Cook Along Contest: Amy's Cabbage Kielbasa Soup

~~posted by Jen


First, a shout out to everyone who cooked along during Soup Week a couple weeks ago and sent in their pictures and recipe modifications. We'll be sharing the submissions all week.

Amy made Nik's Cabbage & Sausage Soup, and her only change to the original recipe was using Turkey Kielbasa instead of sausage. She said it smelled delicious simmering on the stove, and her pic sure looks like it tasted scrumptious, too!

Thanks for playing with your food and cooking along, Amy! Check your email for a note from us so we can send you your protein goody bag!

Stay tuned for more submissions later this week!

Amy's Cabbage and Kielbasa Soup

Jen's Roasted Butternut Squash Soup

~~posted by Jen

This is a perfect weekend soup, since it takes a bit more time than some of our "weeknight" soup recipes. We promised that once a week you'd get a sneak peek at the Holiday Preview offerings, so here it is! I'll be making this soup for the food tasting at the Preview. 

If you haven't already purchased your ticket, it's not too late! We're saving a seat for you, so get your ticket today! Just click the link at the top right of this page to order through PayPal. We'd love to see you there, and you don't want to miss it! Can't make it to the preview? Stay tuned, we have a surprise in store to be announced later today!

Y'all know I'm a huge fan of roasting vegetables, so it's pretty common for me to have some leftover in the fridge just begging to become soup. One of my favorite Sunday meals that I love to make is a pork roast with roasted squash on the side. 

Cut up and ready to be roasted!

If I plan to have this soup on a week night, I'll roast double the amount of squash so that there's enough extra to put aside for soup later in the week. 

If you make that for a Sunday meal and have pork left over, you could always shred the pork real fine and add it to the soup also. Every bit of extra protein helps, right? So, here's how you do it:

Jen's Roasted Butternut Squash Soup

Ingredients:
3 to 4 pounds butternut squash, peeled and seeded (most supermarkets now carry it already cleaned and cut up--look around your produce section.)
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 to 4 cups chicken stock (for vegetarians use vegetable or mushroom stock)
1 teaspoon Dried Thyme

1 cup Heavy Cream

3 scoops Any Whey Unflavored Protein Powder
3 tablespoons butter (yes, real butter)

Salt

Pepper

2 teaspoons Herbs de Provence

2 teaspoons ground Nutmeg (it's better if you grate it fresh)

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Cut the butternut squash into 1-inch cubes. Place them on a sheet pan and toss them with the olive oil, Thyme, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Spread the squash in a single layer. Roast for 35 to 45 minutes, tossing occasionally, until very tender.

When the squash is done, put it into a big bowl and mash it up into pieces with a potato masher. Once it is mashed, place the squash in a dutch oven and add the chicken stock. Stir it well, then let it come up to a simmer so that the chicken stock is completely heated through but not boiling. 
Once it is heated, turn the burner off. Using your Immersion Blender, puree the soup until all the big pieces are gone and it's a smooth texture like in the photo below.

This is the texture you want once it's done.

Turn the heat back on, then add the Herbs de Provence, nutmeg, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper and stir to combine. Now stir in the heavy cream and butter, then taste for seasonings to be sure there's enough salt and pepper. 

Adjust seasonings if needed, then heat thoroughly. DO NOT bring it to a hard boil once you've added the cream. If you boil it, the cream will "break" and ruin the texture. 

Whisk in your protein powder right at the end. This soup freezes well, so if you'll have leftovers to freeze, only add protein to the individual servings rather than the whole pot. We recommend 1/2 scoop per 4 oz serving when added to the individual portion. 

I like mine with a little Greek Yogurt stirred in, go figure!

We LOVE to give you two versions of the same recipe, (aka "1 Dish, 2 Ways") but in the case of this recipe, we're giving you 1 soup 3 ways! You saw Nik's version on Thursday, her Carrot Ginger Soup, and it's delicious! Last Fall our good friend Pam T posted her version, and what better time to share it with you than Soup Week? 

