Two Bean Soup

After a Turducken-filled Thanksgiving, and much delicious chili made with the leftovers of said Turducken, I finally had a chance to sit down and write up my Two Bean Soup recipe! Now, there's a variation on this soup that I'll mention at the end, but this was my first version, a Beta soup if you will.

If I can find any way to improve upon it, I'll surely post it.

Two Bean Soup

Ingredients:

1 T Vegetable oil

1 c Carrots, medium dice

1 c Onion, medium dice

1 heaping T garlic, or to taste

1 15 oz can Black Beans, drained and mostly rinsed

1 15 oz can Fat-Free Refried Beans

2 c Chicken or Vegetable Broth

Seasonings: (Suggested, can be altered to your liking)

1 T Marsala Cooking Wine

1 T Red Wine Vinegar

Garlic Powder

Onion Powder

Black Pepper

Italian Seasoning

Crushed Red Pepper Flakes

1. In a large saucepan (3 Qt or more) over Medium heat, add oil, carrots, and onion. Sweat for 5 minutes, until carrots and onions look soft.
2. One the onions and carrots are to your liking, add the Vinegar, Cooking Wine. Let this cook for about 1 minute, then add Garlic.
3. Allow mixture to cook for about 5 minutes, adjusting the heat to Medium-Low.
4. Add the mostly drained Black Beans, seasonings, and half of the stock.
5. Add the refried beans, stir well, and add the rest of the stock.
6. Get out your favorite potato masher, and gently work the majority of the mixture to a pulpy consistency.
7. Turn the heat to Medium High, and bring to a boil.
8. Once the soup boils, drop the heat to a simmer, and allow the flavors to marry for about 5 minutes. Taste and adjust seasonings if necessary.

Tortilla Chips

Ingredients:

2 Whole Grain Tortillas (Recommended Brand: Mission Plus! 99% Fat Free)

Olive Oil Flavored Cooking Spray

Salt, to taste

Preheat Oven to 350° while preparing the first 3 steps of the soup.

1. Cut the tortillas into 8 triangular pieces. Spray a baking sheet with Cooking Spray. Place the Tortillas on the sheet, and spray the tops with a little more Cooking Spray.
2. Put into the oven for approximately 5-7 minutes.
3. As soon as the chips come out of the oven, sprinkle salt on them and allow them to cool.

Serving Suggestion:

2 Chips, placed on the bottom of the bowl. One ladle (one cup) of soup on top, and one more chip in the center for presentation.

Enjoy! Makes 4-6 Servings, for a snack or main course.

Variation: A possible variation to this recipe would be to take the onions, carrots, and half of the black beans (reserving some of the liquid, then rinsing the beans) and buzz them up with a Food Processor. This mixture could then be heated, the rest of the steps followed, and then the other beans added as normal. This would produce a much creamier soup, with a few whole black beans for presentation.


I hope you enjoy my little spin on the two bean soup recipe, and remember kids:

Love, Hugs, and Lollipops!
Chef Angie

Moving in a Good Direction, After a Dietary Mis-step

So, this weekend was filled with food, fun, and debauchery as most of my weekends are.
After eating a heart-stopping 40 Points(R) worth of food at Applebee's, spending a 25 dollars that I totally couldn't afford to lose, I came to a realization:
I will never, ever lose weight eating this way.

I now finally understand that even if I eat crappy one day out of the week, I will probably stuff all of the week's worth of crappy food into that one day.
Damn.
Also, convenient foods are great for me, since I spend so long at school with little money in pocket, but all that sodium is keeping my water weight in tact.
Double damn.
Since I am paying 40 dollars a month for the Momentum Plan(R) through Weight Watchers, I am currently throwing that money away.
Triple damn.

My solution to all of this? A three pronged plan:
Work out at school and at home. Cook a lot more foods at home that can easily be eaten at school. And change the way I think about food.

My inspiration:
I found an old print-out from the internet I saved for myself from MSN Health, about being able to eat Healthy and Organic for $7 A Day(The article is still available online). Yes, Seven dollars for one day's worth of eating. Two dollars for Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner; and One Dollar for snacks.
That's a bit of a challenge, but an amazing idea for a college student who wants to work on their health, their food consciousness, and their portion sizes. I fit all of those criteria: Hooray!

