Southwest Chipitole Soup

I modified Rachel's Ray's Chicken, Chorizo, and Tortilla soup to make this vegan alternative.

Southwest Soup

Ingredients

•       1 package Gardein chick n scallopini 

•       Salt and pepper

•       1 package Field Roast Chipotle sausage.

•       Vegetable spray (recommended Spectrum brand)

•       3 cloves garlic, smashed

•       1 red bell pepper, chopped

•       1 medium onion, chopped

•       6 small red potatoes, diced

•       1 (15-ounce) can fire roasted chopped tomatoes (recommended: Muir Glen)

•       1 (15-ounce) can dark red kidney beans, drained

•       2 teaspoons hot sauce (omit, if you like things less spicy)

•       1 quart chicken stock made from Better Than Bouillon -  No Chicken Base

Directions

1.  Preheat large soup pot over medium-high heat.

2.  Slightly thaw and chop scallopini into bite-size pieces.

3.  Chop chipitole sausage into small pieces.

4.  Spray pot twice with vegetable oil

5.  Add chick n scallopini to pot.

6.  Lightly brown chicken 2 minutes, then add the chipotle and garlic.

7.  Cook another 2 to 3 minutes

8.  Add peppers, onions and potatoes. Cook 5 minutes, 9.  Stir in tomatoes, kidney beans, hot sauce, and chicken stock and bring soup to a boil.

10.  Reduce heat to low and cook for 1 hour.

The Best Balsamic Vinegar - from Olives and Grapes

OK, today's blog is a product review of "from Olives and Grapes" balsamic vinegar.  If you haven't heard, balsamic vinegar is a great antioxidant as well as providing a potential list of benefits from "possibly" lowering cholesterol levels to boosting energy.  However, I like it because it tastes wonderful and is a great non-fat alternative to salad dressing.

I was waiting for my son to finish with a play practice in Historic Cocoa Village and decided to check out the store "from Olives and Grapes."  I am really glad my son was late, because this store carries the best balsamic vinegar that I've ever tasted and I tasted a lot of these vinegars on a recent trip to Italy.  The store carries numerous flavors of the vinegar as well as oils and if you live close by, you can go in and actually taste them before buying.  My favorites to date are the Traditional 18 year-aged Balsamic Vinegar and the Dark Chocolate Balsamic Vinegar.  You can enjoy these vinegars on salad or as a bread dipping sauce.

If you'd like to check them out, see:http://www.fromolivesandgrapes.com If you'd like to visit them, they are located in Historic Cocoa Village at: 12 Oleander Street

Celebration Roast with Mashed Potatoes and Roasted Carrots

I discovered the company "Field Roast" from the Ellen website.  I used the roast recipe from her website, but modified it to make it less work and low fat.  I think the result was still great and my kids and husband loved it.  If you want the original recipe, here is the link.  It sounds complicated, the the entire meal took an hour to make.

Ingredients:

1 cup red wine (cabernet, merlot, etc.)
1 C vegetable broth
1 T Better Than Bouillon, No Beef Base
2 C water
2 carrots diced
2 celery stalks, diced
1/2 onion diced
16 small mixed carrots
Salt
3 T whole wheat white flour
1 tsp thyme
1tsp rosemary
1/2 tsp ground pepper
1 Field Roast, Celebration Roast
5 large Yukon potatoes, scrubbed but not peeled.


Directions:


Start the sauce about an hour before you want to eat.


1. Add 1/4 red wine to a heated saute pan.  Add the onions, carrots, and celery and cook until tender.  
2. Stir in 3 T of flour
3. Add the rest of the wine, water, no beef base, rosemary, thyme, and pepper.
4. Let simmer on low heat for an hour, stir it occasionally
5. After an hour, strain the sauce into another pan.  (You can actually save the carrot/celery/onion mixture that will be left in the strainer and use it in wraps for lunch.)


Start the potatoes about 30 minutes before you want to eat.

1. Place potatoes in a large pan of boiling water and cook until fork tender.
2. Drain potatoes in a colander.
3. Transfer potatoes to a bowl.
4. Add 1/2 cup of the vegetable broth and mash with the potatoes.
5. Add more broth until a creamy texture is achieved.
6. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Start the carrots.

1. Preheat the oven to 425
2. Spray a cookie sheet with vegetable oil.
3. Place carrots on the pan.
4. Spray the carrots with the vegetable oil.
5. Sprinkle about 1tsp salt over the carrots.
6.  Bake for 20 minutes or until tender.


Cook the roast.


I used my panini to grill the roast.


1.  Cut the roast into 8 equal pieces.
2.  Place on the grill and brush tops with the beef sauce.
3.  Cook for about 3 minutes, then turn the pieces over and repeat the process.


Assemble on the plate.


1. Drizzle 2 T of sauce on four plates.
2. Arrange two scoops of potatoes on each plate. ( I used an ice cream scoop)
3. Place two pieces of roast on the potatoes in a v.
4. Arrange carrots close to the roast.
5. Place remaining beef sauce on the table for folks to use.