 Pam's Butternut Squash Soup is another scrumptious variation on this comforting soup. While both my version and Nik's are perfect for all stages from pureeds on up, Pam's is better for "further outs", although you could omit the optional items in hers to make it for all stages. She goes into all that in her recipe, so I'll leave the rest to her. 

Whatever version you choose, this soup is a home run. It's my "go to" soup course for Thanksgiving Dinner and always gets requests seconds AND for the recipe. Enjoy!


P.S. Don't forget the Soup Week Cook Along Contest has been extended through November 7, and this recipe qualifies for the contest, even though it's not "our" recipe. Pam gave us her blessing to share it, so you know what to do! Go Play With Your Food, make it your own, and send in a pic!

Nik's Comforting Cabbage and Sausage Stew

Cabbage has an interesting reputation amongst vegetables. It looks sort of like a head of lettuce when it's raw (and, yes, I have bought a head thinking it is lettuce before. Don't pretend you haven't either!), it's got lots of water in it and it is extremely affordable.

All this leads some to believe that this is a simple food (in other countries it might be called "peasant food") and can't be made into a refined dish.

Those people, of course, would be wrong!

This stew had humble roots. My oldest daughter loves cabbage and I decided to make her some. In the African-American culture, it's pretty common to season vegetables with animal meat, especially animal fat. Growing up we had collards flavored with pig tails and sauerkraut with short ribs. There were ham hocks and fat back and the whole nine (and while these things make me queasy now, I have very fond memories of them).

Well...I don't want to live that way anymore. So I was trying to find a way to season the cabbage without using really fatty meat. One day I happened to have a log of turkey smoked sausage in the fridge and I decided to use it. It worked well. My daughter loved this soup.

Then, in her words, I started to mess it all up. How? By adding more nutritious things to it. (To this day she just likes the cabbage and the sausage and some red pepper flakes for heat). I liked the soup as it was, but it wasn't colorful, it didn't have a lot of texture variety. Frankly, my mouth was bored. Thus, this version was born. My daughter, of course, takes her bowl (which, for the record, I serve to her with a hunk of steaming hot corn bread thankyouverymuch) and tries to act like she doesn't like it, but in the end the bowl is empty so...what does that say?

Anyway, this is a quick (from raw to table in about 40 minutes) and easy cold weather staple and I hope you enjoy it!

Nik's Comforting Cabbage and Sausage Stew

Ingredients

1 head of cabbage, cut into whatever sized pieces you think you can handle
1 package turkey smoked sausage, sliced into rounds and then halves
1 large onion, diced
1 can of whole tomatoes, drained (you can do a big one or a little one, depending on how much you like tomatoes)
1 clove of garlic, minced
1 (15 oz.) can of cannelini beans (note: my grocery store was out of them so I used Great Northern Beans--worked just fine!)
4 cups baby spinach (not frozen. Use fresh!)
Salt and pepper to taste, any other fresh or dried herbs that you like (when making a batch just for myself I like to put a tsp of Italian spice in there)
1 small can low-sodium chicken broth
2-3 cups water (depending on the size of your cabbage head)

Optional: red pepper flakes

Directions:

In a sprayed pan, combine onions and garlic and sautee until softened. Add sausage and continue cooking until it's crispy on the outside.

Add your chicken broth to the pan to get the bits off the pan (that's where the flavor is!) and then transfer mixture to a pot.

Add cabbage, tomatoes add more water (water should not quite cover the cabbage--remember cabbage releases a LOT of water as it cooks) and set on a medium flame. Use a wooden spoon to break up the whole tomatoes a bit. You want bigger chunks of tomatoes, but you don't want them whole (unless, of course, you do).

Cook until cabbage is tender. That usually takes about 30 minutes on my stove. If you like a little kick to your food, add the red pepper flakes (use your discretion on the amount. I usually use a 1/4 tsp) and let that simmer.

Once cabbage is done, add the beans and the spinach and simmer another 10 minutes or so.

If you add the proper amount of water, this has a good amount of liquid, but not too much. But even if you do end up with a lot of liquid, the broth itself is heavenly.

