Black Bean Kale Soup

This recipe is delicious, quick, and healthy - even gluten free (if you leave out the tortilla chips, cheese, and ham).  It only takes 30 minutes!
*This can be adjusted to be a vegetarian dish by omitting the ham.

2 Tablespoons of Olive Oil
1 Medium onion - diced
4 Cloves of garlic - minced
1/2 lb of ham - cubed (we just used 4 or 5 slices of deli ham sliced up)
3 - 14 ounce cans of black beans, drained
1 Large bunch of Kale, rinsed, stemmed, and ripped into bite size chunks
3 *quarts of liquid (*4 Cups are in a Quart) - you can use water for all of it or do some of it with broth.  I used 4 bouillon cubes with 3 quarts of water.
3 Tablespoons of Cajun Seasoning or you can use 2 1/2 Tablespoons of Italian Seasoning mix plus 1/2 Tablespoon of Cayenne Pepper
1/2 pound pasta - we used angel hair that we had left over from a previous meal.
Once our soup was prepared, we topped it with broken up tortilla chips and some shredded cheddar cheese.  It was amazing!

1. Bring cooking oil up to medium heat in a large soup pot.  Saute the onion and garlic until tender.  When the onion and garlic start to get tender, add the ham (if you're using it).  Let it cook for just a few minutes.
2. Add the kale that has been rinsed, peeled from the hard stems, and ripped into chunks.  Stir with tongs, it will cook down pretty quickly.  Once the kale has cooked down a bit, add the beans, seasonings, and broth/water.
3. Turn heat up to high, and bring the soup to a low boil.  If possible, let simmer for about 10 minutes.  If you don't have time, it's ok.
4.  Add the pasta to the boiling water, and cook for the amount of time on the packaging.  Serve in bowls with broken up tortilla chips and shredded cheddar cheese for best results... or don't.  :)

*This recipe is from www.ourgaggleofgirls.com

Sesame-Orange Shrimp

I got this recipe from Eatingwell.com.


3 Tablespoons sesame seeds (white, black or a mix)
2 Large egg whites
1/4 Cup Cornstarch
1/4 Teaspoon Salt
1/4 Teaspoon freshly ground pepper
1 Pound peeled and deveined raw shrimp
2 Tablespoons canola oil, divided
3/4 Cup Orange Juice
1/4 Cup Dry Sherry - I just used cooking sherry
2 Tablespoons reduced-sodium soy sauce
1 Teaspoon sugar
1 scallion, thinly sliced


1.  Whisk sesame seeds, egg whites, cornstarch, salt and pepper in a large bowl.  Add shrimp and toss to coat.
2.  Heat 1 Tablespoon oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat.  Add half the shrimp and cook until golden, 1 - 2 minutes per side.  Transfer to a paper towel-lined plate to drain.  Repeat with the remaining 1 Tablespoon oil and the rest of the shrimp.
3.  Add orange juice, sherry, soy sauce, and sugar to the pan.  Bring to a boil and cook, stirring occasionally, until slightly thickened and reduced by half, 4 - 6 minutes.  Return the shrimp to the pan and stir to coat with the sauce.  Serve immediately, with scallion sprinkled on top.

We added Bok Choy and quartered mushrooms and served it over angel hair pasta.  There are several ways you can serve this dish.  We loved it.

Club Deli's Dill Spread

My favorite deli in Cedar Rapids gave me their recipe for dill spread!!!
I am sure you can modify to make a bit less caloric!

1 Cup Mayo
1 Cup Sour Cream
1/2 Tsp Onion Salt
1 Tablespoon Parsley Flakes
2 Tsp fresh chopped dill


Stir it up... little darlin.... stir it up!

Asian Greens

This recipe comes from The Whitegrass Cookbook

What you will need:
2 Tbsp Vegetable Oil
2 cloves of garlic minced
1 lb. fresh greens (we use Kale)
1/4 cup chinese rice wine or sherry
1 Tsp ginger root, fresh grated
1 Tbsp lemon juice
1 Tsp sugar
2 Tbsp water
2 Tbsp soy sauce

Saute garlic in oil for one minute.  Add greens and stir-fry for about 1 minute.  Add remaining ingredients except for soy sauce.  Stir-fry until greens are tender.  Toss with soy sauce just before serving.

