Savory Pumpkin Soup

HOWDY!  I’m in the mood for fall, so I’m thinking of some of my favorite fall recipes.  Not sure why I’ve never gotten this one posted.  It’s so easy to put together and takes very little time to cook.  It’s also very healthy, so it’s a WIN/WIN!

I got the original recipe in a handout I received at a presentation given by the American Diabetes Association (through their Stop Diabetes @ Work program).  I adapted it a little by adding extra garlic (because I LOVE garlic), some whipping cream, and bacon (which probably took a little away from the healthy factor - but sooooooo worth it!), as well as substituting shredded Parmesan for grated (personal preference).

I have made this more times than I can count, and it’s never let me down.  I can come home from work exhausted, and have a yummy dinner on the table in 20 minutes, with very little effort.  Just add some crusty bread and you’re done.

The original recipe says that this makes 5 one-cup servings.  However, this stuff is so good, our servings are never just 1 cup each.  At our house, this recipe makes 2 good-sized servings - just right for hubby and me.

If you’re serving it as an appetizer or side dish with something else, I’m sure 1 cup servings would be fine.  For a meal in itself…nope.  If you want to serve more people, just double or triple the recipe.

 

Savory Pumpkin Soup

2 tsp. extra virgin olive oil

1/2 cup diced onion

3 large cloves garlic, minced

2 cups pureed pumpkin (or 1-16 oz. can solid, packed pumpkin -NOT pumpkin pie filling)

1-1/2 cups low-sodium chicken broth (if I don’t have homemade on hand, I like to use Kitchen Accomplice Reduced Sodium Chicken Broth Concentrate)

1 cup fat-free evaporated milk

1/4 tsp. sea salt

1/8 tsp black pepper

1/4 cup shredded Parmesan cheese

1/4 cup heavy whipping cream

Garnish:

2 Tbsp. chopped, toasted almonds (the original recipe called for toasted pistachios, both are good)

chopped green onions

crumbled bacon

Heat olive oil in a large saucepan over medium heat.  Add onion & garlic.  Sauté briefly until onions are translucent.  (Be careful not to burn the garlic.)

Add pumpkin and chicken broth.  Cook for about 5 minutes.  Add evaporated milk and simmer over low heat for 3 to 4 minutes.  Whisk in salt, pepper, whipping cream and Parmesan cheese, and heat for about 1 minute - just until heated through.

Serve with toasted almonds, green onions and crumbled bacon on top of each serving.

I hope you’ll give this a try.  If you do, please let me know what you think.  I LOVE hearing from you!

Blessings,

--Faithy

Jalapeño-Lime Chicken

HOWDY folks!

I’m back with another simple recipe I found in an My H-E-B Texas Life flier at the local grocery store.  (It’s also available online - click here to find the original recipe.)  It sounded wonderful, so I tried it soon after I came across it.

It’s truly super easy!!!  The first time I made it, I just dumped everything into a gallon-sized zipper bag and stuck it in the fridge on a Sunday night.  When I got home from work on Monday, I just dumped it all into a pan and popped it into the oven while I changed clothes, etc.  It was ready in no time!

It’s very versatile too…I sliced the cooked chicken breasts (although they would also shred very easily) and made soft tacos the first night, adding a little diced tomato and avocado along with a bit of Mexican crumbling cheese.

The next day, I had a yummy salad with the leftovers.  I just added the chicken (along with some of the cooked onions & jalapeños) to some lettuce & grape tomatoes from my garden, along with black beans, diced avocado, seedless cucumber & shredded carrots...oh so good!

The next time I made it was on a busy weekend.  Again, I dumped the zipper bag full of stuff into the fridge one night, and then poured it all into the slow cooker the next morning.  It simmered all day while we stayed busy with multiple projects.  By the time evening came around, we were exhausted, and ready for something to eat.  All we had to do was lift the lid on the slow cooker and eat!

I think it would also be good served over rice.  Just use your imagination.  The possibilities are endless!

Jalapeño Lime Chicken

Ingredients:

2 lbs. boneless skinless chicken breast

1/4 cup rice wine vinegar

3 Tbsp. olive oil

1/2 tsp. cracked black pepper

8 cloves garlic, chopped (the original recipe calls for 4 cloves, but I’m a garlic fiend…feel free to use as much or as little as you like)

4 jalapeños, halved & seeds removed

2 limes, zested & juiced

1 sweet red onion, quartered (you can use regular red onions if you can’t find the sweet ones)

1 can (14 oz.) low-sodium chicken broth 

Instructions:

Combine all ingredients in a gallon-sized zip-top bag or a large bowl.  (If using the bowl, be sure to cover it with a lid or plastic wrap.)  Marinate over-night (or for at least 6 hours) in the refrigerator.

