My grandmother would say that this is not “real” Portuguese kale soup because I didn’t spend half the day slowly cooking down a beef shank to make the broth for the soup. That method does produce a much richer tasting soup. But, when your short on time and still want something good to eat, this quick version works quite well.

     For those who are watching their carb count this soup can be made with or without potatoes. It does contain a can of premade baked beans so the carb count per bowlful is 16.3 and that’s without potatoes. I’ll give a nutritional breakdown both with and without potatoes after the recipe.

     In order to make kale soup a type of Portuguese sausage called Linguica is needed. You can substitute a spicer version called Chourico if desired. I’ve been told that another type of sausage called Chorizo can be used in it’s place. I’ve never tried the stuff but it’s always worth trying if that’s what is available in your area.

Quick Portuguese Kale Soup

1 bunch of fresh kale or a 16 ounce bag of frozen, chopped kale

1 lb of linguica or turkey linguica (chourico can also be substituted), sliced into rolls about 1/2 inch thick

16 ounce can of Bush’s Baked Beans with Onion

4 cups water

2 cups beef broth

1 small onion, diced

1 clove garlic, minced

salt and pepper to taste

optional: 1 large potato, peeled, quartered and cut into small pieces

If using fresh kale wash it and then remove the thick stem. Cut the kale into strips about 1/2 to 1 inch wide. Set kale aside.

In a large pot add the onion, garlic and the sliced linguica. Saute until the onions have softened a bit. Add in the water, beef broth and the can of baked beans. Add the kale to the pot and stir to moisten the kale. Cook over a medium heat until the kale has softened – about 20 to 30 minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste. Serve.

If your adding a potato then add it to the pot with the kale. Continue to cook until the kale has softened.

Makes 8 or more servings

Calories: 208  / 244.3 with potato

Fat: 9.8 grams even with potato

Total Carbs: 16.3 grams / 24.4 grams with potato

Fiber: 3.3 grams / 4.3 grams with potato

Protein: 14.6 grams / 15.3 grams with potato

This post was shared on the Food Renegade’s Fight Back Friday’s.

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Last year, at this time, we were buried under multiple feet of snow. This year we’ve had flurries that didn’t accumulate but no actual snow fall that amounted to much of anything. Until today. Right now there’s at least 5 inches of snow and the temperature is still dropping. On days like this, when everyone just wants to stay inside all bundled up, it’s a great day for soup! This cream of broccoli soup recipe can be whipped up in a flash. Serve it like it is or top it with shredded cheddar cheese. It’s filling by itself or you can eat it with a grilled chicken sandwich. Make your sandwich low carb by using a low carb bread such as Joseph’s flax, oat bran and whole wheat lavash bread.

The Best Cream of Broccoli Soup

2 tablespoons butter

1 onion, finely chopped

1 stalk celery, chopped

8 cups of broccoli florets (I used 2 – 12 oz bags of florets)

2 cups of chicken broth

2 cups milk

salt and pepper to taste

In a large pot melt the butter over medium heat. Add the chopped onion and celery. Cook until tender. Add the broccoli florets and the chicken broth. Simmer for 10 to 15 minutes or until the broccoli is tender.

If you have a immersion blender then you can puree the broccoli right in the pot. If not, pour some of the soup into a blender (only fill it about half way), cover with the lid and pulse several times to chop the broccoli florets. Once they are chopped a bit you can puree the soup to your desired consistency. I like to leave small bits of broccoli while others like their soup pureed smooth. Pour the pureed soup into a large bowl and continue to puree batches until it is all done.

Pour the soup back into the pot and add the milk. The soup should be fairly thick in consistency. If you would like it thinner you can add more chicken broth. Add salt and pepper to taste. Heat the soup back up to the desired temperature and serve.

Serves 6+

Calories 126

Fat: 5.6 grams

Total Carbs: 11.3 grams

Fiber: 3.1 grams

Protein: 4.7 grams

The nutritional amounts were calculated using whole milk (which is where many of the carbs come from due to the lactose). If you want to lower the carb count you can replace the milk with heavy cream (1 cup cream and 1 cup water). This will drop the carbs to 8 grams but increase the fat to 9.5 grams and the calories to 137 per serving.

Image:mortonfox

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    When I made the Low Carb Italian Meatloaf  the other day I didn’t end up using all the prepared meat mixture. I put it aside and thought perhaps I’d make a couple of burgers with what was left. Instead I made this quick soup. You can use the meatloaf mixture or your favorite meatball mix to create the meatballs for the soup.

