Italian Winter Soup

OK. I live in California. At the very worst, I can put a light jacket on and stay warm. But I'm going to go ahead and complain about how cold I get anyway. It's been in the 60's for days and days here in CA and that's not particularly toasty. For wimps like me and people who actually deal with Winter weather, I bring you a hearty and nutritious soup.

White Bean, Kale, and Sausage Soup
Serves 6


Ingredients

• One package sweet italian chicken sausage
• 2 cloves garlic, crushed
• 1 tsp red pepper flakes
• 2 quarts chicken stock
• 1 can white kidney (canellini) beans, with juice
• 1 head kale, stems removed and roughly chopped

Instructions

• Heat a large soup pot over medium high heat
• Squeeze sausage out of casings into pot and crumble
• Add garlic and red pepper flakes
• Cook until browned and crispy
• Reduce heat to medium, add stock and beans
• Simmer for 10 minutes, making sure to scrape up all meaty bits
• When almost ready to serve, dump in kale and stir
• Serve with grated romano and hot crusty bread

with stem

without stem!

If you haven't had kale, you are missing out. It's all the rage right now as a super food. Trader Joe's unfortunately doesn't carry it fresh, but you can find it in some of the pre-made salads. Kale is an excellent source of fiber and an antioxidant. It has crazy huge amounts of Vitamin K, which assists in blood clotting and has also been linked to increased bone density. Vitamin A is great for your eyesight, skin cells, immune system, and bone health, too.  Another great way to enjoy kale is as kale chips - just bake seasoned kale in a 350 oven for 30 minutes. Delish!

This soup is delicious, nutritious, and will warm your cold winter bones!

Everything Burgers

Today's recipe is inspired by Rachael Ray's "Everything Salmon Burgers" featured in the Big Orange Book (Bob).

The recipe is a play on everything bagels and lox and cream cheese. Of course, I did a little lightening up with my buddy greek yogurt. I was craving a burger and this salmon version did the trick. Making the patties from scratch was super easy and far more tasty than any fresh or frozen salmon patty I have ever purchased at the store. It's worth the extra 5 minutes of effort!

Everything Salmon Burgers


Ingredients

• For Burgers
• 1 pound fresh salmon, skin removed, cut into chunks
• 1 tbsp grill seasoning (like Montreal Steak or similar)
• 1 tbsp sesame seeds
• 1 tbsp poppy seeds
• 1 tsp onion powder
• 1 tbsp dried dill or 1/4 c. fresh dill
• Cooking spray
• For Spread
• 1/4 c. light whipped cream cheese
• 1/4 c. non fat plain greek yogurt
• 6 green onions, diced
• 2 tsp. lemon zest
• juice of one lemon
• Kaiser rolls, or other roll of your choice
• Lettuce, tomato, red onion for topping

Instructions

• First we want to make the spread so all the flavors have time to come together
• Combine all ingredients for the spread, stir well, and refrigerate for at least 20 minutes
• Place salmon chunks in food processor and process until ground
• Place in bowl and combine with remaining burger ingredients
• Form patties of your desired size
• Heat a pan over medium high heat, spray with cooking spray
• The salmon has so much oil that it will not stick to the pan
• Cook patties for 4 minutes on each side or until lightly brown
• Serve with spread, lettuce, tomato and onion on the roll of your choice

Spread ingredients ready to be mixed.

mmm salmon

These burgers went perfectly with a cucumber onion potato salad that I will share with you at a later date....

Happy noshing!

Breakfast Risotto

Ever since my family adopted a Swede a few years ago we've been enjoying rice pudding for breakfast on christmas morning. I guarantee that the recipe does not qualify as health food. Made with full fat milk, cream, and white rice, the recipe lacks nutritional merit, but wins in the taste category. The fam needed a new family tradition, and now we look forward to our very own Swede slaving over a big pot of rice pudding on Christmas morning.

Anyway, this recipe is a healthier version of traditional rice pudding, with just enough nutritional merit to be eaten any day of the week. It takes a while to make, so it makes a perfect relaxing weekend morning breakfast. It definitely satisfies the rice pudding craving, though I am still looking forward to the full fat version on Christmas morning!

Breakfast Risotto
Makes 2 servings, 5 WW P+


Ingredients

• 1/2 c. arborio rice
• 1 tbsp smart balance 
• 2 c. unsweetened vanilla almond milk
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 2 tsp agave syrup
• pinch of ground cinnamon
• Suggested topping options:
• fresh fruit
• nuts
• agave syrup
• nut butter

Instructions

• Warm almond milk with cinnamon stick by either warming on stove or nuking in microwave for 1 min
• In a medium size sauce pan over medium heat, melt smart balance
• Add rice, stirring until coated and slightly translucent
• Add 1/4 c. almond milk, stirring until absorbed in to rice
• Continue this process until all milk has been absorbed (~30 minutes)
• Add dash of cinnamon and 2 tsp agave to lightly sweeten
• Top with fresh fruit, nuts, or what not

I topped mine with cinnamon dusted bananas, blackberries, and sliced almonds. Excellent! Also the recipe is vegan! Enjoy!