Chicken Noodle Soup with Lemon

When I go to the gym and run on the treadmil I watch the Food Network :-) You'd think watching cooking shows while exercising would make you hungry and un-motivated. For me it gives me ideas of meals to make for my family. I was watching Giada the other day and she made a Chicken noodle soup with lemon and it just sounded delicious! I had all of the ingredients at home from a meal earlier in the week so why not? Its a quick and delicious way to use up leftovers and have a good quality meal. I pretty much followed the recipe exactly...the only thing I didn't have was a cheese rind. Here is the recipe...

Ingredients

• 6 cups low-sodium chicken broth
• 1/3 cup fresh lemon juice (about 2 lemons)
• 1 dried bay leaf
• 1 (2-inch) piece Parmesan cheese rind, optional
• 2 medium carrots, peeled and sliced into 1/4-inch pieces
• 1 cup (about 2 1/2 ounces) spaghetti, broken into 2-inch pieces, *see Cook's Note
• 2 cups diced cooked rotisserie chicken, preferably breast meat
• 1 cup grated Romano cheese
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
• Kosher salt

Directions

In a large stockpot, bring the chicken broth, lemon juice, bay leaf, and Parmesan rind, if using, to a boil over medium-high heat.

Add the carrots and simmer until tender, about 5 to 8 minutes.
Add the broken pasta and cook until the pasta is tender, for 4 to 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the chicken and heat through, about 2 to 3 minutes. Remove the bay leaf and the Parmesan rind and discard. Stir in 1/2 of the cheese and the parsley. Season with salt, to taste. Ladle the soup into serving bowls and sprinkle with the remaining cheese.
*Cook's Note: You can use any short pasta from your pantry as a substitute for spaghetti.

Slow Cooker Black Bean Soup

I love black bean soup...its packed with so many good things AND its super inexpensive! I think for a 32 oz bag of dried beans it was less than $1.50...thats cheap. One thing that I don't like about dried beans is having to soak them overnight...however, I didn't do that for this recipe and didn't need to. I threw everything into the crock pot and let it cook. My brother actually asked if there was meat in it because it was so hearty...nope no meat. This served 5 adults and cost less than $5...you can't beat that! Here's the recipe...inspired by The Frugal Chef.

Ingredients
16 oz dried black beans, rinsed
1 can Rotel
1/4 cup diced onion
1 stalk of celery, diced
1 carrot, diced
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 teaspoon cumin
1 T salt (seems like a lot but needed)
1 T pepper
8 cups water
optional: jalapeno, cheddar cheese, sour cream, tomato, avocado, and cilantro

In a cold crock pot, put all ingredients through pepper. Add water...it may seem like a lot but the beans expand and absorb water. You could use half chicken stock half water for more flavor but I was all out. Cook on high 4-5 hours or on low 7-8 hours. You can either use an immersion blender (handheld blender) or once cooled slightly put half of soup into a blender. You want to leave substance but blending half of the soup with make it thick. I highly reccommend purchasing an immersion blender!! I use it for soups...and you can find them for under $20! I topped mine with a little cheese, low fat sour cream, diced tomato, and cilantro. ENJOY!!!

Tuscan White Bean Soup

During the cold winter months I LOVE a hot bowl of soup! I love any kind of soup...potato soup, broccoli and cheese soup, chili, vegetable soup, and the list goes on and on. I was trying to clean out my pantry and had some Cannelini Beans, diced tomatoes and chicken broth. I also had some smoked turkey sausage in the freezer. That sounded like a perfect soup...all I needed to buy was some Kale. Kale is so good for you and has so much fiber and nutrients...one of those super foods!! I sauteed some onion with the smoked sausage to get some color on it, added the drained beans and tomatoes, poured in the chicken broth and simmered. Near the end I added in the washed kale. It was delcious!!! I hope you enjoy!!

1/2 onion, diced
1 can diced tomatoes with juice
2 cans cannelini beans, rinsed and drained
1 pkg smoked turkey sausage
1 carton on chicken stock (I used the 'white wine and herb)
1 large bunch of Kale, stems removed, torn into bite size pieces, and rinsed WELL
Water
Freshly grated Romano cheese

Sautee onions in 2 T olive oil on medium heat...add diced sausage. Once onions are translucent and sausage is warmed, add tomatos, beans, stock and enough water to cover by 1/2 inch. Add seasoning to taste (salt pepper and garlic powder). Let simmer for 15 min. Add torn pieces of washed Kale and cover. Turn heat to low and simmer another 10 min. Serve with grated parmesan or romano cheese.