Asparagus Soup

I love asparagus, also known as "the stinky pee" vegetable in our home. (The chemical reactions in digestion cause our urine to produce a heavy ammonia odor- and I mean FAST! Now back to my soup.) 

I have read a couple of different recipes lately for asparagus soup, and I decided to ‘blend’ a few together to make my own.  When I explained what I was making to my bride, well, her enthusiasm wasn’t exactly shining through.  After I served her bowl, she wanted to make sure there was enough for her lunch the next day!  As a dinner soup, it doesn’t have enough sustenance, although it would be a great soup to pair with a small sandwich.

 

Ingredients

2 lbs. Asparagus

1 lg. sweet onion, chopped

3 tbsp. Brummel & Brown (margarine/yogurt)

3 cups 99% FF chicken broth

1 cup almond milk

6 oz. Plain fat free yogurt

Fresh lemon juice from one lemon

Ground black pepper and salt to taste

 

What to do-

Remove the tough bottoms from asparagus stalks.

 

Rinse the asparagus tips (reserve some for garnish).  Place asparagus in a large pot with onion, margarine, chicken broth and milk.

 

Cook over medium heat until asparagus is very tender (about 20 minutes).  Add freshly ground black pepper and salt to taste.

 

Purée the soup in batches using a blender or food processor until smooth. (Use care with hot liquids)

Pour into a bowl, and whisk in yogurt and a squeeze of lemon juice. Garnish with asparagus tips.

ENJOY!

Approximate Calories: 100 per cup.  (Estimate is high, but not off by much)

Valentine's Day Delights

Well this week is Valentine’s week at my schools.  I will have to have some special treats for my sweet students.  I picked up the materials in Wake Forest, NC while visiting the newlyweds Paige and Patrick.  Today we prepared them to go with my on my endeavors throughout my five classrooms.  Fortunately, the recipe was already HERE, I just had to change the M&M’s.  I also added some White Chocolate Raspberry Kisses.  These treats were so good that I had to HIDE them from my bride.  She goes nuts for white chocolate and then add a touch of raspberry…. Killer!

Oh, and these are NOT healthy food, but one per each of my students is just right.

Have a great week, and I'll show you my Valentine's present from my bride later!


Oh we made it a Family Fun Day in the kitchen this afternoon.  Mom and Natalie made cupcakes on Natalie's new Baby Cakes oven.  It's actually a pretty neat contraption.  They have some cool recipes for mini- quiche too!

Pizza Makeover

 

Tonight I experimented with one of my biggest weaknesses in the food battle – pizza.  It’s extremely difficult for me to turn down a slice or two or three of good pizza.  It’s impossible for me to just eat ONE slice and that is a bad thing considering pizza is not exactly low cal and good for you. 

Tonight’s pizza worked out VERY well in satisfying that pizzeria goodness.  This little experiment was filling and tasty!  A side salad makes it a complete meal.

Ingredients-

1 Flat Out Fold-it Flat bread

3 Tbsp. spaghetti sauce

¼ cup of shredded part-skim mozzarella

8 slices of turkey pepperoni, halved

Chopped onions

Sliced mushrooms

 

What to do-

Preheat oven or toaster oven to 375 degrees.

 

Place the flatbread on a wire rack.  Layer with the remaining ingredients: spread sauce on the surface of the flatbread.  Add onions, mushrooms then cheese and finish topping with pepperoni.

 

 

Bake for about ten minutes or until desired level of doneness is achieved.

 

Enjoy! 

Nutrition Facts
1 Serving
Amount Per Serving
Calories		260.7
Total Fat		13.6 g
	Saturated Fat	6.0 g
	Polyunsaturated Fat	0.2 g
	Monounsaturated Fat	1.3 g
Cholesterol		50.4 mg
Sodium		913.1 mg
Potassium		94.5 mg
Total Carbohydrate		20.7 g
	Dietary Fiber	8.4 g
	Sugars	2.4 g
Protein		20.9 g

Porcupine Balls

The other day as I was in our district office when my friend Stacy was talking about how she used to make porcupine balls.  It got me thinking that I could probably make this in a lighter version to make a hearty winter meal.  The end result was a Natalie approved success without killing my 'school-girl figure'. 

 

Ingredients-

1 to 1 ½ lbs. lean ground beef or turkey

2/3 cup long grain rice, uncooked

½ tsp. dried basil                         

½ cup water

2 Tbsp. minced onion (or 1/3 cup of finely chopped onion)

Salt and Pepper to taste

¼ tsp garlic powder

1 can reduced fat cream of mushroom or celery soup

1 cup water

 

Add minced onion to ½ cup water and allow to stand for ten minutes.  Spray a 2qt casserole dish with cooking spray and preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a large mixing bowl combine meat, salt and pepper, garlic powder, rice, and onion with the water.  Mix well and shape porcupine balls into 1 ½ inch balls.  Place balls into the casserole dish.

 

Put soup into a sauce pan with the cup of water.  Heat to blend soup and pour over meatballs.

Cover dish and bake for 40 minutes.  Remove cover and bake 20 more.  Serve with a vegetable or side salad.

 

 

Enjoy!

Nutrition Facts
5 Servings
Amount Per Serving
Calories		297.8
Total Fat		6.3 g
	Saturated Fat	2.4 g
	Polyunsaturated Fat	0.5 g
	Monounsaturated Fat	0.5 g
Cholesterol		62.0 mg
Sodium		491.8 mg
Potassium		360.0 mg
Total Carbohydrate		31.3 g
	Dietary Fiber	0.0 g
	Sugars	3.0 g
Protein		25.4 g

Steak and Egg Burrito

Wednesday nights I am usually on my own for dinner.  The ladies eat at church, and I go to the gym and then home to enjoy some quiet time and make my own meal.

Tonight as I left the gym I ran by the grocery store and picked up a top round small cut steak for $1.09.  It was less than half a pound and perfect for two great breakfast wraps- one tonight and one for breakfast in the morning!

Ingredients-

1/3 cup of chopped sweet pepper

½ cup chopped mushrooms

½ tsp. red pepper flakes

1 large egg

2oz. top round steak, cut into small cubes 

¼ cup 100% egg whites

½ cup of salsa

1 serving of tortilla chips

1 light flat bread wrap

2 Tbsp. shredded cheese (reduced fat)    

1 tsp. olive oil

1 small Roma tomato, chopped and divided

 

What to do –

Crack egg and scramble with the egg whites.
Over medium heat, add oil to a small skillet, and add beef.

After a minute or two, add peppers, mushrooms, red pepper flakes stirring regularly.  As the veggies soften a little add the egg mixture to the skillet and allow to set for a couple of minutes.

Once the edges have set, stir the mix to blend through.  Turn off heat.

Meanwhile, put cheese on the flat bread and heat for :20 seconds in the microwave.

Add the skillet mixture to the flat bread, and add half the sliced tomato.  Put the salsa into the skillet and set on the still warm eye on the stove. 

 

 

Roll up the flat bread.  Stir salsa and pour warm salsa over the “burrito”.  Top with tomatoes and serve with tortilla chips.  Advice: A fork and knife will be necessary to consume all this goodness.

 

The entire meal is around 400 calories including the chips.

Enjoy!