Roasted Red Pepper and Cauliflower with goat cheese

I love a good bowl of soup, especially on a cold winter day. We have had our fair share of those this year and as a result, I have explored a lot of new soup recipes.

I already have a roasted red pepper soup and a cauliflower soup, so when I found a recipe that combined the two, I simply new I had to try it. As an added bonus, it uses goat cheese - another favorite for me.

I adapted it to be a crock pot recipe. I have on occasion, opted to use jarred roasted red peppers and likely will try it with frozen florets at some point too. I roast the cauliflower in the morning, as I assemble the soup in the crock pot.

I find that it makes about 4 generous bowls, which at only 125 calories a piece*, is a great option for a flavorful meal. I typically serve it with salad and a nice French Baguette, to make it a meal.

Roasted Red Pepper and Cauliflower with goat cheese
Serves: 4

4 red bell peppers
1 head cauliflower
2 cloves garlic
1 teaspoon thyme
1 pinch red pepper flake
1 teaspoon paprika
4 cups water
4 cubes chicken bouillon
4 ounces goat cheese
salt to taste
pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 500 degrees. Place red peppers on baking sheet and bake 20-30 minutes until peppers are charred. Remove from oven and cover with foil 10 minutes.

Reduce heat to 350.

Cut cauliflower into florets. Place in a single layer on a baking sheet and lightly spray cauliflower with olive oil cooking spray. Roast in oven until tender and caramelized, about 20-30 minutes.

Uncover peppers, peel off skin and remove stem and seeds. Chop into large pieces and place into crock pot. Add the roasted cauliflower.

Add the seasonings, water and bouillon to the crock pot. Cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours.

Use an immersion blender to puree, leaving behind chunks to your preference.

Season with salt and pepper and stir in goat cheese until it melts.

*according to my recipe software and in alignment with my estimation.

Disclaimer

Buffalo Chicken Soup

I am a big fan of meals that are full of flavor. One of my favorites is buffalo wings. I recognized young that although I could eat my weight in wings, that it wasn't the best or healthiest option for me. So, I had to learn to enjoy them in moderation. It helped me find other ways to enjoy the flavor that they offer.

I started to get a side of sauce and extra celery when I got wings, so that I could enjoy some wings but then continue to enjoy the flavor in a better for me way by dipping my celery in the sauce. It was also a great way to try some of the other sauces that they offered without committing to it.

I started ordering buffalo chicken salads, made with grilled chicken that had been covered in the sauce.

I started enjoying grilled chicken breasts with buffalo sauce, with a side of a tasty steamed vegetable.

I learned that I could thoroughly enjoy the flavor of buffalo wings without the calorie commitment of the wings.

Then, recently, I found a soup recipe that turned out to be a great way to enjoy the flavor. As an added bonus, I was able to make it in my crock pot and it was so warm on those very cold winter days we have been having. And, as an added bonus, it was only 180 calories for a serving!

I am thinking about making up a batch to serve during the Super Bowl.

Buffalo Chicken Soup
Serves: 8

Ingredients:
1/4 cup onions, diced
1 clove garlic, minced
2 carrots peeled
32 ounces chicken broth
3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, shredded
1 packet ranch salad dressing mix
1/2 cup orzo pasta, uncooked
2/3 cup buffalo sauce
4 ounces Cheddar cheese shredded
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese

Directions:

In a pan, saute your onions, garlic and carrots. Add the chicken broth, chicken and packet of ranch mix. Bring to a boil and add the orzo and buffalo sauce. Reduce heat and simmer for ten minutes. Add cheeses and allow to melt before serving.

Alternatively, I prefer to allow my chicken to cook in my crock pot all day. Place the chicken broth, the chicken, the onions, garlic and carrots in your crock pot and simmer on low for 6 hours. Remove the chicken and shred with two forks. Put the chicken back in the broth and add the packet of ranch mix, the pasta and the buffalo sauce. Continue to cook on low for about 30 minutes. Add in your cheeses and allow to melt.

You can serve it with carrot and celery sticks or perhaps a nice baguette. We garnished with cheddar crumbles.

Disclaimer

Creamy Italian Chicken Tomato Soup

In the wintertime, I love enjoying a nice soup for dinner. One of my favorite soups is tomato soup with grilled cheese. I used to rely solely on the canned tomato soup, but have recently been making my own Tomato Bisque, which I just love. So, when I found this recipe on my friend's paleo board on Pinterest, I decided that it was a recipe that I wanted to try. It has the word Italian in the title, so I figured my husband would be up to trying it. Plus, it is a crock pot recipe - I love meals that I can put together in the crock pot in the morning and they are ready to eat when I get home at night.

I don't follow a paleo diet, nor do I know the requirements of a paleo friendly recipe, but I can tell you that this recipe is very tasty and reasonably low in calories. I used Lite Coconut milk, vs the full fat, and a serving was about 150 calories according to my recipe software.

We enjoyed the soup with a salad and some sliced Italian bread, but I could easily see including grilled cheese as a side to the soup.