Mexican Meatball Soup

1 lb of ground beef or use your favorite meatball/meatloaf recipe

1 tablespoon olive oil, butter or coconut oil

1 large onion, chopped

3 cloves garlic, chopped

1 – 4 ounce can of diced green chilies

28 ounce can of stewed tomatoes

6 cups chicken broth or stock

1 tablespoon chopped cilantro

1 tablespoon chili powder

2 teaspoons ground cumin

salt and pepper to taste

hot sauce to taste

Place your olive oil, butter or coconut oil in a large stockpot and turn the heat to medium high. Roll the ground beef, meatloaf or meatball mixture into small meatballs. I used a small ice cream scoop. The meatballs were about 3/4 to 1 ounce each. Place them in the oil and brown the meatballs on all sides. Once the meatballs have been browned remove them from the pot and set aside.

Add the chopped onions and garlic to the pot and saute them for several minutes. Add in the green chilies, tomatoes, chicken broth and spices. Simmer for 10 minutes and then add the meatballs back into the soup. Simmer for an additional 10 to 15 minutes or until the meatballs are cooked through.

Serve the soup with garnishes such as avocado cubes/slices, shredded cheese, sour cream or, if you like it spicy, try adding some chopped jalapenoes.

Serves 8

Calories: 195

Fat 12.4 grams

Total carbs: 9.6 grams

Fiber 1.6 grams

Protein: 12.1 grams

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This is my take on a recipe called 21 Ingredient Chili that was found on a crockpot recipe site. I tweaked it with several items that I had on hand and left a few higher carb items out. I originally made it with the items but they didn’t really seem to add anything extra to the chili. I’ve made it twice using ground beef and the next time I’ll try it with diced chicken since that’s what the recipe originally used.

Ultimate Crockpot Chili

2 lbs ground beef or diced boneless chicken (breasts or thighs)

1 onion, finely diced

1 – 28 ounce can diced tomatoes

2 cups beef or chicken broth (1 – 15 ounce can)

4 ounce can diced green chiles

1/2 cup spicy brown mustard

2 tablespoons soy sauce

3 tablespoons chili powder

1 tablespoon ground cumin

1 tablespoon garlic powder

1 teaspoon white or black pepper

1 teaspoon oregano

1 teaspoon onion powder

1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

1 (15 ounce) can of kidney beans

1 (15 ounce) can of pinto beans

In a large crockpot/slow cooker place the ground beef or diced chicken in the bottom. Top with the diced onions, canned tomatoes, chiles and beans. Pour some of the broth over the other ingredients. Add the spices, soy sauce and mustard to the remaining broth in the can and stir well to mix. Pour over the top of the ingredients in the crockpot.

Cover and cook on low for about 8 hours. After cooking 2 hours uncover the chili, stir and break up the meat. I used a spatula when I made this with ground beef. It made it easier to break the beef into pieces. Stir again half way through cooking to make sure everything is well mixed. Serve this incredible chili with a bit of shredded cheese and sour cream.

Recipe Nutritional Info (Beef/Chicken)

Servings: at least 12 (possibly more)

Calories: 286 / 170

Fat:  16.2 g / 1.5 g

Total Carbs: 15.4 g / 15.4 g

Fiber: 5.2 g / 5.2 g

Protein: 20 g / 24 g

This recipe originally called for a 15 ounce can of corn, a sweet potato peeled and grated and 2 tablespoons of honey. Personally I didn’t find that these ingredients added much more to the flavor of the chili and by removing them it reduces the total carb count by 9.3 grams per serving. If you only used one can of beans the total carb count of the above recipe would be reduced to 11.1 grams.

Update on recipe: Since I didn’t have enough ground beef or chicken to make the recipe as I originally did I combined several small packages of meat that were in the freezer. In place of 2 lbs of ground beef I used 1 lb of ground beef, 8 ounces or so of ground venison and the meat from 3 links of hot Italian sausage (removed from the casing). The chili was really good and the Italian sausage gave it a different taste. Of course you may not have ground venison in your freezer but Italian sausage is available everywhere. Next time try replacing some of your ground beef with a bit of hot sausage and see if you like it. I know we did!

This recipe is being shared on the Chili Round Up at All Day I Dream About Food blog. Stop by and check out the other chili recipes.

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Philadelphia Cheese Steak Soup

2 tablespoons of butter, coconut oil or olive oil
1 green pepper, diced
1 red pepper, diced
1 medium onion, diced
8 ounces of mushrooms, sliced or one 8oz+ can of sliced mushrooms drained
5 cups of milk
2 cups of beef broth
2-3 cups of leftover beef, diced
8 ounces or more of provolone cheese, diced
2 ounces of cream cheese
salt and pepper to taste

Melt the butter/coconut oil in a large stock pot. Add the peppers, onions and mushrooms and saute until tender (about 5 to 7 minutes). If using canned mushrooms added them in once the peppers and onions have been sauted.

