My Low Cal Veggie Soup

Too much baking- Too much cooking- Too much eating...and its time for me to start making my low cal veggie soup.


This is a comfort food that is good for you and hits the spot on those really cold days (or any day!).
It is guilt free and healthy.

My Low Calorie Vegetable Soup

Onions, raw, 1 cup, chopped
Carrots, raw, 2 large chopped (7-1/4" to 8-1/2" long)
Celery, raw, 4 stalk, small chopped (5" long)
Leeks, .5 cups washed well and chopped
Endive,1/2 cup, chopped
White beans, 1 cup
Red cabbage 1/4 cup
Swanson Chicken Broth 99% Fat Free, 4 cups
Water, tap, 2 cups (8 fl oz)
Mixed frozen veggies- 1 bag

Saute onion,leek,celery.carrots and any other remaining veggies in olive oil.
Add liquids -
Add remaining items (beans and barley).
Cook until slowly until all is tender-season. Enjoy!
*feel free to add rice, pasta or barley.
(I usually prefer barley)

Number of Servings: 8

Peanut Butter Chocolate Kiss Cookies

When my son asked me if he could help me make some cookies-
I decided to make something I knew he loved.
Chocolate and Peanut Butter! Perfect way to keep him in the kitchen!

1/2 c Sugar	1 Egg
1/2 c Packed light brown sugar	1 3/4 c Flour
1/2 c Soft butter	1 ts Baking soda
1/2 c Peanut butter	1/2 ts Salt
2 tb Milk	Decorating sugar
1 ts Vanilla	Chocolate kisses

Instructions for Peanut Butter/Chocolate Kiss Cookies

Heat oven to 375. Mix all ingredients except kisses and decorating sugar. Will form stiff dough. Roll into balls. Roll in decorating sugar. Place 2 inches apart on un-greased cookie sheet. Bake 10-12 minutes. Press chocolate kiss in center. Makes 4 doz.

Ham Day !!!!!!!!!!!

Yesterday was Ham Day-
My niece and her husband came to dinner
and I made a yummy Spiral Cut Ham-
and it was DELISH!

Needless to say I have a ton of leftover ham.

When I was at the supermarket this afternoon I bought a bag of split peas...to make soup with some of my leftover ham!

Then I happen to land on Lisa's blog~

The Cutting Edge of Ordinary .

Lisa made Ham &

Navy Bean Soup.

When I saw her photo I knew I had to have some.

So I got to work.

I followed her recipe and then a

dded a few cut up potatoes

and some diced up kale that was in my fridge.

Then weather is getting colder and we are expecting some snow

and this soup really hit the spot.

Thank you Lisa- it was a hit!

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Ham & Navy Bean Soup

taken from "The Cutting Edge of Ordinary"

6 - 8 cups of chicken stock (or broth)
3 medium carrots, sliced
2 stalks celery, sliced

1 ham bone
1 pound navy beans, rinsed and soaked over night.
Leftover ham, cut into bit size pieces.

In a large pot bring the chicken stock, carrots, celery and the ham bone to a boil then reduce to a simmer.

Add in the navy beans and simmer about 2 hours, or

until beans are tender. I also added some Mrs. Dash, fresh parsley, a bay leaf and some cracked black pepper while it cooked. Take out the ham bone. If you have a big dog in the neighborhood I would save it as a nice treat. Since my pup is only 12 pounds and the ham bone weighs as much as him, I had to toss mine since there wasn't a big pooch around. Add the ham during the last 15 minutes of cooking.

Classic Cranberry Bread

CLASSIC CRANBERRY BREAD

recipe from: Ocean Spray

• 2 cups flour
  
• 1 cup sugar
  
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
  
• 1 teaspoon salt
  
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  
• 3/4 cup orange juice
  
• 1 tablespoon grated orange peel
  
• 2 tablespoons shortening
  
• 1 egg, well beaten
  
• 1 1/2 cups Ocean Spray® Fresh or Frozen Cranberries, coarsely chopped
  
• 1/2 cup chopped nuts

Preheat oven to 350ºF. Grease a 9 x 5-inch loaf pan.

Mix together flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and baking soda in a medium mixing bowl. Stir in orange juice, orange peel, shortening and egg. Mix until well blended. Stir in cranberries and nuts. Spread evenly in loaf pan.

Bake for 55 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool on a rack for 15 minutes. Remove from pan; cool completely. Wrap and store overnight. Makes 1 loaf (16 slices).

Another Free Style Soup Day

The weather is rainy and damp-although it really is not cold!
For some reason I was desiring soup...soooooooooo I got to cooking!




Well as usual I don't use recipes- I sort of create as I go along.
I started dicing onions and pretty soon I was making a soup very similar to the one I made the other day - you might remember from a previous post.
The only difference is that I used spinach today- I added barley and some tomato paste.
I also added a can of beans and some green beans.
The soup was chock full of goodies and tasted delicious.


Last minute I decided to make some quick bread dough - I thought the soup could use some fresh baked rolls.


It was a hit and everyone was happy- even my son-since I knew he would not dare try my soup I made him a pizza.

Really Easy-Yummy-Stuffed Peppers

I don’t usually measure when I cook.
These are the ingredients I used to make these stuffed peppers …


4 Peppers
Ground Turkey about 8 oz.
Onions 1 diced
Scallions 2 diced
Garlic 2 cloves chopped
Rice about 1 cup
Tomato paste (1 tbsp)
Parmesan cheese about a tbsp
Salt and pepper to taste

Sauté the onions, scallions and garlic
Then add turkey and sauté until meat is no longer pink.

Add 1 tbsp of tomato paste and then about 1 cup of rice
Add some parmesan cheese.
Salt and Pepper
Wash and clean the peppers ( I made enough for 4)
Stuff the peppers with the mixture and then pour
1 cup of tomato puree over the peppers

Cover and cook for about 45 minutes at 350 degrees- until the peppers are tender.
Uncover- sprinkle with shredded cheese- any kind you like- I had cheddar so that’s what I used.

These peppers are so delicious and really easy to make.
They are also really great leftover.

Sausage, Swiss Chard and Pasta Soup

It cold, windy and nasty outside and I thought soup was the perfect choice!
This was quick and easy and so comfy!

Sausage, Swiss Chard, and Pasta Soup

6 Italian Seasoned Turkey sausage, chopped

4 cups fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth

1 (14.5-ounce) can no-salt-added diced tomatoes, un-drained

4 cups coarsely chopped Swiss Chard

½ cup of ditelini pasta
½ onion diced
3 scallions diced

Heat a large saucepan over medium-high heat.

Sauté onions and scallions.
Add sausage to pan; cook 2 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Add chicken broth and diced tomatoes; bring to a boil over high heat.
Stir in the Swiss chard.

Reduce heat, and simmer 4 minutes or until the kale is tender.

Stir in pasta, and cook until tender.

Serve with Crusty Bread.
Yield: 4 servings