Turkey & White Bean Chili

Happy Fall!!  We've been teased a few times with cooler temps, only to have the upper 90-degree weather come barreling back 24 hours later.  This week, though, I've embraced fall.  The second I saw our weather report, I started thinking about soups...and stews...and chilis.  I love fall - the cooler temperatures, October baseball (well...sometimes), football season.  I love the holidays and celebrating with friends and family.  But I really, really, love the fall food.

When I saw this recipe, it moved right to the top of the list.  I usually like my chili the way my parents always made it.  I don't really have a recipe, I just know how it should taste.  I've tried chicken chili before, but it just wasn't right.  But this recipe had potential!  I did adjust it a bit, adding some extra broth to thin it out and pouring in a can of diced tomatoes because, well, chili isn't chili for me without tomatoes.  Next time I may throw in a jalapeno for a little extra kick, but overall this is a keeper.  That's saying a lot considering I usually don't want beans anywhere close to my chili!

Turkey & White Bean Chili adapted from Skinny Taste

• 2 pounds ground turkey
• salt & pepper
• 1 onion, diced
• 2-3 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1-2 tsp chili powder, I went with a little more
• 2 tsp cumin
• 1 tsp oregano
• 2 bay leaves
• 2 cans white northern beans, drained & rinsed
• 32 oz chicken broth, low sodium
• 15 oz can pumpkin puree
• 4.5 oz can diced green chilis
• 14.5 oz can diced tomatoes

Heat a small amount of olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat.  Brown the turkey until done, season to taste with salt & pepper and add to a crock pot.  Using the same skillet, saute the onions for about 4-5 minutes, or until they start to brown.  Add in the garlic and saute for an additional minute.  Add the onions & garlic to the crock pot.  Add the remaining ingredients and cook on low for 6-8 hours or on high for 3-4 hours.

Serve with diced green onion, sour cream, chips...or whatever you usually like with your chili!  Tomorrow night, we're having the leftovers with a little rice.

Curried Butternut Squash Soup

I've made a butternut squash soup before that is pretty good, but this one was much easier!  And it had a different taste to it. 

Curried Butternut Squash Soup from Weight Watchers

• 3lbs butternut squash, peeled and cut into 1" cubes
• 2 medium onions, peeled and quartered
• 29 oz chicken broth
• 1 1/2 t curry powder
• salt & pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 425.  Place squash, onion & broth in a large dish and bake for about 1 hour, stirring occasionally.  Remove from oven and let cool about 15 minutes. 

In a small skillet, toast the curry powder over medium heat until fragrant, about 15 minutes.  Add the curry powder, salt & pepper to the veggies and puree.  I used an immersion blender to puree the vegetables, but you can also use a food processor or a blender.

We served this over light 4 cheese ravioli (Cooper was a fan!) with a salad.  You can also add a little sour cream and green onion.

WW Points: 3 (without ravioli) for 3/4 cup soup and 2 t fat free sour cream

French Onion Soup...or so I thought

My favorite soup soup is French Onion from Panera Bread.  I could probably eat this every day for lunch.  But Panera Bread is expensive, people.  $10 for half a sandwich and a cup of oh-so-yummy soup on a daily basis just won't fly around my house.  And unfortunately we don't have a Panera Bread close to work so I can't justify that as my less than once weekly lunch out.

The temps here finally dropped (we ran the heater this weekend!) and I figured it was a perfect time to try the soup.  Especially since we're climbing back into the mid-80's later this week.  Ugh.  To stick with my diet, I searched and found a recipe on Weight Watchers.

French Onion Soup adapted from WeightWatchers.com

• 1 T butter
• 3 vidalia onions, cut in half and sliced thin (I used sweet yellow)
• 6 cups vegetable broth
• 1/2 cup dry red wine
• 1 bay leaf
• 1/4 t dried thyme
• 1/4 t black pepper
• grated Parmesan cheese (2 T per serving)

Melt the butter in a large soup pot.  Add the onions, sauteing about 20 minutes.  Add in the remaining ingredients and simmer 20-30 minutes.  If you have oven safe soup bowls, you can scoop the soup into a bowl with a serving of your favorite baguette and the cheese, melting it under the broiler for a few minutes.  The recipe above makes 4 servings at 3 points each, however add points for the bread.

Now here is where I'm unsure.  I wasn't a fan of the recipe.  I was bland.  Like really bland.  I added more spices.  And more pepper.  And still...eh.  I just didn't like it.  Jason did, but I wanted it to taste exactly like the soup from Panera.  And it didn't.  So tonight I'm going for round two.  We consumed most of the broth (what wasn't soaked up by onions) and I have a ton of onions left.  I'm going to toss them back into the cast iron skillet and saute them until they are really brown and caramelized.  Then I'm going to add in beef broth and not vegetable broth.  And...we'll see.  Wish me luck.