Add the diced beef, milk and beef broth. Heat for 3 to 5 minutes. Add in the provolone and cream cheese. Stir until the cheese is melted. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Super fast, super easy and super good!

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Fast forward from my last post about a month and a half ago. I didn’t even realize so much time had passed. Between paid work, free work (my internship) and dealing with three kids who clearly had conspired to make me insane before the new school year started, every time I thought I would get a chance to post my bed was calling to me. Then school started at the beginning of September and now the month is almost over. Whew! Time certainly flies even if your not having fun.

Now that another semester has begun time is once again limited due to homework. Lack of time means I’m always looking for ways to make fast and easy meals. Less time cooking means more time for school work. Fast food, take out and premade meals would make things so much easier for me but all the choices available are nothing but high carb junk. My crockpot is going to get a work out this semester. Here’s one way I save both time and money.

Crockpot Beef Starter

several lbs of beef stew meat or even steak tips
1-2 cups of beef broth (homemade if possible)
Spices: salt, pepper, rosemary, thyme, oregano, basil, etc

Spread whatever choice of beef you are using in the bottom of the crockpot. Pour your beef broth in. If your using frozen, homemade beef broth (like I did) simply place it on top of the beef. No need to thaw it ahead of time. It will melt while the meat is cooking. Sprinkle the herbs over the top. I use about a teaspoon of each. Just enough to give the meat some flavor but not so much that the seasoned meat overpowers the recipe it will ultimately be used in. Cook on the lowest setting for at least 8 hours or until the meat easily breaks up. When the meat is done shred it with two forks. Use some of the meat for that nights meal. The remainder can either be stored in the refrigerator for several days to be used in another dish.

FREEZER TIP:  The cooked meat can also be frozen if desired.

This is a super easy way to cook up a batch of beef that can then be used to quickly make other recipes. I use it for beef stew and other types of soup. If you vary the spices (cumin, chile powder, onions, garlic, etc) the shredded beef can also be used as taco filling.

This batch of crockpot beef starter was used to make a quick beef stew as well as Philadelphia Cheesesteak Soup.

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A short time ago Hemi, the owner of the blog Fooducate, asked people to contact her if they were interested in testing out products in the future. I sent my name in and didn’t think about it until she contacted me. Hemi asked if I would be interested in trying out some tomatoes that came in BPA free packaging. Sure thing! I use tomatoes all the time. My original plan was to make some type of sauce for pasta. Of course, the week before the tomatoes arrived, things have been crazy because of school and I had already made spaghetti. If your not going to use tomatoes in sauce the next best thing is to use them in soup. The great thing about this soup is you can use just about any type of veggie and in just about any form….fresh, frozen or canned.

Beef Minestrone Soup

1 lb ground beef

olive oil

2 cloves chopped garlic

2 small to medium onions, chopped

3 stalks celery, chopped

3 or 4 carrots, sliced (OR 15 ounce can OR 1 lb frozen)

2 zucchinis quartered and sliced (OR 1 lb frozen)

2 to 3 handfuls of baby spinach (OR 8 oz frozen)

15 ounce can green beans

28 ounce can of diced or chopped tomatoes

28 ounce can tomato sauce

2 cups chicken or vegetable broth

1/2 cup red wine (optional)

1 tablespoon dried oregano

1 tablespoon dried basil

salt and pepper to taste

15 ounce can of kidney beans, drained and rinsed

1/2 cup orzo or other small pasta

Parmesan cheese for topping your soup

Oops….just realized that I forgot a few ingredients out of the picture. I don’t see any carrots, pasta or even the ground beef. I did however learn a new trick on how to take pictures indoors. Now the pictures aren’t as gray and washed out as they use to be. I’ll figure the picture taking thing out one day.  Those are thePomi tomatoes I got to test out. The boxes were pretty neat. Hard to believe they held slightly less (26.46 oz) then the huge 28 oz cans. They took up so much less cabinet space.

Directions:

In a large stock pot, over medium heat, add the ground beef. Brown and crumble the beef. Drain off the oil.

Add the onion to the pot and saute for 2 to 3 minutes. Add the celery and carrots and saute for another 4 to 5 minutes. If the vegetables should begin to stick add a tablespoon or two of olive oil and continue to saute. Add in the garlic and saute for 2 to 3 minutes.