As I've said earlier in the week, I like to make big batches of soup and freeze them. This one almost always gets pulled out of the freezer when I have a cold. All the ingredients are easy on my pouch, it's comforting and it's real, honest-to-goodness food! In a soup, what more can you ask for?

Nik's Carrot-Ginger Soup...

...is actually a misnomer. It's actually carrot ginger butternut squash soup, but that's not quite as snappy, so I changed the name. So shoot me!

I posted this soup a while back and I've made it a few times since then, made some tweaks...not many, but a few.

The question I get asked about this soup is HOW to serve it. Keeping in mind we share this world with non-ops, I give the following advice. This is a GREAT soup for when you are serving a nice meal and having people over. For several reasons:

1. Because it sounds fancy
2. Because it is a slightly sweet soup, so it sets you up for a hearty, savory meal
3. Because it's pretty, especially if you garnish it well

I am using the original picture I posted because, try though I might, yesterday this dumb cold I've had all week was kicking my butt and I was tired! I was going to make another batch because I like to freeze soups for easy meals during the winter, but I just did not have it in me. Sorry guys! But I'll give garnish suggestions after the recipe.

This particular soup is also good for newbies as I’ve snuck protein in there a few different ways and the veggies are soft boiled, then pureed. If you are the type of person who would like my Thai Waldorf Chicken Salad, you would like this soup.

So let’s get started, shall we?

Nik's Carrot Ginger Soup

Ingredients:

1 butternut squash, peeled, roasted, and cubed
1 package of shredded carrots (or you could shred them yourself. About two cups)
1 (15 oz.) can low-sodium chicken broth
1 cup 0% fat Greek yogurt
2 tsp minced garlic
2 tsp grated ginger
2 tbsp Splenda (or to taste)
Optional: 2 scoops Any Whey Unflavored protein (seriously...I put that (BLEEP) in everything!)

Directions

In a sprayed pan, sautee the carrots and squash until the veggies are tender.

This is optional, but since originally posting, I've found this soup to be very tasty if you roast the veggies. Jen gives good instructions on how to do that here. If you don't want to, proceed immediately to the next step.

Bring chicken broth to a boil, reduce heat, and add garlic and ginger.


Once that simmers to a boil add your squash and carrots. Cover and simmer about 30 minutes or so.

Add yogurt and Splenda and, using an immersion blender, blend the mixture until thoroughly pureed. If you don't have an immersion blender, do it in batches in a traditional blender.

This soup, as you can see, comes out a very pretty orange. What I like to do is top it with a little bit of Creme Fraiche with a light dusting of cinnamon and a mint sprig. That's when I'm being fancy. If you aren't into that, another dollop of Greek yogurt with the mint sprig works fine too.

Now...if you'll excuse me, I must go buy another box of Kleen-Ex. Enjoy the soup!

Cowboy Soup

~~posted by Jen

This soup is kind of a cross between chili and vegetable beef soup. A good friend of mine makes her taco soup like this, except without the mixed vegetables, and she adds hot sauce to it. She serves it over corn chips, but that is not the best choice for us in our post-op eating plans. 

I am not a fan of anything too spicy anyway, so I played around with her general recipe idea, and this is what I came up with. I named it "Cowboy Soup" because of the beans and the ranch mix. Dumb joke, I know, but I thought it was funny. 


This soup is very hearty and filling, and it freezes well. Again, guys usually really like this one for some reason (I'd say it was because of the beans but.....nevermind). 


Funny story, I had assembled the vegetable ingredients together in a bowl in the fridge Monday evening so it would be ready to toss in the Crock Pot last night. Well, my resident vegetarian loaded himself up a big bowl and took it to work yesterday morning. (Mind you it was NOT cooked).


He got home from work last night, came straight up to my room, and said: "Hey Jen, That bean and vegetable stuff you made me was really good, can you make more?" I had to think for a minute, then I realized he had dipped into the soup base. It was pretty funny. 


The two carnivores both loved the finished version with meat in it, and I always enjoy this soup, too. I like to put a handful of shredded cheese on mine and a dollop of Greek Yogurt, sometimes a few diced green onions. 


