Monday, March 9, 2009

Here Are A Few Recipes We Like -


Here are a few recipes that we really like.

Your portion control is between you and your scale.

Awesome and Creamy Asparagus Soup with no Cream

This recipe was originally designed with a bit of cream and potato as the thickening agent. I substituted cauliflower to add the texture and flavor, and it’s a filling, great, easy to make soup. (see photo above)

1 onion chopped
2 stalks of celery, chopped
1 clove of garlic, pressed (not necessary)
2 bundles of fresh asparagus
½ head of Cauliflower
4-5 cups non fat, low sodium Chicken Broth  - I would start with 4 and see if you like the consistency
Salt and Pepper to taste
Chopped fresh chives to sprinkle on the top of the soup

In a dutch oven or good soup making pot, heat a dash of chicken stock and olive oil. Sautee onions and celery for about 5 minutes, until onions are soft and translucent, but not brown. Add garlic, asparagus and cauliflower and mix with onions and celery for a few minutes.

Add chicken broth – enough to just about cover the vegetables.

Bring to a boil and then immediately cover the pot and simmer for about 15 or maybe 20 minutes until vegetables are good and soft but not mushy.

With a slotted spoon, remove the veggies in small batches and place in a blender or cuisinart. Add about ¾-1 cup of broth from the pot with each batch and puree.

Putting less broth in will make the soup thicker. Adding too much chicken stock will make the soup thin and runny, so start with a little and add more until it reaches your desired consistency. I like a hearty, thicker soup.

I put the batches one at a time into a large container and the soup tastes delicious right away, but for some reason its even better as all the flavors mix and mingle over the next few days.

This soup can be eaten hot or cold.

Grilled Rosemary, Garlic and Lemon Chicken

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
2 lemons
Olive Oil
Fresh Rosemary
4 cloves of garlic
1 TSP of Italian Seasoning
Salt and Pepper (generous)

Salt and pepper both sides of the breasts and place in a bowl. With a zester, take the lemons and get a good serving of lemon shavings being careful to not grind too deep where the zest is just the white pulp. I like a lot of lemon so I use the zest from 1 ½ lemons but for others who want to throttle back, 1 lemon is fine.

After you are thru zesting, cut the lemons and squeeze the juice on to the chickens being careful to remove the seeds. Add the Italian seasoning.

Take 2 or 3 branches of rosemary and remove the greens and throw in the bowl. Press 4 cloves of garlic over the chicken and add a good dash of olive oil. Enough to offer a good coat to the chicken. Gently mix the chicken, lemon juice, zest, garlic and herbs and toss in another good sprinkle of salt and pepper.

Let the chicken sit for at least an hour, but if you can do this overnight and let it absorb the yumminess in a large ziplock bag, the chicken is awesome grilled the next day on a gas or coal bbq.

Only word of caution is monitor your fire. You don’t want charred chicken.

Every so often I will post more recipes that are working well for us....

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