Sassy Salsa Pumpkin Soup

Another Hungry-Girl recipe. This obsession will die down soon, I promise! (Except that everything I try is fabulous!) This is a great soup for a chilly day. It was even better the second day, as the soup thickened up a good deal. I'm a cheese lover so I of course topped the soup with a Mexican Cheese mix, and it was a great addition.

Ingredients:
4 c. fat-free broth (chicken or vegetable)
One 15-ounce can pure pumpkin
One 15-ounce can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 cup canned sweet corn kernels
3/4 c. salsa
1 Tbsp minced garlic
1 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp ground cumin
Optional toppings: shredded cheese, sour cream, or chopped scallions

1. Spray a medium pot with nonstick spray and bring to medium heat on the stove. Place garlic in the pot. Stir and cook for 1 minute. Add broth and spices, and bring to a simmer.
2. Add pumpkin and mix well. Add the remaining ingredients, stir, and bring soup to a boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer for 10 minutes.

Makes 4 servings.

Per serving (1 generous cup): 177 calories, 1 g fat, 991mg sodium, 35g carbs, 8.5g fiber, 8g sugars, 9g protein.

Spicy Black Bean Soup with Limed-Up Shrimp

My brother experimented with this recipe first, and had been raving about it ever since. It's from Rachael Ray's Express Lane Cookbook. This is a very satisfying soup that has a bit of a kick to it (before the added hot sauce even!). The marinade for the shrimp is also awesome, and can be a meal itself if you just want the shrimp.

4 servings

Ingredients:
5 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
1 medium onion
4 garlic cloves, chopped
2 Tbsp chili powder
1 tsp ground cumin
salt and black pepper
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
Zest and juice of 2 limes
1/4 c. fresh flat-leaf parsley
16 jumbo shrimp, peeled, de-veined, and butterflied
2 14 oz cans black beans, rinsed and drained
1 14 oz can diced fire-roasted tomatoes
5 c. chicken stock
1/2 c. heavy cream (optional)
hot sauce (optional)

1. Heat a medium soup pot over medium-high heat with 2 Tbsp of the extra-virgin olive oil. Add the onions, three fourths of the garlic, the chili powder, cumin, salt, and pepper. Cook for about 3-4 minutes or until the onions are tender, stirring frequently.
2. While the onions are cooking, combine the remaining garlic, 3 Tbsp of olive oil, the red pepper flakes, lime zest, parsley, and a little salt in a shallow bowl. Add the shrimp and coat them thoroughly. Let the shrimp sit while you move forward with the soup.
3. Add the black beans to the onions. With a potato masher, smash about half of the beans (the mashed-up beans with thicken the soup). Add the fire-roasted tomatoes, chicken stock, and heavy cream (if using). Stir and bring the soup up to a bubble. Once at a bubble, turn the heat down to a simmer and let it cook for 10-12 minutes. Stir the pot every not and then to make sure it isn't sticking.
4. While the soup is simmering, cook the shrimp in a large skillet over medium heat. Flip the shrimp after 2 to 3 minutes and add the lime juice. Continue to cook them for 2 to 3 more minutes or until the shrimp are opaque.
5. Taste the soup and adjust the seasonings with salt, pepper, and hot sauce. To serve, place a few ladles full of the spice black bean soup in shallow soup bowls, and arrange 4 shrimp standing up in the center of each bowl.

For those of you who are super detail-oriented, yes that is 5 shrimp in the above picture, but that's just because I love shrimp :-D
Enjoy!

Southwestern Surprise

I'm making my way through the Hungry Girl cookbook, and loving the recipes. This is one I made this weekend and will probably be eating throughout the week. The book places this in the soup section, but it's more of a stew or chili consistency. Also, super easy to make and clean-up, double-plus in my book!

12 servings at 1 generous cup each

Ingredients:
4 oz cooked lean ground beef (or turkey in my case)
3 cans of diced tomatoes (no salt added)
1 can of diced tomatoes, Italian style
16 oz of frozen sweet corn kernels
2 cans of pinto beans, drained
1 can of black beans, drained
1 package of taco seasoning
1 package of ranch dip/dressing seasoning
1/4 cup minced onion
Salt and Pepper to taste

1. Combine all ingredients in a large pot and stir thoroughly.
2. Bring to a boil.
3. Turn down heat and let simmer for an additional 15 minutes.
4. Let it sit for 5 minutes before serving.


This also tastes great the next day as it has a longer time for the flavors to blend.
I like to serve this with a little big of shredded cheddar-jack cheese. I also added more meat to my last batch, but it doesn't need it to be more filling. I used about half of a package of ground turkey, so a little more than a pound.

Enjoy!!