Who you callin' skinny?!

If you know me, you know that I'm always on the hunt for a solid recipe that I can work with for Mr. TL & I to enjoy. My friend K recently pointed out a fabulous food blog to me - Skinny Taste. The recipes all correlate to the Weight Watchers program fairly well and even if you're not following the program, it's nice to have a health filled recipe in your arsenal.

The recipes on Gina's blog for Crock Pot Minestrone Soup got my wheels turning. It's been unseasonably cool the past few weeks here in Little Rhody so a nice, hearty soup was just the trick. I adapted it slightly (subbing in dried for fresh herbs as well as switching up the additions of the recipe too). What we ended up with was a crock pot full of deliciousness that not only was a meal for Mr. TL & I on a cool night, but also served double duty as a freezer meal for the future (Note: I didn't add all of the pasta to the pot of soup. I placed a small bit of cooked pasta into our bowls, then ladled the soup over it. This way, the frozen soup, would not suffer a mushy pasta death when I go to reheat it!).

Crock Pot Sausage Minestrone Soup

(adapted from Gina's Skinny Taste)

1/2 onion, chopped

1 cup carrots, chopped

1 celery stalk, chopped

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 (28 oz) can diced tomatoes

1 (15 oz) can cannelini

3 cups fat free chicken broth

1 oz chunk of good Parmesan cheese

1 teaspoon dried rosemary

2 bay leaves

1 teaspoon dried basil

2 teaspoons dried parsley

salt and fresh pepper

1 medium yellow squash, chopped

2 cups chopped frozen spinach

1/2 pound chicken sausage, cooked and crumbled

2 cups cooked small pasta like ditalini or elbows (al dente)

extra parmesan cheese to top

Rinse and drain beans. Mash beans in a small bowl (this helped to thicken my soup).

In a crock pot, combine broth, tomatoes, mashed beans, carrots, celery, onion, garlic, herbs, Parmesan cheese chunk, frozen spinach, salt and pepper. Cover and cook on low for 6 to 8 hours.

Forty minutes before the soup is done cooking, add squash and cooked sausage. Cover and cook 30 more minutes. Add cooked pasta, cook 10 minutes more. Remove bay leaves and season to taste with salt and black pepper. Ladle soup into bowls and top with extra parmesan cheese.

Some recipes are a little corny...

Excuse the cheesy title - being witty isn't always do-able after a long day! However, whipping up a yummy chipotle Corn Chowder IS do-able. I spotted the recipe for this soup on one of my favorite blogs, The Pioneer Woman, and knew I'd have to give it a whirl. I won't lie, I was a bit hesitant since I'm married to a man who thinks red meat deserves it's due justice morning, noon, and night, so a meal that is basically all veggies? Ehhh... I knew it would have to be top notch to win him over. And guess what? It was! I adjusted the original recipe slightly by using frozen corn, adding a chipotle pepper, adding more cream, and playing with the amount of cornmeal but myself and my dinner dates (my dear husband and culinary guru father!) agreed that it was quite delicious and a perfect soup for a crisp fall night.

Also - This could easily be made vegetarian by omitting the bacon and using vegetable stock instead of chicken. I don't know why you WOULD omit the bacon but I won't judge you if you do :)

Enjoy

Chipotle Corn Chowder
(adapted from The Pioneer Woman)

2 slices bacon, cut into 1/2-inch pieces

2 tablespoons butter

1/2 large yellow onion, finely diced

32 ounces frozen corn, thawed

3 whole chipotle peppers In adobo sauce, finely diced + 2 tablespoons of the adobo sauce

1 whole 4-ounce can diced green chilies

32 ounces, fluid low sodium chicken broth

2 cups heavy cream

½ teaspoons kosher salt

6 tablespoons corn meal

1/2 cup water

Add bacon pieces to a pot or dutch oven over medium heat. Cook for a couple of minutes. Throw in diced onion and stir, cooking the onion for 3 to 4 minutes. Add butter and melt. Add corn. Stir and cook for one minute. Add both kinds of chilies and stir.

Pour in chicken broth and cream. Add salt. Stir and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low.

Combine cornmeal with water. Stir to combine, then pour into the chowder. Cover and cook for 15 minutes over low heat. If chowder needs more thickening, add another tablespoon of cornmeal mixed with water. Cook for another ten minutes.

All those in favor of tasty & quick Mexican flavored soup say "Aye"!

Aye Aye!

I love Mexican food... so much so that I dream of visiting Chicago one day just to go to Rick Bayless' restaurant!

I adapted this recipe from one I found on a website that is put together by the local Nest board and it is certainly a great resource for all sorts of deliciousness!! I'm always looking for good slow cooker recipes since I work late and the husband's idea of cooking a good meal is calling for takeout.

Enjoy :)

Slow Cooker Chicken Tortilla Soup

Ingredients

• 
  

  1 pound shredded, cooked chicken

  
  


• 
  

  1 (15 ounce) can whole peeled tomatoes, mashed

  
  


• 
  

  1 (10 ounce) can enchilada sauce

  
  


• 
  

  1 medium onion, chopped

  
  


• 
  

  1 (4 ounce) can chopped green chile peppers

  
  


• 
  

  2 cloves garlic, minced

  
  


• 
  

  2 cups water

  
  


• 
  

  1 (14.5 ounce) can chicken broth

  
  


• 
  

  1 teaspoon chili powder

  
  


• 
  

  1 teaspoon salt

  
  


• 
  

  1/4 teaspoon black pepper

  
  


• 1 (10 ounce) package frozen corn


• vegetable oil

Directions

1. 
   

   Place chicken, tomatoes, enchilada sauce, onion, green chiles, and garlic into a slow cooker. Pour in water and chicken broth, and season with chili powder, salt, pepper. Stir in corn. Cover, and cook on Low setting for 6 to 8 hours or on High setting for 3 to 4 hours.

   
   


2. 
   

   Serve with a dollop of sour cream and avacado slices.