

4 cloves  garlic, crushed and peeled

1/3 cup  nonfat buttermilk, (see Tip)

4 teaspoons  extra-virgin olive oil, divided

1 teaspoon  butter

1/2 teaspoon  salt

  Freshly ground pepper, to taste

  Snipped fresh chives, for garnish

DIRECTIONS

1. Place cauliflower florets and garlic in a steamer basket over boiling water, cover and steam until very tender, 12 to 15 minutes. (Alternatively, place florets and garlic in a microwave-safe bowl with 1/4 cup water, cover and microwave on High for 3 to 5 minutes.)

2. Place the cooked cauliflower and garlic in a food processor. Add buttermilk, 2 teaspoons oil, butter, salt and pepper; pulse several times, then process until smooth and creamy. Transfer to a serving bowl. Drizzle with the remaining 2 teaspoons oil and garnish with chives, if desired. Serve hot.

Tip:

Tip: No buttermilk? You can use buttermilk powder prepared according to package directions. Or make "sour milk": mix 1 tablespoon lemon juice or vinegar to 1 cup milk.

Jen

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