Roasted Root Vegetable Soup

I love the website for The Eat Clean Diet. The featured recipe today was this soup that I must try. Thanks to one of my staff, I have a new soup pot to make tons of soup. Now if only I could find the containers to put them all in and freeze them. I'm guessing I'll have to run out and buy more LOL

YIELD: 10 servings
PREPARATION TIME: 30 minutes
COOKING TIME: 70 minutes

Details

This soup, full of roasted seasonal vegetables and savory herbs, will really warm you up on a cold day! Perfect for sharing with family and friends, Roasted Root Vegetable Soup from The Eat-Clean Diet® Cookbook is an excellent complement to any meal.

Ingredients

• 4 Tbsp / 60 ml best quality olive oil
• 1 small butternut squash, peeled, seeded and cubed
• 2 large, sweet carrots, peeled and cut into chunks
• 1 large parsnip, peeled and cut into chunks
• 1 small turnip, peeled and cut into chunks
• 1 large cooking onion, peeled and cut into rings
• 1 head of garlic, loose skins removed and tops cut off
• 1 medium swede or rutabaga, peeled and cut into chunks
• 4 small red potatoes, scrubbed and cut into chunks
• 1 large sweet potato, peeled and cut into chunks
• Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 3 bay leaves
• 8 cups / 2 L low-sodium stock, either chicken or vegetable
• Several fresh basil leaves
• 1 cup / 240 ml fresh chopped cilantro
• 1 tsp / 5 ml crumbled, dried thyme
• 1 tsp / 5 ml rosemary, fresh if possible

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 325°F / 163°C. Pour half of the olive oil into the bottom of a roasting pan. Place all vegetables in the roasting pan and coat with remaining olive oil. Sprinkle with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper. Toss bay leaves on top.

2. Cover vegetables with a layer of parchment and place in the over for 30 minutes. Then, remove parchment paper from the vegetables and let roast for another 30 minutes. You will have to mix the veggies occasionally to roast them all properly.

3. Remove vegetables from oven. Remove any black bits and bay leaves, squeeze garlic out of its skin, and purée roasted vegetables in batches in a food processor or blender. Use the stock to help the process along; adding a cup of stock will make the blending easier.

4. Place all puréed vegetables in a large soup pan or Dutch oven and set over low heat on the stove. Add remaining stock, basil, cilantro, thyme and rosemary.

5. Bring soup to gentle simmer and adjust seasonings. If you find the soup too thick, simply stir in more stock and reheat. Serve in heated bowls with a sprig of rosemary or chives on each bowl for garnish.

Day 2

Day 2 to a healthy new you!! I'm sure you all have been there. You get very excited to start exercising and losing weight. Then by day two you don't want to get out of bed because it's so darn cold out and comfy in your bed.

Thank goodness for my kitten, Tig. She kept crawling all over me while I wanted to lay in bed. Finally I had enough and got up and got ready to head to the gym. As soon as I got there, I was happy I was there.

I'm on the treadmill watching CNN and all that is going on back East with the wacky weather.

I look over and see two fitness trainers helping out members. It put a smile on my face because I work for a distance college that certify personal fitness trainers, like the two I was looking at. I could see the determination the members had on their face to get fit and healthy. That made me want to have that as well.

I sped up on the mill and did my 30 minute fast walk. I'm not going to be some exercise maniac or anything like that. I'll finish the week doing the same walk I do and start something new next week. I might focus on my arms next week.

I heard from Dr. Oz on one of his talk shows a few weeks ago that if you just get up and move, that will be a good thing.

From the past my good friend and I would walk to the beach and back which was 2 miles and we lost weight.

I just need to keep focused and I shall soon be like I was in this picture. I will find that before picture I have hidden somewhere and post that as well. I'm not ashamed of it, it will give me the drive to lose the weight and get healthy.

Stay tuned for many more healthy but tasty recipes that I have stacked here on my desk. It just takes time to log them all in... Ohhh sounds like my fingers will be getting some exercise as well LOL

Hugs

Pioneer Woman Cooks Spicy Garlic Shrimp

I love this website Pioneer Woman Cooks. I read it pretty much every day.

They had this recipe on their site today that I want to try but realized they are using 2 sticks of butter. I'm thinking I can replace that butter with 1/2 or a cup of white wine. Hmmmm... Will have to try this out.

Here is the recipe I'm talking about. Make it either way you like.

Ingredients

* 2 pounds Raw Shrimp, Deveined, Shells On
* 2 sticks Cold Unsalted Butter Cut Into Pieces (or 1/2 to 1 cup white wine)


* 1 teaspoon Kosher Salt
* 4 cloves Garlic, Peeled
* ¼ cups Fresh Parsley
* ½ teaspoons Crushed Red Pepper
* 1 whole Lemon, Juiced

Preparation Instructions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Rinse frozen shrimp to separate, then arrange in a single layer on a baking sheet.

In the bowl of a food processor, add cold butter, garlic, lemon juice, salt, parsley, and red pepper. Pulse until combined. Sprinkle cold butter crumbles over the shrimp.

Bake until shrimp is opaque and butter is hot and bubbly.

Serve with hot crusty bread. Peel and eat the shrimp, then dip the bread into the butter in the bottom of the pan.


