Spicy Chipotle Carrot Soup and Bunless Turkey Burgers with Slaw

So satisfying, you don't realize it's low fat and low carb!

Okay.  So I haven't blogged for awhile.  The hubs and I were on the Master Cleanse last week, and there is absolutely nothing about surviving on lemon juice, maple syrup, and cayenne that inspires you to post on a food blog, let alone do anything other than miss food.

I'm back now - and with a very crazy work and life schedule, the last few meals have been 'throw togethers' with no measurements.  Sometimes, those throw togethers are the best - you just combine the things that you like, and more often than not, it comes out great.

Here's tonight's throw together, with my best guess at measurements!

Spicy Chipotle Carrot Soup

• 5 lb bag of carrots, peeled and rough chopped (don't worry about making it pretty - it all gets puréed in the end!)
• 1 red onion, rough chopped
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tsp Mexican Oregano
• 1.5 T Chipotle chili powder (the newest addition to my spice cabinet, and I love it! It's very spicy though, cut down if you don't want the heat)
• 1 T Pasilla chili powder
• 2 tsp ground Cumin
• 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1.5 boxes of Swanson's vegetable broth
• EVOO
• S&P
• 1 individual portioned container of nonfat Greek yogurt.

Sauté the onions over medium heat with a little bit of S&P until translucent.  Add the garlic, and continue to cook for another 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Add the carrots and all the spices, season with some more S&P and continue to sauté until very fragrant, about 3-5 minutes.  Add the broth, cover the pot, and turn to medium low.

Let simmer until carrots are fork tender.  When tender, use an immersion blender to purée the soup to a smooth mixture.

Taste for seasoning and adjust as necessary. Mix in the greek yogurt, and let simmer on low for 5 more minutes, or until ready to serve.  If the soup is thicker than you like, just thin with some more broth, and let it heat through.

Serve with a dollop of greek yogurt on top if you like!

Bunless Turkey Burgers

• 1 package of ground turkey meat
• 2 tsp Pasilla chili powder
• 1 tsp Adobo seasoning
• 1/2 tsp cumin
• 1/4 scant tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp onion powder
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder.

Mix the turkey meat with the seasonings, and form into patties.  Cook with whatever method you like.  Since it's freeeezing today I opted to cook them on the stovetop.  Just make sure that you cook them thoroughly since this is poultry and you don't want it rare!

I finished ours off with a little sprinkle of cheddar cheese, which always makes the hubs very happy. Serve over Slaw (recipe below) with a little Pico de Gallo, Guac (thank you Holy Guacamole!) and a dollop of plain greek yogurt or sour cream.

Red Cabbage & Cilantro Slaw

• 1/2 head of red cabbage, sliced
• 1 red bell pepper, julienned
• 3 scallions, whites and half of the greens sliced
• 1 handful of cilantro, finely chopped
• 2 T light mayonnaise
• 3 T skim milk
• 1 T rice wine vinegar
• S&P

Whisk all ingredients except for the cabbage and bell pepper together, and let sit for 10 minutes to allow flavors to marry.  Add the cabbage and bell pepper, and toss well to coat.  Cover, and refrigerate for 30 minutes.  Toss again, and serve.

Happy eating!

Blue Cheese Dressing and BLT Salad

Husband approved "man salad"

Salad dressing is one of those things that I really hate to serve out of the bottle.  All the stabilizers, sweeteners and additives, ick!  Homemade dressings are so easy, and so quick, and made out of things you probably already have in your pantry - there's really no reason not to always have homemade.  Here's my version of blue cheese dressing - tangy, peppery, and creamy.

I never measure salad dressing, so I hope this approximations works. I used a large spoon out of my regular silverware for measuring these scoops.

Simple ingredients make for a super tasty dressing.

Ingredients

• 4 heaping scoops of regular mayonnaise 
• 3 heaping scoops of non-fat greek yogurt 
• 4 dashes* of white wine vinegar
• 4 dashes* hot sauce (Franks red hot, texas pete or tabasco work best)
• 2 dashes* Worcestershire sauce
• Juice of 1/2 lemon
• Generous amount of fresh ground pepper
• Kosher salt to taste
• A bunch of blue cheese, at least 1/2 cup - I used the already crumbled blue cheese

*By dash - I mean a shake through a controlled bottle top.  If your bottles have open tops, just put your thumb over the top to control the flow, and shake away.