So here's how it goes:


Ingredients:


2 pounds ground beef or turkey {Note: I usually use beef, but I have used leftover meatloaf crumbled into pieces and it works well, too.}
2 cups diced onions
2 (15 1/2 ounce) cans pinto beans, rinsed and drained
1 (15 1/4 ounce) can whole kernel corn, drained
2 (14 1/2 ounce) cans diced tomatoes (with juice)
1 (14 1/2 ounce) can tomatoes with diced green chiles (I used Ro-Tel)
1 (16 ounce) bag frozen mixed vegetables
1 (1 1/4 ounce) package taco seasoning mix
1 (1 ounce) package ranch dip/salad dressing mix
1 cup Beef Broth or Stock
1 tablespoon Goya Sofrito

Directions:

Brown the ground beef and onions in a large skillet; drain the excess fat, then transfer the browned beef and onions to a large slow cooker or a stockpot. 


Add the beans, corn, tomatoes, tomatoes with green chiles, mixed vegetables, taco seasoning,  ranch dressing mix, beef broth, and Sofrito, and cook in a slow cooker on low for 6 to 8 hours or simmer over low heat for about 1 hour in a pot on the stove.


Optional: garnish with Greek Yogurt, cheese, green onions, and jalapenos

Chicken Quinoa Vegetable Soup

~~posted by Jen

Quinoa and chicken and veggies, oh my!

Beef Barley soup was one of my "go to" recipes in my pre-op life when we were having people over on a Fall or Winter weekend. It was delicious and always a crowd pleaser, but I needed to change it a bit to fit my new post-op eating plan.

I traded in the higher carb barley for protein-packed quinoa, same texture but better for me, since it is a complete protein. I used chicken since I had some in the freezer left over from last week's Roast Chicken Dinner. You could also use a rotisserie chicken from the supermarket.

This is one of my "cheater" weeknight soups. You can have this from stove to table in less than a half hour. I took a little help from my pals at Trader Joe's with their frozen Quinoa with Roasted Vegetable Melange. I added some extra frozen mixed vegetables, just because I like lots of veggies in my soup.

Worried about breaking the no drinking with meals rule of the pouch when eating soup? If it's a broth-based soup like this one, I usually drink the broth first, then eat the rest of the soup ingredients. That way I am done drinking before I eat any solids, which is the whole point of that rule, so we don't stretch our stomas.

So here's how it's done:

Jen's Chicken Quinoa Vegetable Soup


Ingredients:

3 cups shredded or cubed roast chicken (or rotisserie chicken)

2 bags Trader Joe's Quinoa with vegetable melange 

OR 2 cups cooked Quinoa

1 (16 ounce) bag frozen mixed vegetables

4 cups chicken stock

1 tbsp Garlic powder

1 tbsp Onion powder

1 teaspoon Ground Cumin

1 (14 1/2 ounce) can diced tomatoes, including the juice

Salt and Pepper to taste

3 or 4 scoops Any Whey Unflavored Protein Powder (optional)

Directions: 

Cook the quinoa in your microwave or rice cooker according to package directions. While it cooks, pour the chicken stock and can of diced tomatoes (juice too) into your dutch oven and bring it to a boil on top of the stove. Add the mixed vegetables, garlic powder, onion powder, and cumin. Stir well to combine.

Once the quinoa is done, add it to the stock mixture on the stove and stir to combine. Let it simmer just until the vegetables are tender. Taste for seasonings, add salt, pepper, and any other spices it needs. If you're adding the protein powder, add it at the very end of cooking and whisk it in thoroughly.

If you're early out and on pureeds, you could puree this in your blender or with your immersion blender. This recipe is 143 grams of protein for the WHOLE POT of soup, so this is one you would most definitely want to consider adding the Any Whey Unflavored Protein Powder to at the end, or at least to your own personal serving. 1/2 scoop per 4 oz of soup is the usual amount we add. 

Nik's Split Pea and Ham Soup

Hey peeps! How's it cookin' so far for Soup Week? Did any of you try Jen's Practically Famous Chili yesterday? It's good isn't it? Later on this week I'll show you my interpretation of chili, but first we've got a whole bunch of other kinds of soup to talk about!

