Curried Pumpkin Soup

This sounded better than it was, haha. I won't make it again, I don't think.

• 2 15 oz cans of pumpkin
  
• 3 14-ounce cans chicken broth (or use bouillon cube+water)
• 2 apples, peeled, cored, and coarsely chopped
• 1 carrot, chopped (or 9 baby carrots)
  
• 2 teaspoons grated fresh ginger
• 1 teaspoon curry powder
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
• 4-6slices turkey bacon
• 1/4 cup chopped onion (I used minced onion because we hate onions)
  
• optional topping: croutons
  

Directions

1. Combine the pumpkin, broth, apples, carrot, ginger, curry powder, and cumin in a large pot. Bring to boiling; reduce heat. Cover; simmer for 10 to 12 minutes or until vegetables are tender. Blend or process mixture in a blender or food processor until smooth.
   
2. Meanwhile, cook bacon in a skillet until crisp. Finely crumble bacon. Sprinkle bacon and croutons (optional) each bowl of soup.

Made 4 big servings. Could have easily made 6)

Nutrition (before bacon. 1 crumbled slice of bacon adds 25 calories)
Calories 120
Fat 1g
Sodium 800mg
Potassium 145mg
Carbs 28g
Fiber 6g
Sugars 15g
Protein 4g

Artichoke Hummus

From Hungry Girl.

• 1 can (fat free) Garbonzo beans, drained and rinsed.
  
• 1 can artichoke hearts, drained
  
• 1/4 cup plain (or Greek) yogurt
• 1/4 cup chicken broth (I used bouillon powder dissolved in water)
  
• 1 TBSP lemon juice
• 1 1/2 tsp. crushed garlic or garlic powder
  
• 1/2 tsp. dried parsley flakes, plus more for optional garnish
• 1/2 tsp. seasoning salt
• 1/4 tsp. black pepper
• 1/4 tsp. ground cumin
• 1/4 tsp. paprika, plus more for optional garnish

1. Put all ingredients in a blender. Puree until smooth, stopping and stirring if blending slows.
   
2. For best flavor, refrigerate hummus for several hours. Before serving, add a sprinkle each of paprika and parsley flakes, if you like. Serve with wasa bread, crackers, pita chips, cut veggies, or other dippers of choice.

Makes about 6-3/4 3oz servings. I had intended to divide this into about 4 servings, but was pleasantly surprised at how much this made! I used wasa bread for dipping which are 35-40 calories per serving (depending on the flavor). I thought they went really well with it! Cauliflower was also good dipped in.

Nutrition (Hummus only)
Calories 72
Fat 1g
Sodium 845mg
Potassium 147mg
Carbs 13g
Fiber 3.5g
Sugars 1g
Protein 4g

Chocolate Peanut Butter Fudge

Super easy!

• 1 can sweetened condensed milk (fat free)
• 1 bag semi-sweet chocolate chips (2 cups)
• 1/2 bag Reese's peanut butter chips (1 cup)
• 1 tsp vanilla

1. Line an 8x8 pan with foil (with some hanging over the sides) and spray foil with cooking spray.
   
2. In a microwave safe bowl, stir together peanut butter chips, 1/2 the can of condensed milk, and 1/2 the vanilla and microwave on med-high power for 30 seconds. Stir, then microwave another 30 seconds, repeating until the chips are blended and melted. Do NOT over cook.
3. Pour peanut butter mixture into the foil, shaking the pan to even it out or spreading with a rubber scraper.
4. Either clean out your bowl or get a separate bowl, and repeat the same process with the chocolate chips, the rest of the sweetened condensed milk, and the rest of the vanilla, microwaving on med-high power for 30 seconds. Stir, then microwave another 30 seconds, repeating until the chips are blended and melted. Do NOT over cook.
5. Spoon the mixture on top of the peanut butter layer (it will be thicker, and a little less spreadable). Smooth it on top of the peanut butter layer.
6. Refrigerate until firm (2+ hours). Invert pan onto a cutting board and remove foil. Cut in to 6x6 rows.

Makes 36 squares. The original recipe says to cut them 8x8 to make 64 squares, but they are TINY. Who really eats that little fudge!? Plus this made for less cutting!

Nutrition (per square)/
Calories 128
Fat 5g
Sat Fat 4g
Cholesterol 1.5mg
Sodium 38mg
Carbs 18g
Sugars 17g
Protein 2g

Upside down pumpkin pie

Another Hungry Girl inspiration, but I made some mods. I basically made my old pumpkin pie without the crust, and then I changed the graham crackers to cinnamon toast crunch to make it more flavorful. However, if you're not serving the whole pie right away, I suggest keeping the cinnamon toast crunch in a separate container and topping each piece as you eat it so that it doesn't get soggy!

• 1 c truvia (or other brand calorie free sweetener)
  
• 1 1/2 tsp. cinnamon (Or use 3.5 TBSP pumpkin pie spice in place of the next 5 ingredients)
• 1/2 tsp. cloves
• 1/2 tsp. allspice
  
• 1/2 tsp. nutmeg
• 1/2 tsp. ginger
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/2 cup egg beaters
  
• 1 can evaporated milk
• 1 15 oz can pumpkin
• 3/4 cup crushed Cinnamon Toast Crunch OR 2 sheets (8 crackers) low-fat cinnamon graham crackers, finely crushed
• Optional: Fat Free Reddi-wip, cinnamon

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Spray a deep-dish pie pan with nonstick spray. In a bowl, combine all ingredients except cereal/graham crackers and optional ingredients. Whisk/mix thoroughly. Transfer to the pie pan.
2. Bake at 425 for 15 minutes then reduce to 350 for another 40 minutes.
3. Refrigerate until completely chilled and firm, at least 2 hours (the longer, the better).
4. Top evenly with crushed /cerealgraham crackers. Serve and, if you like, top with Reddi-wip and cinnamon!

