Recipe Ready: Vegetable Barley Soup

This is a quick and easy vegetable barley soup you can make as below, or substitute veggies and grains based on what you have in your refrigerator and your pantry.

8 cups of fat-free, reduced sodium chicken broth OR vegetable broth
1 cup canned carrots (drained) OR two whole carrots (peeled and sliced)
1 cup canned or frozen peas
1 cup canned or frozen lima beans (drained)
15 oz can of diced tomatoes, including juice
1 cup canned chickpeas (drained)
1/2 cup uncooked barley
1/2 diced onion, or 2 tbsp dried minced onion
1 tsp garlic powder
3 bay leaves
2 tsp salt (add more as you cook, to taste)
1 tsp fresh ground pepper (add more as you cook, to taste)
1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp sugar (reduces the acidity from the tomatoes)
1 tsp paprika

Combine all ingredients in a large soup pot and bring to a boil.  Cover and reduce heat to medium.  Simmer for 60-90 minutes and serve.
You can make the soup thinner by adding more broth or thicker by upping the barley to 1 cup.

(This soup makes 7 servings - 2 cups per serving.  Total PointsPlus value per serving is 4.)

Recipe Box: Kale Chips

Since we’ve been seeing kale chips in the stores and reading about them everywhere (like on Kath Eats Real Food), I decided to try this healthy snack craze for ourselves. Y is someone who would give up all food for chips if given the choice, so he was seriously craving something salty and crunchy about halfway through the 10 Day Real Food Pledge. When we saw a bunch of kale at the local farm stand, we decided it was time.

We just did a basic version with olive oil and salt, but next time I might add some variety with something like parmesan chips, tamari or crushed red pepper. Because, yes, I will DEFINITELY be making these again! They are crispy, salty and a fun snack. Of course they're not just like potato chips, but they're interesting and healthy and definitely satisfy cravings for salty and crunchy munchies.

My one complaint about these is that they did leave a strong aftertaste. Not bad, just very kale-y. You've been warned! I guess it's the trade-off for the snackfest I had.

Basic Kale Chips

1 bunch kale
2 tsp olive oil
1 tsp salt (I used sea salt)

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350˚ F

Wash the kale, remove thick stems and tear into bite sized pieces and then dry completely in a salad spinner.

Prepare a cookie sheet with parchment paper and spread the kale on paper. Sprinkle with olive oil and salt. Bake until the kale is crispy and the edges are just browned, about 10-15 minutes.

Serves 4
Points per serving: 2

My Recipe Box: Chicken Parmesan

My boyfriend loves chicken parm and when we first started dating, I cooked it for him. Lucky for me, he was hooked (both on the chicken and on me!). After that, I knew I had to come up with a way to lighten up the meal so I could make it occasionally for us. Just a few easy changes and I've worked out a great, quick way to put together chicken parmesan. Enjoy!

WW Friendly Chicken Parmesan

Ingredients:
29 oz canned diced tomatoes, with Italian herbs (i large can, or 2 smaller cans)
1 tsp Italian seasoning
1 tsp dried basil
1 tsp dried oregano
1/4 tsp black pepper
1 Tbsp sugar
1 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 pound uncooked boneless, skinless chicken breast, four 4-oz pieces
4 tsp olive oil, divided
1 spray cooking spray
1/2 cup shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese, fresh
1/3 cups Italian seasoned bread crumbs

Cooking Instructions:
Preheat oven to 350°.

To make the sauce, combine first 5 ingredients in a large saucepan. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, covered, 35 minutes. Stir in sugar and vinegar; simmer 5 minutes.

While the sauce is cooking, place each chicken breast half between 2 sheets of heavy-duty plastic wrap and pound to 1⁄2-inch thickness, using a meat mallet or rolling pin. Dredge chicken in breadcrumbs.

Heat 2 teaspoons oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add 2 chicken breast halves to pan and cook 3 to 4 minutes on each side or until browned. Repeat procedure with remaining oil and chicken breast halves.

Arrange chicken in an 11 x 7-inch baking dish coated with cooking spray. Pour tomato sauce evenly over chicken, and sprinkle with cheeses.

Cover and bake at 350° for 35 minutes. Let stand 5 minutes.

Yield: 4 servings (serving size: 1 chicken breast half with sauce and cheese).

Points: 7 pts per serving.

Serving suggestion: If you don't have time to make your own sauce, a jar of good store-bought sauce would work (Remember this may change the points per serving). Serve over whole wheat pasta or spaghetti squash and veggies on the side.

Recipe - Lemon Chicken with Pasta and Green Beans

4 oz. whole wheat or blend pasta, like rotini or penne
1 ½ cups cooked green beans
10 oz. uncooked boneless, skinless chicken breast
1 tsp. black pepper
1 tbsp. olive oil
3 garlic cloves, sliced or crushed
½ tbsp. crushed red pepper
½ cup low-sodium, fat-free chicken broth
1 small lemon, juiced and zested
Salt, to taste
1 oz. parmesan, grated

Serves 4.

WW points - 5 pts per serving

Directions:

Cook the pasta in a large pot of boiling water, until al dente. Drain and set aside. (If using frozen beans, you can cook them right in the pot with the pasta.)

While the pasta is cooking, season chicken with some black pepper. Heat a large grill pan or electric grill and add chicken. Grill until golden and completely cooked. Remove to a plate and slice into 1" fingers.

Add the garlic and red pepper to a pan with 1 tbsp olive oil and sauté until fragrant. Add the cooked pasta and beans and turn heat off. Mix together with ½ cup of chicken broth or some reserved cooking liquid from the pasta.
Stir in chicken to the pasta and season with salt and pepper. Add the juice of lemon and lemon zest and sprinkle with chopped parsley.

Before serving, top with parmesan.

Thoughts:

Light and lemony, spicy and delicious. If you like it more spicy, add more crushed red pepper when serving. If you have broccoli in the house or some other vegetable to use up, feel free to make adjustments. This recipe works well with substitutions.

I totally forgot to take a picture of this when I made it last night so I apologize. I wanted to post the recipe anyway.

Lemon Chicken With Pasta

Recipe - Roasted Red Pepper Sauce (with gnocchi)

(courtesy of the Food Network)

Ingredients

• 1 (16-ounce) package refrigerated gnocchi
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 12-ounce jar roasted red peppers, drained
• Salt and freshly ground pepper
• 1/2 to 2/3 cup heavy cream, or to taste
• 1/4 cup minced fresh basil leaves, plus more leaves torn for garnish
• Fresh lemon juice, to taste - about 2 tbsp.
  
• Chunk of Parmesan for grating

Bring large pot of salted water to a boil and cook the gnocchi according to the package instructions. Drain in a colander in the sink.

In a saucepan, heat oil over medium heat until hot, add garlic and cook, stirring, until golden. Add peppers, salt and pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes. Transfer to a processor or blender and puree. Return sauce to pan, add cream and bring to a simmer, stirring. Add basil, salt, pepper and few drops lemon juice, to taste.

In a large bowl, toss the gnocchi and sauce together. Divide among bowls, strew over some torn basil leaves, and grate some Parmesan over the top. Serve immediately.

Serves 4.

Review:

I used fat-free evaporated milk to lighten up the recipe a bit. This recipe was quick, easy and delicious. A bright meal with little effort - great for a weeknight. I served it with a caesar salad and a glass of red wine.

WW points - 6 pts per serving

Today I'm grateful for: the taste of fresh basil