Before we talk about this split pea and ham soup, though, have any of you tried the Wii Just Dance or Just Dance 2 games? This past weekend was La Petite Diva's birthday and I got her the 2nd version of the game. OMG!!!! So fun! It was the most entertaining sweat I've had in forever. Alas...it made me realize something. While I am far more fit than I was...say...155 lbs. ago...I'm not 18 anymore. A long, hot bath was in order last night.

What does any of this have to do with Soup Week? Well, we had so much fun playing that it wasn't until 5 in the evening that I remembered that my soup was up for today--and I hadn't made it yet! Off to the kitchen I flew. I checked my cupboards and my fridge and had everything I needed to make this soup except...split peas! Ack! So we made a pitstop at the grocery store and picked some up.

Whew! That was a close one! The moral of this story? While interactive video games are a great way to have fun and be fit with your family, if you are a food blogger who has instituted a Soup Week and you've not yet made the soup, you might want to show some restraint.

Moving on...

Split pea and ham soup! This is one of those things that can be sooooo comforting on a cold day. And it is a soup--no lie--that is practically impossible to mess up. I kid you not. It's one of the first types of soup I learned to make post-op (pre-op I depended on a good friend to get my fix) and the recipe still works to this day. Here's what you'll need:

Ingredients:

1 bag split peas, rinsed, drained and sorted (while food companies generally do a good job of getting debris out of their products, every now and again you can get a loose...something. So inspect it!)
1 onion, diced finely
1 lb. of ham, cut into small cubes
1 (15 oz.) container of either pork or vegetable broth (pork broth is hard to find--I make my own and freeze it--vegetable works just fine)
1 clove garlic, minced
3 cups of water
Optional: 3 scoops Any Whey Unflavored protein powder

So here's how it goes down. In a sprayed pan, you want to get your onions and garlic "sweating." Once they've got some good color to them, add that ham in. A word about the ham. It's completely up to you whether to use pork or something leaner like turkey ham. I'm a bit of a purist so I use pork but I cut it from a ham steak. Why? Because the fat is more easily visible and you can trim it, whereas if you use a ham bone, you can't extract the fat as easily. Excessive amounts of animal fat makes me queasy. Your mileage may vary.

Trust me when I say this smells AMAZING!!!

So once the ham is browned up a bit, add the broth to the pan to help scrape up the bits stuck to the pan. That's where all the flavor is! Once you've got the "good stuff", transfer the party over to your crock pot. Add your peas, stir and turn your crockpot on (I use the high setting. Whatever setting usually yields finished food in about 5-6 hours on your crockpot...use that).

Now...walk away. Walk your dog. Chat with friends. Play Wii Just Dance 2 (yes, this would be the appropriate time to do that. Unlike my strategy...). I suggest putting this in the crockpot on the low setting in the morning before work. It will be done when you get home.

So let's fast forward a bit. It's now 6 hours later (doesn't time fly when you're hanging out with me??). Go back to your crockpot and this is what you should see.

Isn't it lovely? Isn't it wonderful? (Nik, Stevie Wonder just called. He said stop using his lyrics for your blog. That is all)  I should note that I made a double batch so I would have some to freeze (so I used two bags of peas, 2 lbs. of cubed ham, and 4 cups of water, same amount of broth).

Now if you want to add the protein powder to your soup, this would be the time to do it. The particular brand I suggest is optimized for cooking (which means when it meets hot stuff it does NOT curdle) and whatever flavor it has is easily covered by practically anything. I add the powder to soups like this that are carb heavy just to balance it out. If you're gun shy about adding it, you can also add protein to just your individual portion to try it out. I'd recommend a half scoop per 4 oz. serving to start out.

Let's talk about serving while we're on the subject. Cooking this deal in your crockpot will seriously soften your pork. I like some firm pieces of pork in my soup so I dice up a little of the extra ham steak, cook it and throw it on top to mix in. If you need your soup softer, omit this step. If you are on pureeds, I'd suggest taking an immersion blender to the whole thing just to be safe.

