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.

Guest Post! Alex's New Orleans Style Tuna Steaks & Sides

Yummo! I can't wait to try this!

One of the best things for me about the hubby starting medical school, is the wives/significant others of his fellow students that I have gotten to know - such a diverse group of amazing women (and some dudes) from all around the country, with all different experiences.  One of my newest partners in crime is the lovely Alex Z.

Alex and her hubby hail from New Orleans, and needless to say, they know food!  Alex has already taught me so much about New Orleans culture and food, added a delicious & zippy seasoning salt to my pantry, and opened my eyes to the wonderful world of Mardi Gras parties... so when she told me what she was whipping up for dinner tonight, I asked her to share so I could share with all of you.

This is one talented chica and not only does she make beautiful meals, she is also a jewelry designer who makes really incredible jewelry (I proudly sport a gorgy pearl bracelet with anchor charm that she custom designed for me!).  I am so happy to count Alex as one of my new friends, and I can't wait for all of the adventures we will share during this bumpy med school road. So without further ado - here's Alex's Sunday night dinner!

A note from Alex:

What a gorgeous couple!

Remember, we are from New Orleans and we like our stuff spicy!  For those who don't like or can't handle the heat, they may want to consider using other seasonings or only making part of this dish.  As a suggestion for dessert, bread pudding goes well.  

Enjoy!

TUNA STEAKS

What you need:

- tuna steaks

- Paul Prudhome's Seafood Magic (or your favorite seasoning)

- salt

- butter and/or olive oil

What you do:

- Wash and dry the steaks

- when dry, season the steaks with Seafood Magic and salt

- in a skillet with a little butter and/or olive oil, cook tuna to you liking

RED HOT MASHED POTATOES

What you need: 

- Red potatoes

- Zatarain's Crab boil

- salt

- milk

- butter

What you do:

Boil the potatoes

When potatoes are almost finished, put the crab boil bag into the pot with them.  (the longer the bag is in the pot, the spicier the potatoes will be, so if you aren't used to spice be careful!  I leave it in there for about 15-20 mins)

when potatoes are finished, drain, mash and use salt, butter and milk to your liking

CORN MAQUE CHOUX

What you need:

- can of corn 

- can of creamed corn

- tomato

- 1/2 green pepper

- 1/4 white onion

- Tony Chachere's Seasoning 

* Feel free to use more or less of the vegetables, but that is usually enough for me

What you do:

- chop the tomato, onion and green pepper

- drain the can of corn

- in an extra large pan or a pot mix all of the ingredients, except the seasonings, over medium heat

- when the mixture has cooked, add Tony's to taste

* sometimes, the tomatoes make the dish soupy, use some corn starch to correct that if necessary.

STEAMED GREEN BEANS

- that one is pretty self explanatory lol!