Original post came from:
http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2010/12/spicy-lemon-garlic-shrimp/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+pwcooks+%28The+Pioneer+Woman+Cooks!%29

Chicken Marinade Recipe

I adore making fun dishes my children will like to prepare and eat. I found this wonderful recipe this morning on my blog list I read and thought my son would love to help. I'll prepare some brown rice and broccali to go along with it.

Marinade:
1 Cup of Lemon Juice
1/4 Cup of Olive Oil
10 – 12 Large, Fresh Basil Leaves ripped into small dime size pieces
2 Tablespoons chopped fresh garlic
1/2 Teaspoon Salt
1/2 Teaspoon Pepper

Directions
• Cover the pre-cut chicken with the ripped basil leaves
• Add the garlic, salt and pepper to the chicken and basil leaves
• Pour the lemon juice and olive oil over the seasoning and chicken
• Cover the container and shake well to mix and dissolve the seasoning
• Allow to marinate for a minimum of 20 minutes and up to 1 hour before assembly


Chicken Kebab Recipe
Makes 8 Kebabs

Ingredients
1lb Chicken Breast Tenders Cut into Bite Sized Pieces

Marinade (listed above)

1 Orange Pepper
2 Small Yellow Squash
Package of Baby Bella Mushrooms
Package of Grape Tomatoes
1 Zucchini

8 Shish Kebab Skewers

Directions
• Soak wooden kebab skewers in a container of water for 15 minutes
• Chop the zucchini, summer squash and pepper into pieces the size of a silver dollar
• Assemble the shish kebabs by alternating one piece of chicken with a vegetable, mixing up the vegetables so that each skewer has at least one of each; larger skewers can contain more
• Place the finished kebabs on a broiler tray in the oven and broil on high for 10 minutes
• Turn the kebabs and continue broiling on high for an additional 5 – 10 minutes, checking at 5 minutes for readiness
• Serve the kebabs with hot brown rice or over some sauteed spinach

Recipe adapted from Marlon Mata

Chocolate Cookies

I've been on the hunt for a great chocolate cookie recipe. I remember back in the day of making cookies out of brownie mix and cake mix. I was surfing through the channels and found Paula Dean making these amazing easy cookies.

Try them, they are easy, taste delish and are fast to make.

1 box chocolate cake mix
1 stick soften butter
1 8oz square of cream cheese, I use the low fat kind and at room temp
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
enough powder sugar to cover cookies.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

In a large bowl with an electric mixer, cream the cream cheese and butter until smooth.

Beat in the egg.

Then beat in the vanilla extract.

Beat in the cake mix.

Cover and refrigerate for 2 hours to firm up so that you can roll the batter into balls.

Roll the chilled batter into tablespoon sized balls and then roll them in confectioner's sugar.

Place on an ungreased cookie sheet, 2 inches apart.

Bake 12 minutes.

The cookies will remain soft and "gooey." Cool completely and sprinkle with more confectioners' sugar, if desired.

Cowboy Caviar

This is one of my favorite sides or you can even use this as a dip.

I found the recipe from one of my favorite sites, Little Birdie Secrets Blog.

It's so refreshing and delish!!! It's a must try.


1 can corn
1 can black beans, drained
3 large tomatoes, chopped
3 large avocados, chopped
2 Tbs chopped green onions
1 package dry Italian dressing
2 Tbs olive oil
1/4 cup white vinegar
3 Tbs water

In a large bowl mix corn, peas, tomatoes, avocados and onions. In another bowl mix the dry Italian dressing, olive oil, vinegar and water. Pour the dressing over the vegetable mixture and toss until evenly coated. Serve with tortilla chips.

Quinoa salad

I found this recipe from Eat Better America. I had to try it since I have everything in my kitchen. I was shocked, it was very good and full of flavor. I had two servings for lunch and it kept me full till dinner. You can also make this as a side dish for some fish or chicken.

This lemony bean-and-grain side dish is packed with fiber—6 grams per serving!


Start to Finish:40 min
makes:6 servings

1 cup fresh basil leaves
2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
2 tablespoons lemon juice
2 tablespoons olive oil
4 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
2 cups cooked quinoa*
1 can (15 oz) Progresso® red kidney beans, rinsed and drained
1 cup chopped yellow sweet pepper
1/2 cup chopped seeded tomato
1/2 cup sliced green onions
4 cups torn Bibb lettuce

1. Place basil in a food processor. Add Parmesan cheese, lemon juice, olive oil, garlic, salt, and black pepper. Cover and process until nearly smooth, stopping to scrape down side as needed. Set aside.

2. In a medium bowl, stir together cooked quinoa, the beans, sweet pepper, tomato, and green onions. Add basil mixture; stir to coat.

3. Serve quinoa mixture over torn lettuce.

4. * To make 2 cups cooked quinoa: In a fine strainer, rinse 1/2 cup quinoa under cold running water; drain. In a small saucepan, combine 1 1/4 cups water, the quinoa, and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Bring to boiling; reduce heat. Cover and simmer for 15 minutes. Let stand to cool slightly. Drain off any remaining liquid.

Nutritional Information
3/4 cup quinoa mixture plus 2/3 cup lettuce: Calories 180 (Calories from Fat 50);

Total Fat 6g (Saturated Fat 1g, Trans Fat 0g); Cholesterol 0mg; Sodium 340mg; Total Carbohydrate 26g (Dietary Fiber 6g, Sugars 1g); Protein 9g