Souper Sunday

Double posting this from my other blog, thought my readers over here might enjoy as well..


Let me tell you first thing: I do not care who wins the Super Bowl. In fact, I'm not even sure who's playing. I hate football and most other sports and the only reason I even know there's ever a game on is because My Man is a huge fan and therefore I am forced to become aware of such things. So, today while he is hooping and hollering in front of the flat screen, I'll be in the kitchen humming along to Andrea Bocelli on my i-pod, cheerfully tuning it out.

Ok, in spirit of complete honesty which I try to maintain on this blog, I must admit that I was once a cheerleader. Briefly. In middle school. And not a very good one. In fact, the only reason I made the squad was because not enough girls tried out so they had to let me on. Sad but true. But, here you go, proof of my momentary lapse of good judgment.



Can you pick out which one is me? Yep, bottom left, the one with the feathered "wings", a popular hairstyle in 1977. *groan* How embarrassing..let's move on, shall we?

Anyway, to keep the menfolk happy while they enjoy their favorite past time, I'll be cooking up some hearty manly chili for them, chock full of meat..or so they think. *wink* Instead I'll be using the recipe below as inspiration but making just one substitution: no carne in this chili! This won't be the first time I've pulled a fast one over on them, replacing the meat with soy products, and they have never complained. I guarantee that I'll be the winner in this little game, will no doubt be scoring a touchdown with my tasty offering! ..and the crowd goes wild as Rapunzel crosses the finish line...whoot! whoot!...

Please note: I am using the Mastercook recipe program to tally nutritional information then plugging those numbers into the online WW calculator to determine POINTS. While I believe it to be accurate, please feel free to do the math yourself in your own way.

This original recipe is from Better Homes and Gardens New Cookbook, copyright 1953, 1962.

Chili Con Carne

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1 1/2 cups kidney beans
1 large onion -- sliced
1 green pepper -- chopped
1 pound ground beef
1 pound canned tomatoes -- 8
8 ounces tomato sauce
1 tablespoon chili powder -- to 1-1/2 tablespoons
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 bay leaf
dash paprika
dash cayenne

Rinse beans; then add to 1-1/2 quarts cold water and let stand overnight. Add 1 teaspoon salt to beans and the soaking water; cover, and simmer until tender, about 1 hour. Drain, reserving the bean liquid.

Brown onion, green pepper, and meat in a little hot fat. Add beans, tomatoes, tomato sauce, chili powder, salt, bay leaf, dash paprika and dash cayenne. Cover; simmer 1-1/2 hours, adding reserved bean liquid or water, if needed.

Serves 6.

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Per Serving (excluding unknown items): 430 Calories; 21g Fat (43.0% calories from fat); 25g Protein; 37g Carbohydrate; 14g Dietary Fiber; 64mg Cholesterol; 950mg Sodium. Appx 10 POINTS

NOTES : Or use two 1-pound cans (4 cups) red or kidney beans. Drain beans, add to meat mixture with tomatoes.

And here's my version but instead of using dry beans and soaking, etc. I'm using canned beans and my slow cooker for easier preparation. This way I can spend more time enjoying the game! HA!

I added a couple of optional POINTS/calories by topping the chili with low-fat sour cream and reduced fat shredded cheese, offered corn bread on the side and/or brown rice to pour the chili over.


Chili Con Carne Redux

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2 pounds red kidney beans, canned
1 large onion -- sliced
1 green pepper -- chopped
12 ounces morningstar Meal Starters Grillers Recipe Crumbles
1 pound canned tomatoes
8 ounces tomato sauce
1 1/2 tablespoons chili powder
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 bay leaf
pinch cayenne
pinch paprika

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Per Serving (excluding unknown items): 173 Calories; 1g Fat (5.2% calories from fat); 10g Protein; 34g Carbohydrate; 12g Dietary Fiber; 0mg Cholesterol; 1410mg Sodium. Appx 3 POINTS

The Verdict: I definitely scored with this one, just look at those lower POINTS! I have no doubt that my team players will be tackling each other to reach the kitchen!