Makes 6 servings

Nutrition
Calories 105 (110 w/ fat free reddi whip)
Fat 1g
Sodium 158mg
Potassium 168mg
Carbs 18g
Sugars 12g
Fiber 6g
Protein 7g

I can't believe it's not sweet potato casserole

Another Hungry Girl genius. I halved what the original called for.

Ingredients

• 4 cups peeled and cubed butternut squash (I used the pre-cubed packaged kind you can get in the produce section)
  
• 1/3 cup Unsweetened almond milk (Almond breeze), or soy milk
  
• 1/3 cup sugar-free pancake syrup
• 1/4 cup truvia or other no calorie sweetener
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1/2 cup fat-free liquid egg substitute (like Egg Beaters Original)
• 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1 tsp. cinnamon
• 1 cups miniature marshmallows (or 8 large marshmallows cut into pieces...it's all I had!)
  

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray an 8" X 10" baking pan with nonstick spray and set aside.
2. Place bag of squash in the microwave and steam until done -- squash should be tender enough to mash, but not overcooked. Drain well. (If using fresh squash, microwave it covered with a little water until cooked)
   
3. Mash squash thoroughly with a potato masher, or blend in a blender. Add milk, syrup, sweetener, salt, egg substitute, vanilla extract, and cinnamon. Add the eggs last so they don't cook from the hot squash.
   
4. Transfer mixture to the baking pan. Bake in the oven until mostly firm, 45 - 50 minutes.
5. Top with marshmallows. Return to the oven and bake until marshmallows begin to brown, about 5 minutes. Allow to cool before serving!

Makes 3 servings

Nutrition
Calories 138
Fat .5g
Sodium 310mg
Potassium 400mg
Carbs 30g
Fiber 4g
Sugars 10g
Protein 6g

Pepperoni Pizza Soup

• 1 lb extra lean ground beef
  
• 24 slices turkey pepperoni, cut into small pieces
  
• 1 Medium Green Bell Pepper, diced
• 1 tbsp minced onion (or full onion, chopped)
  
• 2 cups Water
• 2 cans diced tomatoes, divided*
• 1 can tomato sauce*
  
• 1 small can of sliced mushrooms
  
• 1 can water (use the diced tomatoes can)
• 1 beef bouillon cube
  
• 1– 1½ Tbsp Dried Italian Seasoning
• Shredded reduced fat Mozzarella Cheese, for topping

Directions:

1. Blend 1 can diced tomatoes with can tomato sauce in a blender to make pizza sauce. *You can substitute a jar of pre-made pizza sauce, but it will change the nutrition info.
2. Brown hamburger in a large pot; drain. Return hamburger to pot and add all remaining ingredients except mozzarella cheese.
   
3. Simmer on medium about 25 minutes.
   
4. Serve in bowls, topped with mozzarella.

Makes 6 servings

Nutrition (not including mozzarella)
Calories 146
Fat 4g
Sat Fat 1.5g
Cholesterol 57mg
Sodium 1200mg
Potassium 210mg
Carbs 7g
Fiber 2g
Sugars 3g
Protein 21g

Topping with 1 slice 2% mozzarella cheese adds 50 calories. I actually put some fat free string cheese on mine, and it was good.

30 Top Chef Secrets

This is an article I read recently with a lot of good, easy tips. I just wanted to write them down somewhere so I didn't have to keep digging up the article and going through the 30 slides! I'll only list a brief description where clarification is needed.

1. Loose your salt shaker. (Pinch, don't pour).

2. Counterbalance salt with vinegar. Too much salt? A splash of vinegar counterbalances

"Pump Up the Jam Cocktail Weenies"

Another by Hungry Girl! This was meant to be an appetizer at a party and said to make 14 servings. I divided it into about 4 2/3 servings (a serving of 9 weenies).

Ingredients

• 14 hot dogs with about 40 calories (I use 90% fat free Oscar Meyer)
• 2 TBSP minced onion, since I hate onion. OR 3/4 cup very finely chopped yellow onion
• 1 cup reduced sugar ketchup (by Heinz)
• 1-2 TBSP chili powder, to taste
  
• 3/4 cup Sugar-free jelly or marmalade (any flavor. I used Orange Marmelade)
  
• 1 1/2 tsp. Dijon mustard

Directions

1. Cut each hot dog into thirds, leaving you with cocktail-sized franks. Place in a crock pot. Add onion to the crock pot as well.
2. In a bowl, combine ketchup sauce, chili powder, preserves/jelly, and mustard; mix well. Add to the crock pot and gently stir to coat.
3. Cover and cook on low for 3 - 4 hours.
4. Stir well and then serve up the hot dogs with extra sauce on top!

Makes 14 appetizer servings (3 weenies) or 4 2/3 dinner sized servings (9 weenies).

Nutrition (dinner sized)
Calories 163
Fat 3g
Cholesterol 45mg
Sodium 1800mg
Carbs 25G
Sugars 6g
Protein 15g

P.S. Pardon the tacky paper plate. I'm a new mom, work full time, and I'm trying to save time by cutting back on chores like dishes!! ;-)