Mix well, cover, and refrigerate for 30 minutes to let flavors marry.

I used this dressing to make a Blue BLT salad for the the hubby and me for lunch. Just combine non-cured applewood smoked bacon, baby lettuces, and grape tomatoes with a bit of thinly sliced shallot, and some dollops of the blue cheese dressing with a little extra blue cheese on top.  Add a couple of slices of this homemade bread on the side, and you've got a super tasty and super fast lunch. The addition of grilled chicken would make this even better, or take it one step further and add chopped hard boiled egg and you've got a Cobb.

Asian Style Pulled Chicken with Tatsoi Salad

I finally found the way to use the Tatsoi that I found at the Farmer's Market on Saturday, and it was awesome!  This green can be cooked or served raw (think Spinach, or baby bok choy).  The leaves have have a nice crunch and the flavor is fantastic, kind of spicy and earthy, but without any bitter notes. I'm definitely a fan of Tatsoi and am going to add this to my list of things to snatch up when they're in season.

After reading a lot about Tatsoi on the good ole interwebs, I decided that I wanted to do simple raw preparation of it, so I made a basic garden salad, and topped it with my ginger soy vinaigrette, a generous portion of sliced avocado, and some pulled chicken.  Having just returned from a business trip in North Carolina, I had pulled meat on my mind.  I decided to reinterpret pulled chicken and make it with an Asian flavor profile, and it was really tasty!  The hubs loved it and I'll definitely make it again (I think the chicken would be really great leftover and put into a wrap sandwich with lots of veggies).

All in all, the active prep time for this meal is pretty low, and it's a good 'man' salad when you add a big scoop of pulled chicken to the top. Hope you like it!

It's purdy, too

Asian Style Pulled Chicken:

• 2 T roasted peanut oil
• 1 tsp black sesame seeds
• Pinch of red pepper flake (optional)
• 2 large chicken breasts
• 3 T Soy Sauce
• 1/3 cup Aji Mirin Sweet Rice Wine
• 1/4 cup Dry White Wine
• 1 tsp minced ginger
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• Fresh ground black pepper

In a medium size sauce pan, add two chicken breasts (trimmed of fat and any ickiness) and cover with water.  Set over medium high heat and simmer until the chicken is cooked through and easily breaks apart with a fork.  Remove from water, and let cool slightly.

Once cool, use your fingers and a fork to shred the chicken.  Set aside.

In a sauté pan, heat the peanut oil over medium high heat.  Add the sesame seeds, garlic, and red pepper flake and cook for about 2-3 minutes, or until fragrant but not browned, stirring frequently. Add the ginger, and cook for 1 more minute.  Next, add the shredded chicken.  Immediately add the soy sauce and both wines.  Stir well to combine and turn heat to medium low.  Cover and let the mixture simmer for 10 minutes.

Remove the cover, and turn heat to medium.  Let it cook until the majority of the liquid evaporates, stirring frequently.  Taste and adjust seasoning if necessary (you might want to add a little more soy sauce). When done, remove from heat.  Set aside so that it cools enough that won't wilt your salad when added to the top.  It's going to be sweet and savory and oh-so-tasty, with a good crunch from the sesame seeds.

Ginger Soy Vinaigrette dressing:

• 1/4 cup roasted peanut oil
• 2 T soy sauce
• 3 T rice wine vinegar
• 1 tsp sugar
• 1/2 tsp minced ginger
• 1/4 tsp roasted sesame oil
• Pinch of fresh ground black pepper
• Pinch of crushed red pepper flakes

Put all ingredients in a jar and shake well until combined (if you don't have a jar handy, you could easily whisk this up in a bowl).  Let rest for at 15 minutes to let flavors marry, and shake well before dressing your salad.  This is great to make ahead.

For the Salad:

• 1 head of Tatsoi, leaves removed and large ones ripped into bite sized pieces
• 1 handful of baby spring mix or baby sinach
• 1 red bell pepper, julienned
• 1/4 red onion, shaved
• 1 carrot, peeled and thinly sliced
• 1 head broccoli, broken into small florets
• 1 avocado, sliced (I like to add this to the top of the salad once tossed and dressed)

I don't really need to put directions here - ya'll know how to make a salad I hope!