Southwestern Corn Soup

Southwestern Corn Soup (5-6 servings, total time 25-30 minutes)

(adapted from KraftFoods)

This was a tasty soup, but I made it a tad too spicy.  My husband took a bite, said it was good but the slow heat blew him off his feet.  Guess I’ll be eating all of the leftovers! 

Ingredients

1 small green pepper, chopped

4 oz. 1/3 Fat Cream Cheese, cubed

½ lb. (8 oz.) Velveeta, cut into 1/2-inch cubes

1 can (14.75 oz.) cream-style corn

1-1/2 cups skim milk

½ can adobo peppers with sauce

2 Morningstar Farms Black Bean burgers, thawed, crumbled

1.)    Cook peppers in a non-stick medium saucepan on medium heat 3 to 5 min. or until crisp-tender.

2.)    Add cream cheese; cook on low heat 3 to 5 min. until melted, stirring frequently.

3.)    Stir in Velveeta, corn, milk, adobo peppers, and Black Bean Burger crumbles; cook 5 min. or until  Velveeta is completely melted and soup is heated through, stirring occasionally.

Although I though this dish was good and spicy (great for a cold day), next time I will use a can of diced tomatoes with green chiles (drained) instead of the adobo peppers.  I want it to be more pleasing for my husband to taste.  The green peppers lose most of their crispness when cooked with the remaining ingredients, but that did not detract from the dish at all.  Using lower fat substitutions helps reduce the calories and overall fat in the dish.  Adding the burgers increases protein, an important step for vegetarians!  The soup is really easy to make and the texture is very creamy, especially if you let it cool for a moment before eating (allowing the Velveeta to congeal slightly).  I definitely plan on making this delicious dish again in the near future.  I’ll let you know how it works out with the adobo pepper substitution.

Zucchini Parmesan & Double Garlic Potato Bread

Zucchini Parmesan (4-5 servings, total time 45 minutes)

(slightly adapted from AllRecipes)

Ingredients

• 2 large zucchini, thinly sliced
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 large onion, diced
• 2-4 cloves garlic, minced
• 16 oz. pasta sauce (I used Bertolli Vodka Sauce this time)
• 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese (more or less depending on your preference)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.
2. In a large frying pan heat the olive oil over medium heat and saute the zucchini, onion, and garlic until the zucchini and onion are tender.
3. In a 9x12 inch casserole dish mix the zucchini, onion, garlic, and pasta sauce. Top with mozzarella cheese.
4. Bake in preheated oven for about 20 minutes, or until heated through and cheese is bubbly.

Delicious and so easy to make!  I added about 4 cloves of garlic, smashed, to the onion and zucchini. The vegetables stay crisp when baked with the pasta sauce and cheese – they definitely keep their flavor!  I thought about making pasta and having this as the sauce, but instead, I made Double Garlic Bread in my breadmaker.  My husband poured a serving of the Zucchini Parm over a thick slice of bread.  I used my slice to mop up the remaining vodka sauce.  Very tasty mixture and something I will make time and again.

Double Garlic Bread (12 servings, total time approx. 3 hours, 30 minutes)

Perfect addition to any Italian meal.  Not overly garlicky – even though my house sure smelled like it!  The bread is light but filling.  I used the Light crust option and the loaf had just a touch of brown on the top.  It was a little difficult to cut with a bread knife, but it sprang right back into place after being slightly mashed down.

Mexican Black Bean Burger

Mexican Black Bean Burger – 15-16 servings (if flat burgers)

Adapted from Allrecipes.com

I think that these are pretty yummy and my husband liked them!  Double whammy! 

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup instant brown rice
• 1/2 cup water
•  2 (16 oz.) cans black beans, rinsed and drained
• 1 green bell pepper, halved and seeded
• 1 onion, quartered
• 1/2 cup sliced mushrooms
• 6 cloves garlic, peeled
• 3/4 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
• 2 eggs
• 1 T chili powder
• 1 T ground cumin
• 1 T garlic salt
• 1 tsp hot sauce
• 1 cup dry bread crumbs, or as needed

Directions

1. Cook rice according to package directions.
2. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Lightly oil a baking sheet and set aside.
3. Mash black beans in a large bowl with a fork (or mortar and pestle) until thick and pasty; set aside.
4. Place the bell pepper, onion, mushrooms, and garlic in the bowl of a food processor and chop finely. Stir the bell pepper mixture into the mashed black beans. Place the brown rice and mozzarella cheese in the food processor and process until combined. Stir into the black bean mixture.
5. Whisk together the eggs, chili powder, cumin, garlic salt, and hot sauce. Stir the egg mixture into the black bean mixture. Stir in the bread crumbs, adding additional bread crumbs as needed until the mixture is sticky and holds together. Form into patties.
6. Place patties onto the prepared baking sheet.  Bake 10-15 minutes per side.

The only change that I would make to the recipe that I used is to add a tad more hot sauce or maybe some cayenne pepper.  I would also grill these on either or outdoor gas grill or our indoor stovetop grill.  They didn’t hold together very well and flipping them was extremely difficult.  However, the end product was tasty with a slight spicy kick.  They are a really tasty homemade black bean burger, similar to what you could get a good restaurant.  I like that this recipe has a good amount of vegetables in it as well.  I might also roll these into balls and cook that way to make a nice appetizer meatball.  A lot of possibilities with this recipe.

Mediterranean Linguine with Basil and Tomatoes

I’m in the process of training for a marathon, so I have been making a lot of pasta dishes lately.  This one seemed like a light, fresh option – and it is! 

Mediterranean Linguine with Basil and Tomatoes (slightly adapted from AllRecipes, Total Time: 25 minutes, 8 servings)

Ingredients

·         16 oz. whole wheat linguine pasta

·         1 Tbsp. salt, or to taste

·         ½ cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil

·         1 pint grape tomatoes, quartered

·         1 Tbsp. minced garlic

·         2 Tbsp. red wine vinegar

·         1 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes

·         Salt and pepper to taste

·         18 basil leaves, cut in thin strips (I used dried basil, a quick shake on each serving)

·         Grated parmesan to top each serving

Directions

1.       Boil 6 quarts salted water. Add pasta and cook for the minimum recommended time on package directions. While pasta cooks, prepare sauce.

2.      Heat olive oil in large skillet on medium heat. Add tomatoes and garlic. Cook and stir 2 minutes or until tomatoes are soft.

3.      Remove from heat. Stir in vinegar and pepper flakes.

4.      Drain pasta. Add to skillet. Cook and stir 1 minute or until pasta is coated and hot. Remove from heat.

5.      Season with salt and pepper. Stir in basil and cheese. Serve with additional cheese, if desired.

I am not used to oil-based sauces, so it takes some time to get over the oily feeling in my mouth while eating this dish; however, I really like it!  There’s a nice dichotomy with the slight sweetness from the red wine vinegar and the spiciness of the red pepper flakes.  Even though I don’t find this dish spicy at all, my husband did.  I only used one pint of tomatoes because I thought 2 would be a little overwhelming.  Next time, I’ll try to use more (especially since hubby won’t eat it; I had less tomatoes to appease his taste).  Overall, this is a light, healthy dish that doesn’t let down on big and bold flavors!