If you are using a combination of fresh, canned and frozen vegetables you will want to add your frozen vegetables first so they thaw a bit. In my recipe I used frozen zucchini and spinach so I put them in first and allowed them to cook for several minutes before adding the other vegetables. It just makes it easier to stir because you won’t have a frozen mass of veggies in the middle of the soup. It doesn’t really matter though.

The picture above shows how I just sort of layered everything into the pot before stirring it.  Add in everything EXCEPT for the pasta and parmesan cheese. Simmer for 30 to 40 minutes. Stir occasionally while it cooks.

If you like soup with a lot of broth then cook the pasta in a separate pot and add it back to the soup at the very end right before you serve it. Ladle into bowls and top with Parmesan cheese.

If you prefer a thicker soup add the 1/2 cup of pasta directly to the soup and stir well. Cook until the pasta is tender. Ladle the soup into bowls and sprinkle a bit of parmesan cheese on top before serving.

TIP: this soup tastes just as good without out the beef

FREEZER TIP: even though this soup has a small amount of pasta in it you can freeze it. The pasta will soften when thawed and reheated but, due to the amount, it’s not really noticeable. Since this does make a very large pot of soup you can also remove several smaller containers of soup before adding the pasta to the main pot. This will solve the problem entirely.

This post is being linked back to the following blogs. Stop in to check out all the other great recipes, tips and ideas:

Real Food Wednesdays at Kelly The Kitchen Kop

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Earlier in the week I had made pumpkin streusel muffins. The recipe only called for 3/4 cup of pumpkin so I still had quite a bit left from the 29 ounce can. Though no one would have complained about having more cookies or sweet treats around I figured that it would be better to  hide use the rest of the pumpkin in a meal. I went with chili made with cube steak but you could easily use ground beef, ground turkey or diced chicken. Use the two types of beans suggested in the recipe or go with all of one kind. The recipe, like most chili recipes, can be easily changed to use whatever you have on hand.

Pumpkin Chili with Beans

1 to 1 1/2 lbs Cube Steak (or ground beef, ground turkey, chicken breast)

1 medium onion, diced

1 green bell pepper, diced

1 red sweet pepper, diced

1 clove garlic, minced OR 1 teaspoon dried garlic

4 ounce can of diced green chilies

15 ounce can red kidney beans, drained and rinsed

15 ounce can black beans, drained and rinsed

29 ounce can diced tomatoes with juice OR use two smaller 14.5 ounce or 15 ounce cans

15 ounce can pumpkin puree (NOT pumpkin pie filling)

2 cups beef broth (homemade if possible) OR 1 can beef broth

1 tablespoon ground cumin

1 tablespoon chili powder (I use Penzey’s ground Ancho chili powder)

2 to 3 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro OR 2 teaspoons dried cilantro

2 teaspoons dried oregano

salt and pepper to taste

olive oil

If your using cube steak or chicken cut it into bite size pieces. In a large pot heat the olive oil and add your choice of meat. Season with salt and pepper. Cook until the meat is browned. If you are using chicken there is no need to brown the meat.

Add the diced onion, garlic (if using fresh), bell pepper and sweet pepper. Cook until they begin to soften.

While the veggies are cooking drain the beans into a colander in the sink. Rinse them well. This helps to get ride of the extra starches found in the liquid so the beans are a bit easier to digest. Add the beans to the pot.

Add the remaining ingredients: the canned chilies, tomatoes, beef broth, pumpkin puree and spices.

Cook on medium low, stirring every now and then, until the meat is cooked through and tender. The amount of time needed with depend upon the type of meat you’ve used.

Serve your chili hot topped with a bit of grated cheddar cheese and a spoonful of sour cream.

TIP: This meal can be easily made in the crockpot. Cut up your meat, toss everything in and set your crock to low. In 8 to 10 hours your chili will be ready. If your home, stir it a few times. If your not it still seems to work out just fine.

I made a quick check through my refrigerator to see if there was anything else that could be added to the chili. Sometimes we have leftover rice that would go great with chili. This time there was a bowlful of homemade salsa and, considering how much they had recently eaten, it didn’t seem like the kids were about to eat more. So, in to the pot it went.

FREEZER TIP: This stuff freezes and reheats great! Just don’t add in sour cream in before freezing because it will separate when it thaws.

