Chicken Enchilada Soup

This recipe was adapted slightly from Hungry Girl.
It turned out really well, and was especially delicious with a layer of 3 lightly-oven-crisped corn tortillas as a base.

Ingredients:
3 cups fat-free chicken broth
1 Tbsp minced garlic
1 medium-sized diced sweet yellow onion
3 cups green enchilada sauce
One 15-oz. can pure pumpkin
12 oz. cooked boneless skinless lean chicken breast, chopped or shredded
1 1/2 cup frozen white (or yellow) corn
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp dried red pepper flakes
dash hot sauce, or more to taste

Optional toppings: shredded cheddar cheese, crushed tortilla chips

Directions:In a large pot, saute garlic and onion until slightly tender. Add broth and bring to a low boil on the stove. Simmer for about 5 minutes. Stir in enchilada sauce, pumpkin, and spices. Once soup returns to a low boil, add chicken and corn, and mix well. Cook for an additional 3 - 5 minutes, until soup is heated throughout. Add a dash or more hot sauce. Serve and, if you like, top with shredded cheese and/or crushed chips.
MAKES 9 1-cup SERVINGS

HG Seafood Gumbo

This recipe was adapted from a Hungry Girl recipe, and jazzed up with some sausage and rice.

Ingredients:

1 package Jennie-O turkey kielbasa, cut into 1/2 inch wide medallions

One 14.5-oz. can crushed or chopped tomatoes (not drained)

8 oz. peeled and deveined raw medium shrimp with tails removed (I used 12oz)

8 oz. white crab meat (about two 6-oz. cans drained)

1 cup Spicy Hot V8 vegetable juice

1/2 cup chopped green bell pepper

1/2 cup chopped red bell pepper

1/2 cup chopped onion

1 tbsp. cornstarch

2 tsp. Cajun seasoning, or more to taste

1 tsp. Frank's RedHot Original Cayenne Pepper Sauce, or more to taste

black pepper, to taste

2 cups cooked brown rice

Directions: Bring a large pot sprayed with nonstick spray to medium heat. Add bell peppers and onion. Add in kielbasa, and stirring occasionally, cook for about 3 minutes, until veggies are tender. Add tomatoes, V8 juice, and cornstarch. Stir well, making sure cornstarch dissolves completely. Cook until mixture begins to bubble. Add Cajun seasoning, and Frank's RedHot. Stir and bring mixture to a boil. Reduce heat to low. Cover and let simmer for 10 minutes. Add shrimp, and continue to simmer until shrimp are cooked through, about 3 - 4 minutes. Add crab meat and 3/4 cup water. Raise heat to medium, and return to a boil. Remove pot from heat, cover, and let thicken for 5 minutes. Season to taste with black pepper. If you like, add a little more Cajun seasoning and Frank's RedHot.

Either top a bed of rice with gumbo, or add rice to gumbo itself.

Enjoy! Makes 5 servings

Black Bean Soup

This recipe is an adaptation from a recipe from Real Simple.
It made a good cold winter's night dinner, especially when eaten with lots of warm cornbread.

Ingredients
1 teaspoon olive oil
2 tsp minced garlic
2 tbsp fresh cilantro (or 2 cubes frozen)
2 cups fresh salsa (I used 1cup hot and 1cup medium)
2 15-ounce cans black beans, drained and rinsed
2 cups chicken or vegetable broth
1 16-ounce can refried black beans
garlic salt, to taste
1/2 cup sour cream (optional)
1/4 cup fresh cilantro, roughly chopped (optional)

Heat the oil in a saucepan or large pot over medium heat. Add the salsa and cook, stirring occasionally, for 4 minutes. Add the refried beans, black beans, and broth and bring to a simmer. Cook until warmed through, about 5 minutes. Ladle into bowls. Top with some of the remaining salsa and the sour cream and cilantro (if using).Yield: Makes 4 servings

Notes:
The next time I make this I might try to swap out 1 cup of salsa for another cup of refried black beans, to give it a slightly less tomato-y base to it. Or maybe just choosing a different style salsa (i.e. black bean and corn, etc) would be a good option too. I like this recipe as it is as well, but was maybe just envisioning something a little black bean-ier in terms of the broth.

NUTRITION PER SERVING: CALORIES 151; FAT 3g (sat 2g); CHOLESTEROL 6mg; CALCIUM 97mg; CARBOHYDRATE 28g; SODIUM 830mg; PROTEIN 9mg; FIBER 10g; IRON 3mg

Crab and Corn Chowder

We are supposed to hit single-digits in Raleigh this week so I decided a nice hot soup/chowder was in the offing. This is a delicious and relatively easy recipe and I've made several times now. It goes great with a warm crusty bread and a dry white wine.

1 potato, peeled and cubed
1 small can yellow corn
5 slices bacon, diced
1/2 large yellow onion, chopped
2 Tbsp minced garlic
8oz crab meat (I always use a bit more...)
1/2 teaspoon parsley flakes

2 tablespoons butter
2-3 Tbsp all-purpose flour
1/4 cup dry white wine
1 cube chicken bouillon
1 1/2 cups milk
1 (15 ounce) can creamed corn
1 tsp garlic salt
1/2 tsp fresh ground black pepper
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes

1. Cook diced potato either in microwave or on stovetop until softened, then set aside.
2. In a large saute pan, cook bacon over medium heat until heated through, blot dry, and break into pieces. In same pan, saute minced garlic and chopped onions. Cook and stir until onions are clear. Add potatos, small can of corn, and bacon and stir for 2 minutes or so. Remove from heat and stir in crab meat and parsley flakes. Set aside.
3. Meanwhile, melt butter in a large stock pot over low heat. Whisk in flour until mixture becomes creamy and takes on a eggshell color. Continue to cook for a few more minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in wine. Dissolve chicken bouillon in milk; slowly whisk in the milk. Increase heat to medium and mix well in order to eliminate all lumps.
4. When the mixture is creamy and hot, stir in bacon/potato/corn/crab mixture and creamed corn. Season with garlic salt, black pepper, and red pepper flakes to taste, and simmer for 10 minutes (may want to decrease heat after bringing to initial simmer so that you don't burn the bottom of the soup).

For a creamy curry variation add 2 tablespoons curry powder after adding the wine to the flour mixture, and substitute cooked, cubed chicken for the bacon.

This recipe was an adaptation of this recipe from allrecipes.com