So, Step One:
I made soup yesterday! 2 Bean Soup to be exact. I made the recipe off the cuff, after staring at two cans of beans with a sad and rumbly belly.
I used onions, carrots, fat free re-fried beans, cooked black beans, and chicken stock to make 4 servings worth of a very hearty soup. Once I refine the recipe a bit, and make the soup again, I'll post the recipe. Right now, the 'recipe' looks like about 10 ingredients on a paper with numbers placed about, either for amounts or cooking times. It needs a few touches.

Step Two:
I scoped out a local Whole Foods today for inspiration, ideas, and a general idea of the new foods I'll be eating soon. Things like cooking my own short grain rice, millet, quinoa, and other grains I can use to replace white rice, pasta, and more expensive grains like them.

I'll also need to cut the cheese. Out of my diet, that is. Oh, and most meats too.

What? No! HELL NO. I'm not going vegan. I'm going smart.
Don't believe me? I'll make some turkey chili soon to prove my point. Maybe I'll even top it with Cheddar or a Mexi-cheese blend. AND keep it within my budget. Challenge? I think Yes!

That's all for now. Once I get a paycheck, and my wallet stops crying at me, I'll organize my shopping list and show you the bounty I'll be purchases, as well as a plan of attack.

Enjoy your turkey days, I'll keep you posted on my progress.

And remember kids:
Building vocabulary makes us seem cool. Or funny, like when we say "Quinoa" (Pronounced Keen-wah)

Welcome to the Haunted World of... My Kitchen

Aha! So you've found me. Did it take long to shuffle past all the Chinese food boxes, dirty laundry, and unwashed dishes? Don't worry, I'll wash them tomorrow. Or I'll make Art do it.

You'll soon find out a few things about me, and so this is an appropriate time for me to list them:

1. I have a beau, his name is Art. We cook a lot in his tiny apartment kitchen.

2. I live with my parents, and I get to cook in their big kitchen.
When possible, I'll go to friend's houses, and use their kitchen.
All of these things make me a very well versed cook, and pretty flexible when it comes to cooking.
I usually require a plate, a bowl, a knife, a wooden spoon, and a heat source (this does include microwaves) for me to cook just about anything, just about anywhere.

3. I am a Food Network junkie. I choose to watch it all the time, find it better than news, sports, and other entertaining programs (most of the time). I find inspiration in chefs such as Alton Brown, Bobby Flay, Tyler Florence, and occasionally Rachel Ray. I'm not a fanatic about any of them, nor do I own any of their fancy gadgets or cookery, but I enjoy all of their recipes.

4. I live on a shoe-string budget, or the typical yo-yo budget of a college kid. When I have money, all of my friends are happy because I love treating for them and cooking semi-fancy things. When I don't have money, I'm sad, and sometimes revert to what is known as the "Ugly Soup" method (see the Ugly Soup blog for more info). My pantry is my best friend at these times, and I can usually whip up something tasty and kind-of good looking.

5. I'm a Biology and Education major, hoping to be a Biology Teacher when I graduate. But that is not the end of the journey for me, oh no. I want to be a Chef. With the Culinary School and everything. So why aren't I in Culinary School now? Because I came to this realization last year, when I already owed Kean XX,000 dollars for my education. So I think I'll finish one career before hopping to another. In the meantime, I am working on whatever skills I can refine, taking a few nutrition classes, and when I have the money over the summer, I hope to take a few cooking classes at some local schools, just for kicks.

6. What do I like to cook? ...Everything. I am Italian, Irish, Lithuanian, and a touch of Polish (though that's disputed within the family), and I worked in a Chinese/Japanese restaurant for 5 years, am currently part-time employed at a big chain Bakery, and I can be found cooking at home at least once a week. I like to keep my horizons wide, and am always willing to take suggestions and post my pictures/results.

So, there we have it.
Oh, once more thing... I'm Norse Wiccan. So any recipes connected to any holidays on the Wheel of the Year will also be tried out and posted here.

I think you'll find these food adventures fun, different, and hopefully humorous.



So enjoy your Freaky Friday, and remember kids:
Be a winner, not a weiner.
Angie