Curried Pumpkin Soup

It is starting to feel like fall here(FINALLY!!!), and I can't get enough fall food. Here is one that I love, obviously if you don't love curry or pumpkin this is not the soup for you. It is pretty healthy, although it takes a little more time than I normally like. So make it earlier in the day and then warm it up for dinner. Serve it with some naan, it's so good!

1 lg sweet onion

1 T olive oil

1 T minced garlic

1 T minced fresh ginger

1 T curry powder

1/8 tsp ground red pepper

1/8 tsp ground cumin

2 (15 oz) cans unsweetened pumpkin

1 c water

1 (32 oz) container low sodium fat free chicken broth

1 (13.5 oz) lite coconut milk

2 T lime juice

2 1/2 tsp salt

Saute onion in hot oil in a dutch oven over med-high heat 8 minutes or until tender. Add garlic and next 4 ingredients; saute 1 minute. Add pumpkin, 1 cup water, and broth; bring to a boil. Reduce heat to med. Add coconut milk, lim juice, and salt, and simmer, stirring often, 25 minutes. remove from heat; cool. Process pumpkin mixture in batches, in a blender or food processor until smooth, stopping to scrape down sides. Return pumpkin mixture to dutch oven, and cook over med. heat until thoroughly heated. Garnish with sour cream.

Lime Dipping Sauce

I've been looking forward to spring (and still waiting) for many reasons, but one of the biggest would be all things LIME. I love the flavor, the color, the smell, everything. I finally got to use one of my favorite lime recipes a few days ago, and I feel the need to share.

This recipe is meant to be a dipping sauce for strawberries, and I've used it as a dressing for fruit salad.

8oz sour cream

2 tsp lime zest, finely grated

2 T fresh lime juice

2 T powdered sugar

Mix them all together and serve.

Thanksgiving Burgers

This is like a leftover Thanksgiving meal. It's delicious, quick, easy and healthy!

1/3 cup herb-seasoned stuffing mix, crushed
2 Tbsp reduced-fat milk
1/2 tsp rubbed sage
1/4 tsp salt
1 lb uncooked ground thurkey
4 whole wheat hamburger buns, split and toasted

Preheat broiler. In a large bowl combine stuffing mix, milk, sage, and salt. Add ground turkey; mix well. Shape into 4, 1/2-inch patties. Place patties on unheated rack of a broiler pan. Broil 4-5 inches from the heat for 11 to 13 minutes or until internal temperature registers 165 degrees F on an instant-read thermometer; turn once.

For condiments I use cream cheese and whole cranberry sauce, it's so good! I make sweet potato fries or squash fries to go on the side, it makes a great "poor mans" Thanksgiving dinner :)

Caramel Apple Cider

Well I'm in LOVE with Starbuck's Caramel Apple Cider, so while they were making mine one day, I took a peak at what they used. My home version is pretty dang good, and FANTASTIC considering I could make 12 at home for the price of one at Starbucks.

Apple Juice or Apple Cider (not those disgusting little packets of "cider", real stuff 100% Juice like TreeTop)

Caramel (I use ice cream topper)

Redi-Whip

I heat the juice up on the stove, sometimes I'll throw a cinnamon stick in there, and when it's nice and hot take it off add caramel to your liking and top with Redi-Whip. (btw the whipped cream at Starbucks is about 12 grams of fat per serving, Redi-Whip contains about 1 gram!) I have this a lot, especially if we have people over, I'm totally ADDICTED!

Lemon-Garlic Shrimp

I've been meaning to post this recipe for a while, it is another favorite of mine and SO easy to make, and of course delicious and healthy! I will often buy the 2 lb bag of frozen, peeled shrimp from Costco, they are so easy and still taste great. (they can thaw pretty quickly under cold water too if you forget to put them in the fridge the night before)

Cooking Spray
1 1/2 lbs med. shrimp, peeled and deveined
1/2 c. dry breadcrumbs
3 T finely chopped fresh parsley
1 tsp grated lemon zest
1/4 tsp salt
3 large garlic cloves, minced
2 T fresh lemon juice
4 tsp olive oil

1. Preheat oven to 400
2. Coat 9x13 in pan with cooking spray. Spread shrimp evenly in the pan.
3. combine breadcrumbs and next 4 ingredients in a bowl; stir in lemon juice and oil. Sprinkle breadcrumb mixture over shrimp. Place dishes on a baking sheet. Bake at 400 for 15 minutes or until shrimp are done and breadcumbs are lightly browned. Yield: 4 servings.

Greek Style Scampi

Well here is another recipe that met my requirements!

1 tsp olive oil
5 garlic cloves, minced
2 (28oz) cans diced tomatoes, drained
1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley, divided
1 1/2 lbs large shrimp, peeled and deveined
1 cup (4oz) crumbled feta cheese
2 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice
1/4 tsp. freshly ground black pepper

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees
2. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add garlic; saute 30 sec. Add tomatoes and 1/4 c parsley. Reduce heat; simmer 10 minutes. Add shrimp; cook 5 minutes.
3. Pour shrimp mixture into a 9x13 in baking dish; sprinkle with cheese. Bake for 10 minutes. Sprinkle with 1/4 c. parsley, lemon juice, and pepper. Yield 6 servings.

Serve scampi over rice or pasta.

I always add more lemon juice, and I also use a lemon-garlic-oregano flavored feta cheese from Athenos. YUM!

Summer Pasta

Every once in a while I come across a recipe that has everything I'm looking for: healthy, quick, and delicious! So I figure when I find these rare gems I should share them, because I really get so excited about them, but I can't have everyone over for dinner. So here you go, enjoy!

Summer Pappardelle with Tomatoes, Arugula, and Parmesan
9 oz uncooked pappardelle (wide ribbon pasta)
2 Tbsp extravirgin olive oil
1/4 tsp crushed red pepper
3 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
1 1/2 c. halved yellow cherry tomatoes
1 1/2 c. halved grape tomatoes
3 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
1 tsp salt
5 c. loosely packed trimmed arugula
1/3 c. shaved fresh Parmesan cheese
4 slices turkey bacon, cooked and crumbled

1. Cook pasta according to package. Drain, keep warm
2. heal oil in a large nonstick skillet over med. heat. Add pepper and garlic to skillet, cook 1 minute or until garlic is fragrant. Add tomatoes, cook 45 seconds or just until heated, stirring gently. Remove the skillet from heat; stir in lemon juice and salt. Combine the hot pasta, arugula, and warm tomato mixture in a large bowl, tossing to coat. top with cheese and bacon. (Yield 4 servings)

I actually used Barilla Plus spaghetti noodles, to make it healthier and that was great, pappardelle is hard to find. And i grated the parmesan cheese and stirred it in instead of shaving it. This takes about 15-20 minutes start to finish! (I got this from cooking light mag.)