This post is being linked back to the following blogs. Stop in to check out all the other great recipes, tips and ideas:

Fight Back Friday at Food Renegade

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While I enjoy cooking I certainly don’t want to spend hours every day in the kitchen. I’m always interested in ways to save time without having to use premade, canned or boxed items. Crockpot cooking and homemade bulk mixes are two methods that help to save me time and money. Another method I use is something I refer to as cook once, eat twice. Usually if I’m making one item I will cook a second item at the same time to use in a meal the next day. An example of this would be if you were cooking chicken for dinner and tossed in a few extra pieces of chicken to make chicken salad for lunches during the week. Hey, your already baking chicken. Why not make some extra right? Now you won’t have to think about what to pack for lunch during the week.

The previous night I was making seasoned potato wedges so I added a few extra whole potatoes in to bake. This means I didn’t have to plan dinner for the next night. I also didn’t have to do much prepping to get dinner on the table either since some of the meal was already made the night before.   While I’d like to have included a picture the pan was emptied before I had a chance. Guess it met the approval of the pickier eaters.

BAKED POTATO SOUP

4 sliced of bacon

1 small onion, finely diced

1 clove garlic, minced

3 tablespoons flour

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon basil

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

3 cups chicken broth

2 to 3 large baked potatoes, peeled and cubed

1/2 cup heavy cream

1/2 cup milk

optional: dash of hot pepper sauce, shredded cheddar cheese, diced scallions

* Use a knife (I use kitchen shears) to cut the bacon into strips. In a large pot cook bacon until crisp. Remove bacon.

* Leave the bacon drippings in the pan. Saute the onion and garlic until tender. Stir in the flour, salt, pepper and basil. Mix well.

* Gradually add the broth. Bring to a boil and stir for 2 to 3 minutes. Turn heat down.

* Add the potatoes, cream and milk. Heat through but do not boil. Add hot sauce to taste if desired.

* Garnish with crispy bacon, cheese and scallions.

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 While growing up, if we had leftovers from a meal, it was eaten the next night so the food didn’t go to waste. Meatloaf, potatoes and corn one night would mean meatloaf, potatoes and a different vegetable the next night. That’s just how my mother did it.

Things were a bit different in my husbands family. There were six kids….3 boys, 3 girls. This means the leftovers were almost always eaten by someone before the next day. I didn’t realize this when we first got married. Dinner time discussions use to sound something like this:

Him: What’s for supper tonight?

Me: Meatloaf and mashed potatoes

Him: Um, didn’t we have that last night?

Me: Yes.

Him: So you made it again tonight?

Me: No silly. It’s leftovers.

Him: So I have to eat it again?

Me: No the leftover fairy is going to come and eat it. Of course we have to eat it or it will go to waste.

Needless to say this made for some unhappy meals. The leftover fairy never did arrive to eat the leftovers so he could have something new the next night. Sometimes the food got eaten with a bit of grumbling. Other times the containers would sit there until garbage day only to be tossed out.

Once I got rid of all the premade, boxed and frozen items I use to cook with the problems with leftovers magically disappeared. The leftover fairy had finally arrived. With a wave of her magic wand supper one night appeared to be a new meal the next night. The crockpot ham I made is a perfect example. Ham and eggs one night became a delicious soup the next night. The ham also made a third appearance when it became ham, gravy and biscuits. Here’s the recipe for the ham’s magical transformation into soup.

Ham, Kale and White Bean Soup

1 onion, finely chopped

1 teaspoon dried garlic OR 1 clove garlic, minced

8 oz frozen, chopped kale OR 1/2 bunch of fresh kale (remove stems and chop)

8 oz frozen, sliced zucchini OR 1 fresh zucchini, diced

2 potatoes, peeled and diced ( I used 2 red potatoes and left the skin on)

15 oz can of cannellini beans, drained and rinsed OR 1 1/2 cups cooked beans

2 to 3 cups of diced ham

6 cups of broth (I used ham broth from cooking the ham with some added veggie broth base)

1 teaspoon crushed red pepper

freshly ground pepper to taste

Soup is a great way to use up any leftover vegetables that may be lurking around in your refrigerator. I made a quick search in mine and found 1/4 of a head of cabbage that needed to be used up. I also found about 1/2 cup of string beans. See what you have on hand to add to the soup pot.

In  a large pot add the onion and garlic (if using fresh) along with a drizzle of olive oil. Cook until the onion has softened a bit. Add the remaining ingredients: kale, zucchini, potatoes, beans, ham, broth, red and black pepper. I don’t add salt since the ham is salty enough for my taste. You can always add some if desired. Add any other veggies you might have on hand. In my case I included thinly sliced cabbage and a small amount of string beans. Cook over medium heat until the potatoes and cabbage have softened. Adjust pepper and salt to taste and serve.

This post is part of Real Food Wednesdays and Fight Back Fridays . Stop by both sites anc check out some of the posts submitted by “real” food lovers!

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