Healthier Beef Stroganoff

You will need:
1 lb of flank steak
2 Tablespoons oil
1 Onion chopped
1 package mushrooms
2 cloves minced garlic
1/4 cup flour
2 cups beef broth
1/4 cup low fat Greek yogurt
1/4 cup dry red wine
1 package egg noodles (1/3 package will serve two people)

First slice the beef into bite size chunks unless you purchased it already sliced, of course.
Brown the beef in 1 Tbsp of oil.  Once browned, transfer the meat to a plate and throw onions into the pan you used to brown the meat. Add the other Tbsp of oil to the onions.  Soften the onions and throw mushrooms into the pan with them along with your minced garlic.  Once the mushrooms have softened, add the beef back to the pan.  Sprinkle flour on top and add beef broth slowly.  Add the wine.  Gravy will happen - simmer this to thicken it up.  Add yogurt - stir.  Plate this up with your egg nooodles and sprinkle with parlsey.  YUM!!

Asparagus Soup

Sometimes Asparagus bundles go on sale at the market and I like to buy a few of them - one to use for a side dish of asparagus and the other to use in making a delicious soup that is also pretty healthy!

Make sure you have:
All of the ingredients and a food processor or blender.


Other suggestions:
Sometimes I do not have vegetable broth around, or even chicken broth for that matter; so I just use bouillon cubes (which are always around).

Ingredients:
1 pound fresh asparagus
1/2 medium sized onion - chopped
1/2 cup vegetable or chicken broth
1 Tablespoon butter
2 Tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 pinch ground black pepper
1 1/4 cups vegetable or chicken broth
1 cup soy milk - I use whatever milk I have in the fridge
1/2 cup yogurt - I use low fat plain yogurt
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese


1. Place asparagus and onion in a sauce pan with 1/2 cup broth. Bring the broth to a boil, reduce heat and let simmer until the vegetables are tender.
2.  Reserve a few asparagus tips for garnish.  Place remaining vegetable mixture in blender/food processor and puree until smooth.
3.  Melt butter in the pan that was used for simmering the asparagus and onions.  Stir while sprinkling flour, salt, and pepper into the butter.  Do not let the flour brown.  Allow the mixture to cook only 2 minutes.  Stir in remaining 1/14 cups broth and increase the heat.  Continue stirring until the mixture comes to a boil.  You will see it slowly thicken.
4.  Stir the vegetable puree and milk into the saucepan.  Whisk yogurt into the mixture, followed by lemon juice.  Stir until heated through, then ladle into bowls.  Garnish with reserved asparagus tips.  Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese if desired.  (my favorite part)

Easiest Ever Spinach Lasagna

Another favorite from The Whitegrass Cookbook.

Make sure you have:
All of the ingredients, cheesecloth or thin towel to wring out frozen spinach, and a 9" x 13" baking pan.
*In this recipe, you don't cook the noodles, they steam as the lasagna bakes.

Ingredients:
1 10 oz pkg. frozen chopped spinach, thawed
2 15 oz. ricotta or cottage cheese
1 tsp. dried basil
1 tsp. minced garlic
1/4 cup parmesan cheese
3 eggs
salt and pepper to taste
1 quart pasta sauce
1 box lasagna noodles UNCOOKED
1 1/2 cups grated mozzarella
1/3 cup water
1 package sliced mushrooms (optional)

Squeeze water out of spinach and mix with ricotta, eggs, basil, garlic, Parmesan, and salt and pepper.  In a 9" x 13" baking pan, pour in 1/2 cup sauce to cover the bottom.
Line pan with uncooked noodles, then spoon half of the filling and spread evenly over the noodles.  Sprinkle 1/2 cup mozzarella along with 1/2 of the package of sliced mushrooms.  Next, a layer of sauce and again noodles, filling, cheese, rest of the mushrooms, and sauce.  Top with remaining mozzarella.  Drizzle water over the top, cover with foil and bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes.  Remove cover and bake an additional 10-15 minutes to brown the top.  Take out of the oven and let sit about 15 minutes before serving.  Serves 6-10.