Garden Gazpacho

I love Gazpacho. In EVERY form it come in. But there is nothing like this wonderful chilled soup on a hot summer day made from vegetables fresh from your garden.  To try to make this soup a little lower in WW points, I've omitted the olive oil found in most versions of this dish.

Garden Gazpacho

Ingredients 

• 2 large fresh tomatoes, sliced and seeded 
• 10 grape tomatoes, halved
• 1 large cucumber, peeled, quartered, and seeded
• 1 large orange bell pepper, quartered and seeded
• 1⁄2 medium red onion, peeled and quartered
• 28 fl oz V8 100% Vegetable Juice, Low Sodium
• 1⁄3 cup(s)red wine vinegar
• 1 Tbsp minced garlic
• 1⁄2 cup cilantro, chopped (1/4 cup reserved)
• 1 1⁄2 tsp kosher salt
• 1 tsp black pepper
• 1⁄8 tsp hot pepper sauce (couple of drops) 

Instructions 

1. Pulse each vegetables individually in a food processor until desired consistency. 
2. Gently mix all processed vegetables and all remaining ingredients (except 1/4 cup reserved cilantro) in a bowl just until combined. 
3. Chill in refrigerator no less than 2 hours to let flavors mingle.
4. Serve garnished with reserved cilantro on top.
5. Serving size = 1 cup. Approx. 6 servings.

Photo courtesy of familyfoodonthetable.com

Black Bean Soup

I used to buy a fantastic black bean soup mix at our local market, but it stopped appearing on the shelves a couple of years ago. So I tried to replicate the flavor at home yesterday, and we were quite pleased with the results.

We ate ours with some Cabot sour cream and shredded cheddar cheese mixed in, plus tortilla chips.

Black Bean Soup

Ingredients

• 2 TBSP Olive Oil
• 1 Onion, diced
• 1 Garlic Clove, diced
• 3 Carrots, diced
• 1 tsp Ground Cumin
• 1/2 tsp Cinnamon
• 1 tsp dried Cilantro
• One 8 oz. can Diced Tomatoes with Mild Green Chiles
• Two 14-16 oz. cans Black Beans (do not drain or rinse)

Directions

1. Heat olive oil in large soup pan over medium heat.
2. Add diced onion, garlic, and carrots. Saute 2 minutes.
3. Add cumin, cinnamon, and cilantro, then stir well. Saute 1-2 minutes more.
4. Add can of diced tomatoes, stir well.  Cook 5 minutes.
5. Add black beans and stir well. Cook until almost boiling (about 5 minutes.)
6. Reduce heat, and simmer 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
7. Serve warm w/tortilla chips.

Serving suggestions

• Stir in Cabot Cheddar or Monterey Jack cheese.
• Stir in a dollop of sour cream.
• Add to scrambled eggs along with some cheddar cheese.
• Fold into tortillas with cheese (and chicken if you like) to make quesadillas.

Creamy Tomato Tortellini Soup

I recently had this soup for lunch from a local co-op/natural foods store, and knew I had to try to recreate it at home.  I looked at several recipes, and did not find one that came close to the thick, creamy texture of the co-op soup, so with some improvisation...the below came out quite tasty.  Enjoy!

Creamy Tomato Tortellini Soup

Ingredients

• 2 (14 oz.) cans Diced Tomatoes w/Rosemary & Oregano 
• 2 (10 oz.) cans Tomato Bisque
• 1 (14 oz.) can Chicken or Vegetable Broth
• 1/2 pint (8 oz) Heavy Cream or Half-and-Half
• 1/2 cup Italian Pasta Sauce (used our local, Paisely Hippo's)
• 1 Garlic clove, minced
• 1 TBSP Basil (or about 10 fresh, chopped leaves)
• 1 tsp Chives, chopped  
• 1 (9 oz.) pkg. Cheese Tortellini (try Vermont Fresh)

Directions

1. Pour all ingredient except Tortellini into a soup pan.
2. Blend well, then simmer for 20 minutes.
3. Add Tortellini and cook until tender (at least 15 minutes).
4. Serve with crostini or top with Olivia's Croutons.

*If you like a "thicker" soup, try adding 2 TBSP Italian Bread Crumbs, or crushed croutons after step 3, then simmer an additional 5 minutes.

Sausage and White Bean Cassoulet

In looking for a new slow-cooker recipe, I found this recipe on Pinterest. I was drawn to the word Cassoulet!  I love it! The recipe originally called for turkey sausage, but we prefer spicy Andouille. We also added rice to make this a heartier stew rather than a soup. A very satisfying meal!

Sausage and White Bean Cassoulet

Prep time:  10 min

Cook time:  Slow cooker 8 hours

Ingredients

• 2 (16-oz) cans Great Northern or Cannellini beans, undrained
• 1 (28-oz) can diced Tomatoes, undrained
• 1 (14-oz) package Andouille Sausage, sliced
• 3/4 cup Chicken Broth
• 3 medium Carrots, sliced
• 1 cup chopped Onion
• 2 Garlic cloves, minced
• 1/2 teaspoon Salt
• 1/2 teaspoon dried Thyme
• 1/4 teaspoon Pepper
• 1 Bay leaf
• 1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
• 3/4 cup Rice *(optional)

Directions

1. Combine first 11 ingredients in a 5-quart slow cooker.
2. Cover and cook on low for 8 hours or until vegetables are tender. 
3. Remove and discard bay leaf.
4. Sprinkle each serving with Parmesan cheese before serving.

*Optional Rice add-in: To make this more stew/less soup like...

1. At 6.5 hours, turn to high and bring to boil (usually by hour 7) 
2. Stir in 3/4 cup uncooked rice. 
3. Cook on high the remaining hour. 

Serves 6

Adapted from Southern Living 2007 Annual Recipes

Ginger-Scented Apple Squash Soup

This recipe is courtesy of Weight Watchers.

Ginger-Scented Pear Squash Soup

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 Tbsp ginger root, grated
• 1 medium leek(s), white part only, coarsely chopped
• 4 3/4 oz frozen apple juice concentrate (undiluted), about 1/2 cup
• 3 large apple(s), Golden Delicious, peeled, cored and cut into eighths
• 3 pound butternut squash, peeled, cut into chunks and seeded (1 large or 2 small squash)
• 4 cup canned chicken broth, divided
• 1/2 tsp table salt
• 1/2 tsp black pepper
• 1/2 cup fat-free half and half
  

Instructions

1. Combine ginger, leek and apple juice concentrate in a large pot; cover and simmer until leeks are tender, about 10 minutes. Add apples, squash and 1 cup of broth; cover and simmer until very tender, about 1 hour.
2. Purée soup in pot using a hand-held immersion blender. Or purée soup in a blender in small batches (be careful not to splatter the hot liquid) and return the puréed soup to the pot.
3. Add remaining 3 cups of broth, salt and pepper; simmer until heated through, about 10 minutes. Stir in half and half and serve. Yields about 1 cup per serving.
4. This recipe is part of our Make Ahead Soups, Chilies and Stews series. To learn more about this cook-and-freeze feature, click here.

Notes

Partially cooking a hard-shell squash makes it easier to peel. Pierce the gourd in several places with a fork, microwave on HIGH for 6 to 10 minutes, depending on size, and then peel.

POINTS® value | 3 Servings | 10 Preparation Time | 20 min Cooking Time | 90 min Level of Difficulty | Moderate