Taste of Italy Soup

Ahhhh, soup, how my soul loves thee.  Seriously, what is better that the little wafts of steam that come off of a hot bowl of soup?  Or the soothing warmth soaking into your fingers when you wrap your hands around a mug of savory goodness?  I don't know about you guys, but for me, soup/stew is the ultimate cuddley feel-happy-to-be-alive comfort food.

And thankfully, even when you're eating in the box, you can have this supremely blissful feeling.  And it's so darn easy!  (And I'm easing back into this blog thing with a simple recipe...but hey, I don't know if you guys have tried this yet, and you really need to!)

So this is your assignment, should you choose to accept it:  take a break from the holiday bustle, sit down in a comfortable chair in a warm and quiet living room, and let the lights of your Christmas trees twinkle your worries away as you enjoy your meal.

Thai Peanut Chicken

It's no secret.  I love pad thai.  I like my pad thai with a little bit of chili paste on the side, which I delicately dip the tines of my fork into before each and every bite.  Love.  It.  So I attempted to recreate the taste of it here.  As you may or may not know, the best part of pad thai is the crunchy peanuts that you can mix into it, and the fresh lime you can squeeze into it.  So this is what we get in our version.  Kinda!  And close enough to please my taste buds.

So with this one, you warm your entree, mix in all the spices, yes, including PB2 (TRUST ME), and then you squeeze lime juice onto it.  You have to, HAVE TO, use the lime juice.  It makes it zing.

And it will remind us of what fresh tastes like.  It's amazing what a little squeeze of liquid from a fruit can do to an entire meal.  Just awesome.

Toasted Ravioli

I'm not sure why I didn't think of this long, long before now.  I mean, it's a no brainer.

I had to let these cool off, but they were totally dippable.  I miss finger food...don't you?

The only think I would've changed about this recipe is I would have doubled it.  And I will next time, when I'm having a hungry day.  Eight ravioli instead of four.  That sounds just about perfect.  But believe it or not, I made these four last.  Little nibbles, little dips, little "mmmm" sounds.  I normally like the ravioli okay, but these were good.  Something about baking entrees changes the flavor just enough to be more satisfying.

By the way!  I started week four of Couch to 5k this week, and I thought I was going to die.  But you know what?  I did it.  That's right.  I ran 5 minutes in a row without stopping, not once, but twice.  So incredibly stoked.  I think I could learn to love to run.

Leaning Tower of Pancakes

This is, I believe, one of HMRs classic recipes, so don't think I came up with this one, because I didn't.  I just thought that maybe, if you're crazy and haven't tried this recipe yet, you'd like to see some pictures of the pancakes before you give it a shot.  So.  Here's some pictures.  Go give it a shot.

As far as how I use the pancake recipe, I respect it.  I mean, I know it's another one of those dreaded low volume recipes, but on Sunday morning, when my family is having pancakes (that I cooked and couldn't eat), well, now I can join them.  And that is very very important to me.

Also!  Tuesday is weigh in day for me, and I lost 1.5 pounds.  68 more to go!  I refuse to say that I only lost 1.5 pounds, because any loss is precious and to be celebrated.  You hear that, folks?  As long as that scale went negative, you smile and pat yourself on the back, because you deserve it. 

Smoky Enchilada Bake



I was assigned a blast day this week.  So, I had to eat more than my minimum, which meant I had to fit an extra entree in somewhere.  Now, don't get me wrong, I sometimes do this voluntarily when I am ravenous, but this time it was an assignment, and I do my best to fulfill all of them.  So I needed a new double entree for supper, something different, something that I could make with what I had at home with me.  Something like this.

Looks huge, doesn't it?!

 This requires a little decontruction of an entree, but it really wasn't that difficult.  It's an enchilada entree and a BBQ chicken entree (BBQ chicken is my favorite entree...can you tell?)  You have to unroll the enchiladas to use for a top and bottom, spoon out the stuffing, mix it with the BBQ chicken, and spread the left over enchilada sauce across the top, with some hot sauce if you'd like.


Spices, meat, tomato sauce, little crunchy bits on the edges...  Heaven in a casserole dish.

 You'll need a little time for this one, because you simply must bake it. 


Looking at it again now is making my mouth water.



Chicken Curry

One thing I have really missed is the flavor of exotic food.  I'm not so much a meat and potatoes type of girl.  I like unfamiliar spices and crazy flavor combinations.  I'll try anything once, just out of sheer joy of finding a flavor that I've never experienced before.

I was not really a fan of the Savory Chicken entree as it came out of the package.  I mean, it had potential.  I liked the mushroomy flavor, and the occasionally crunchiness of the brown rice pieces.  But the more bites of it I took, the less of the delicate flavor I seemed to taste, until it was just like chewing ricey paste.

Let me assure you, this does not taste like ricey paste.  To the contrary, what I thought was a weakness of the Savory Chicken is a strength.  You can, quite literally, completely change the flavor of this entree dish with spices.  I have so many ideas for how to do this, and I'm excited to see which ones work.  This, I think, is one of them.  Curry chicken has some heat to it, so if you don't like a little spice, skip this dish.  If you do though, try it.  I don't think you'll be disappointed.

BBQ Chicken Stack

For those of you interested in my personal weight loss stats, I've recorded my week by week weight loss for you to peruse, along with a terrifying/interesting before and current picture of yours truly.  It is available after the recipe. 

So...enough about me!  On with the important stuff:  the food!

I know you won't believe it, but I occasionally screw up.  Like when I was trying to microwave chips for the recipe yesterday.  I initially added too much water to the chip batter, and it wouldn't firm all the way up and dry out, like a chip should.  So I ended up with a plate-sized crust of chicken soup, and I refused to throw it out.  This stuff is expensive, you know!  So I gave my favorite standby recipe, BBQ Chicken Pizza, a visual makeover.

Geez, I have missed cooking for myself.  I mean, I still have to cook for my husband and daughter.  (Yes, I'm a masochist.)  But it's nowhere near as fun cooking what you can't eat.  In fact, it stinks.

But this doesn't.  It's visually different, a feast for the eyes, and not too bad for the tongue, either.  Sweet and smoky.  Go eat a stack.

Spicy Chips and Bean Dip

This one takes some time, so don't make it when you're starving and ravenous and in oh-my-Lord-I would-eat-my-shoe-right-now-if-it-tasted-like-chocolate mode.  Also, supposedly it's a low volume recipe, so don't eat it often.  But man oh man, did I almost feel normal eating this.

The chips were crispy, the dip creamy.  The spices were familiar and comforting.

I totally plan to use this recipe on Christmas Eve, when my family has an all-you-can-stuff-yourself-with  hors d'oeuvres.  I'll have my own, and if I take some brownies or cupcakes with me, I'll be golden.  Those recipes coming soon!