Have a Beauty-Full Day,

Monday Menu Planning

The next couple of weeks will be unusual here at the Castle as we have Beren's girls for two weeks solid! This will be the first time they've stayed with us for such an extended period of time and while I'm certainly looking forward to it, it does present a few challenges.

I've mentioned before that they are rather picky eaters and, unlike the rest of us, not fans of vegetables but also don't eat meat so cooking for them is a bit difficult! They eat lots of pasta at home so I'll be focusing on that and will sneak some veggies in where I can. *wink*

Meatless Monday ~ Cheryl's Spinach Cheesy Pasta
Take-Out Tuesday ~ Pizza Night
Weight Watchin' Wednesday ~ Shepherd's Pie (vegetarian)
Thrifty Thursday ~ I have all of these ingredients on hand making this Mexican Vegetarian Casserole a cheap and easy meal!
Fishy Friday ~ Ack! Neither of them eat fish so it's going to be Clean Out Refrigerator Night, am sure there will be enough leftovers to go around
Social Saturday ~ Family BBQ - burgers, veggie dogs, the usual fare
Slow Mo' Sunday ~ Crockpot Veggie Soup

On My Hearth: Sunday BBQ!

Beren's doing most of the cooking today, he can't wait to don his grillin' apron and put those new steaks on the flame! We'll be serving them alongside baked potatoes and Parmesan Zucchini, and I believe I heard my man mention something about homemade onion rings. Mmm...I'll definitely be in need of a post-dinner walk to work off some of those calories!

* Exported from MasterCook *

Parmesan Zucchini

Recipe By :
Serving Size : 2 Preparation Time :0:00
Categories :

Amount Measure Ingredient -- Preparation Method
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2 small zucchini -- thinly sliced
1 small onion -- chopped
3/4 teaspoon salt-free Italian herb seasoning
1 Dash salt and pepper
2 teaspoons olive oil
2 tablespoons shredded Parmesan cheese

In a small skillet, saute the zucchini, onion and seasonings in oil for 4-6 minutes or until crisp-tender. Reduce heat to medium. Stir in Parmesan cheese; cook for 1-2 minutes or until cheese is melted.

Description:
"Leslie Kvidal writes from Pascagoula, Mississippi, "The only way my daughter would eat zucchini was in a cake, until I came up with this Italian-style recipe one day. She had to have seconds!""
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Per Serving (excluding unknown items): 109 Calories; 6g Fat (47.6% calories from fat); 5g Protein; 11g Carbohydrate; 3g Dietary Fiber; 4mg Cholesterol; 181mg Sodium. Exchanges: 0 Grain(Starch); 1/2 Lean Meat; 2 Vegetable; 1 Fat.

On My Hearth: Social Sunday

I was lucky enough to have a full table tonight, all of my kids and Beren's as well. I love when this happens! Despite my occasional frustration, I do love our mixed-up blended family!

I prepared half of this dish with veggie crumbles and the other with beef; both were delicious and got rave reviews.


Hearty Penne Beef

From Simple & Delicious

SERVINGS 4

INGREDIENTS

* 1-3/4 cups uncooked penne pasta
* 1 pound ground beef
* 1 teaspoon minced garlic
* 1 can (15 ounces) tomato puree
* 1 can (14-1/2 ounces) beef broth
* 1-1/2 teaspoons Italian seasoning
* 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
* 1/4 teaspoon salt
* 1/4 teaspoon pepper
* 2 cups chopped fresh spinach
* 2 cups (8 ounces) shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese

DIRECTIONS

Cook pasta according to package directions. Meanwhile, in a Dutch oven, cook beef and garlic over medium heat until meat is no longer pink; drain. Stir in the tomato puree, broth, Italian seasoning, Worcestershire sauce, salt and pepper.
Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, for 10-15 minutes or until slightly thickened. Add spinach; cook for 1-2 minutes or until spinach is wilted.
Drain pasta; stir into beef mixture. Sprinkle with cheese; cover and cook for 3-4 minutes or until cheese is melted. Yield: 4 servings.