Remember, if you're cooking with us, snap a pic of your soup, send it to us and you could win a super cool sample bag of protein goodies! Happy Soup Week!

Jen's Practically Famous Chili

~~posted by Jen

Welcome to our first ever Soup Week! Yesterday I posted the BF Basics guide to making soup, along with the Downloadable Shopping list for the Cook Along. This recipe falls into the "slow cooker" category. It can be made on the stove, but the Crock Pot is just easier.

For many years, I made chili the standard way, with beef ground for chili. (That's a little thicker grind than regular hamburger meat.) It never occurred to me to use any other cut of beef until I spent a few weeks with my older sister Angie and her family shortly after our Momma passed away in 2002.

Angie is 7 years older than me and now lives in Illinois, near her husband's family. It's widely accepted in our family that I am the cook and she is the baker. I hate to bake almost as much as she hates to cook, but once in awhile we switch roles. 

One night we decided to have chili for dinner, and she offered to cook. As it turned out, she makes her chili with sirloin steak cut into pieces. I really liked the way hers came out, but I wanted to tweak the recipe and make it my way. (Imagine that, right?!)

 I use beef stew meat because I think it has a bit richer flavor, not to mention it's more cost-effective than sirloin. I also added several types of beans and some additional spices, just to make it more interesting. So from all that, this recipe was born.

A Pot Full of Deliciousness!

Over the years it has become a family favorite and is often requested for parties and potlucks. This is one of those dishes that, like spaghetti sauce or meatloaf, tastes even better the longer it's in the fridge.

 It freezes very well, and this recipe makes a BIG pot full of chili. Absolutely portion out your leftovers into freezer containers for future meals.

Side note: If you looked at the Ingredient List and wondered why in the world you needed a cup of brewed black coffee, I'll tell you! That was my Momma's secret for cooking beef in the crockpot. 

Particularly for less expensive cuts, the coffee helps to break down the meat and make it super tender. It also adds an extra depth  of flavor to the meat. Try it next time you cook a roast or beef stew in the crock pot, you won't be sorry! 

Moving on! Here's how it's done:

Jen's Practically Famous Chili

Ingredients: 

• 3 pounds round or chuck beef steak, cut into 1-inch cubes (or you can use beef for stew, already chopped by the butcher)
• 1 large yellow onion, coarsely chopped
• 1 (14 1/2-ounce) can pinto beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 (14 1/2-ounce) can black beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 (14 1/2-ounce) can kidney beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 (14 1/2-ounce) can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 (14 1/2-ounce) can whole kernel corn, drained
• 1 package chili seasoning mix
• 1 tablespoon chili powder (add more if you like spicier chili)
• 1 tablespoon garlic powder
• 1 tablespoon onion powder
• 2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 2 heaping tablespoons Goya Sofrito
• 2 (14.5-ounce) cans beef broth
• 2 (28 ounce) cans diced tomatoes, drained
• 1 cup brewed black coffee
• 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1/2 cup water
• Salt and pepper, to taste

Directions: 

I usually cook the meat overnight with the onions and coffee, that way the next morning I can add all the other ingredients and spices and let it simmer all day. I did post this announcement yesterday afternoon, so hopefully  you cooked the meat overnight and it's ready to add your other ingredients this morning. 

If for some reason you missed that memo, have no fear! Just put your meat, onions, 1 cup brewed black coffee, and 1/2 cup water in the CrockPot now and let it cook on low for 6 hours. 

Add all of the remaining ingredients to the Crock Pot, and stir until thoroughly combined. Set the Crock Pot on low and let it simmer for at least 4 hours. I usually let mine simmer for 6 to 8 hours. That's it! You're done.

Now dip yourself a bowl and top it with your favorite garnishes. I like a dollop of Greek Yogurt (instead of sour cream), a good handful of shredded cheese, and a few sliced green onions on top of mine. This also makes a great topper for Nachos. 

Spice it up as much or as little as you like and dig in! This is a perfect meal for the "big game" and guys always love it.  

Have it your way with whatever garnishes you like!