Oven Version:

Preheat the oven to 450°F.  Place chicken in a lightly greased 9x13 inch pan and top with marinade.  Bake for 35 minutes or until juices run clear when poked with a fork.

Slow-Cooker Version:

Place chicken in a lightly greased slow-cooker, and top with marinade.  Cook on high setting for 6 to 8 hours (until chicken is cooked through & juices run clear when pulled apart with a fork).

I hope you’ll try this one.  It’s really good and easy.  I’ve even made the slow-cooker version for guests…so easy to pull together after a busy day of sight-seeing!  I received rave reviews from all!

HEB has lots of great (and healthy) recipes available on their website, so take a minute to check it out.  Just promise you’ll let me know if you find anything interesting that I haven’t come across yet!

Blessings,

--Faithy

Tex-Mex Chuck Roast Stew

HOWDY friends!  Hope you are doing well and staying warm today.  I’m enjoying a relaxing weekend with family, and I’ve even found a little time to get back online again.  I’ve got several recipes I’ve been wanting to share with you, but haven’t had the time to post them.  I’ll post one today, and hopefully I’ll get to the others soon.

Anyway…a few months ago, I came across a recipe for Mexican-Inspired Southwestern Chuck Roast over at one of my favorite blogs…Ally’s Kitchen.  I thought it sounded incredible, but I didn’t want to go through all the effort (and clean-up) of making the oven-version, so I decided to go with the slow-cooker.

I adapted the ingredients a little to fit what was in my pantry, and added a little extra liquid to make a thick stew rather than a regular roast.  After it had cooked for 5 hours, it was still a little soupier than I wanted, so I added the vermicelli.  It came out really good, and was a BIG hit with my hubby.

It thickened as it cooled (the vermicelli absorbed most of the liquid), but the thickened version was yummy too.  There was plenty left over, so I divided it into several freezer containers and froze it.  It made several quick & easy suppers over the next few weeks.

One time we just heated up the leftovers and served them in tortillas (flour for hubby, corn for me) with some diced avocado and a dollop of plain Greek yogurt (you could use sour cream if you prefer), kind of a pulled-beef taco.  Soooo yummy!

Another night, we just added a little more liquid (you could use water or more beef broth) to thin it out again, and served it as a stew again.  Still wonderful.  I’ll definitely be making this again…and again…

Tex-Mex Chuck Roast Stew

Ingredients

1 tsp. ground cumin

1/2 tsp. sea salt

1 tsp. premium 6 pepper seasoning (original recipe called for 1 tsp. ground smoked ancho chili powder)

1/4 tsp. black pepper

4 Tbsp. flour

2 lb. chuck roast

1/4 cup olive oil (you can use a little more or a little less…this isn’t an exact science)

1 tsp. chili powder

2 Tbsp. fire-roasted Mexican green salsa (medium)

3-1/2 cups lower sodium beef broth

1 (14.5 oz.) can whole tomatoes (crushed)

11 oz. Spicy V8 tomato juice

3 large cloves garlic, chopped (I’m a garlic-lover, so I used more than the original recipe called for.  Feel free to use more or less depending on your personal taste.)

4 oz. chopped green chilis

1 cup chopped celery (you can chop the pieces into large chunks or finely chop them, according to your preference)

1 cup shredded carrots (I used pre-cut matchstick carrots)

1 (4 oz.) box of spicy vermicelli (I used Q&Q brand)

Mix together first five ingredients, then coat all sides of the roast with the seasonings, and rub into the meat.  Heat olive oil in a large skillet.  Once it’s hot, sear all sides of the roast until they are golden brown.  Place seared roast into slow-cooker, then add remaining ingredients (except the vermicelli) on top of the meat.  Don’t stir, just put it all in there, on top of and around the meat.

Cook on high for 5 hours or until fork-tender.  Remove roast from liquid and pull apart/shred using 2 forks.  Return shredded meat to slow-cooker, mix well.  (You can cut meat into bite-sized chunks if you prefer.)  Add vermicelli and let it cook for an additional 30 minutes on high.  Serve hot with crusty bread.

The recipe is very versatile.  I think I’ll try serving it over some brown rice or pasta in the future.  YUM!

I hope you’ll give it a try.  If you make your own adaptations, let me know what they are.  I might like them too!

AND...don’t forget to stop by Ally's Kitchen and show her some love…she’s got lots of great recipes you’ll want to try.  Her original recipe looks incredible, so be sure to check it out.

Well, I gotta run.  Family calls.  I hope you’re enjoying some time with your family this weekend too.  If so, enjoy and treasure every minute.  It goes by far too quickly.

Oh yeah…don’t forget to “Spring Forward” this weekend.  Hope to chat with you again soon…

Blessings,

--Faithy