Creamy Italian Chicken Tomato Soup
Serves: 6

Ingredients:
3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 small onion chopped
2 cloves garlic minced
1 (14-ounce) can Coconut Milk
1 (14-ounce) can diced tomatoes including juice
1 (8-ounce) can tomato sauce
1 cup water
2 chicken bouillon
1 1/2 tablespoons Italian seasoning
1 tablespoon basil
sea salt (to taste)
ground black pepper (to taste)


Directions:

Combine everything but the chicken in your crockpot and stir. Add the chicken. Cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours.

Remove chicken and shred. Return to crock pot.

Serve.

Disclaimer

Mini Meatball Soup

I enjoy having soup for dinner. It is a great way to get the family to eat their vegetables and a variety of them.

When the kids were little, soup was a great way to easily get the kids tender vegetables and meat that they could eat. I would prepare soup and then, pull out the meat and vegetables leaving the broth behind. I also would get the salad bar when we went out, so that I could give them the tender peas and diced fruit from the salad bar, along with the stuff in soup.

When it comes to having soup for dinner, it needs to be hearty. We like to pair it with a side salad (more veggies!) and bread (to soak up the broth and to give you something to really sink your teeth in).

A soup that we tried recently is Mini Meatball Soup. I liken it to an Italian Wedding soup. The vegetables are a little different and it only has one meat. I have made this following the meatball recipe below and using ground chicken and the next time, I made up a larger than normal batch of meatballs following my Spaghetti and Meatballs recipe using ground turkey and set them aside for soup the next day. You probably could even use premade meatballs if you don't want to mess with preparing them, although, I prefer homemade meatballs.

You can save time by dicing the vegetables and making the meatballs ahead of time. I also have been known to leave the soup on a medium high heat after adding the meatballs and pasta and serving it then. Of course, the longer you can let it simmer the more flavors will develop and the more tender the meatballs, pasta and vegetables will be.

Mini Meatball Soup

Servings 6

1 pound ground turkey (or chicken)
1 egg
1/4 cup bread crumbs
3 tablespoons Parmesan cheese
2 cloves garlic minced
1 tsp Italian seasoning
1 tablespoon parsley flakes
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 small onion diced
10 baby carrots diced
2 stalks celery diced
3 cloves garlic minced
1 (15-ounce) can diced tomatoes
8 cups chicken broth
1 cup small pasta like Ditalini
2 cups baby spinach
salt to taste
pepper to taste

Combine the ground meat, egg, bread crumbs, Paremsan cheese, garlic, Italian Seasoning, and parsley flakes in a bowl. Form into mini meatballs and cook over medium heat until cooked, turning after a few minutes.

In a large pan, heat the oil and add the onions, carrots, celery and garlic. Saute for 4-5 minutes, with constant stirring. Add the tomatoes and chicken broth. Slowly bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low. Add meatballs and pasta. Cover and cook for 20 minutes. Add spinach. Cook until the spinach is wilted. Season with salt and pepper as needed.

Serve with fresh shredded Parmesan cheese.

Disclaimer

Roasted Cauliflower Cheese Soup

When the weather turns cooler, I am a big fan of soup. I could eat soup for several meals a week - whether as a side course or a main course. There is just something so satisfying about the warmth of a soup - the steam coming off the bowl as you sit above it eating and the warmth of it in your stomach. When I make it a meal, I love to serve it with a hearty bread (and sometimes I even add butter).

When I added this new soup to my weekly meal plan, I had an ulterior motive. The soup was to be pureed. For years, I have either skipped puree steps for my soup or I have tried to transfer a portion of it to a standard blender to puree. The problem with that is two-fold. Hot liquids seem to seep out of my blender, so I have to cool them some before blending and since you can't puree it all, the texture is never quite right. I decided that since I had some Kohl's Cash and a 20% off coupon, that this time I was going to get something for me. I picked up a stick/immersion blender with my discount. It cost me about $4 plus tax after my discount. A great investment. A specialized tool that is worth finding the space to keep.

Roasted Cauliflower Cheese Soup

Servings 4

1 head cauliflower cut into florets
3 tablespoons olive oil, divided
1 small onion, diced
2 cloves garlic
1 tablespoon thyme
3 cups chicken broth
1 1/2 cups White Cheddar Cheese, shredded
1 cup milk
salt and pepper to taste

Toss the cauliflower with 2 tbsp oil. Sperad on a large baking sheet. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Roast at 400F for 20 minutes. The florets should be lightly browned.

Heat the oil in a sauce pan. Add onion and garlic and saute for about 5 minutes. Add thyme and cook another minute. Add broth and cauliflower to the pan. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, covered, for about 20 minutes. Puree the soup to desired consistency. Mix in the cheese and allow to melt. Mix in milk and remove from heat. Season to taste.

Notes - I used chicken bouillon and water instead of broth. I garnished my bowl with additional shredded cheese. I recommend leaving a certain amount of chunks in your soup. According to my recipe software, this soup has about 300 calories per bowl (plus any garnish you add). I think I could do the same recipe with broccoli, although I would probably use regular cheddar.

This post shared at the Ultimate Recipe Swap.

This recipe is thanks to the time I spend wandering on Pinterest. You can find the original post on Riches To Rags by Dori here.
Disclaimer