[Boomer]

It has been a cold, snowy, icy winter here in Ohio. We decided to take on a building project which made it impossible to leave and spend some time in the sunshine. But that’s OK. It’s all finished now. And I like it a lot. I just call it my Florida room.

But while all this work was going on around me, I did not move myself around much. And I started to mainline mashed potatoes. So I decided to get out the Wii Fit. But that thing called me names and then it lied about my age.

But maybe there is hope. Don’t know yet. But maybe I can bring it back from the brink.

The other day, I found what might just be The Diet Soup of My Dreams. It was in that "Women’s World" magazine that is in the grocery store line right next to the "National Enquirer" that I always read while standing in that line. Yeah, I know. I posted a diet soup recipe on here several months ago. That was the Valerie Bertinelli one. But that one did not last long in my life. It just didn’t taste good and I kept wanting to add sausage to it.

But I made this one yesterday, and it tastes good and it also stays with you a while. And it does not seem like diet soup, even though the article in the magazine refers to it as “Extreme Diet Soup.” That’s hype for the magazine cover. There is nothing extreme about this soup. This is something you could keep in the fridge and have ready to eat when you find yourself starved and looking around for those Thin Mint Girl Scout cookies that you told your husband to hide. (And there is nothing thin about those cookies.)

So that’s what is going on and now here is the recipe. It looks long but it makes a lot. Actually it makes a 55-gallon drum full.

2 T extra virgin olive oil
2 large white onions
1 and ½ lbs. boneless, skinless chicken or turkey breast, diced
1 large carrot, finely shredded
2 large garlic cloves, minced
1 jalapeno pepper with seeds, minced But about this pepper: I have a fear of jalapeno peppers. Too hot for me. This is part of the hype of this soup though. It is supposed to increase metabolism. I will take my chances. It’s still better than what I usually grab for lunch. Anyway, I used a red bell pepper. Sweet thing.
2 tsp. minced, fresh thyme OR oregano (or 1 tsp. dried thyme Or oregano)
8 cups fat-free natural chicken broth
1 15 oz. can black beans, drained
6 packed cups fresh baby spinach leaves
1 large tomato, finely diced
Salt and pepper to taste
7 T. grated Parmesan cheese or to taste
Lemon wedges (optional)

Heat oil in a large stockpot over medium heat. Add onions, stirring occasionally for 10 minutes. Add chicken, stirring occasionally for 5 minutes more or until chicken is cooked through and onions are lightly browned. Add carrot, garlic, pepper, and whichever herb you picked. (I picked thyme.). Cook another 2 minutes. Stir in broth. increase heat to high. Bring to boil. Add beans, spinach, and tomato and bring back to boil. Then turn off the heat. (Add the cheese when served. Add salt and pepper and a squirt of lemon if you want to.)

You can see that this soup packs a nutritional wallop. And it has some actual protein in it.

So I will see what happens with this. Maybe confessing on here will keep me motivated. I will not post pictures. That’s for sure. But I will see how it goes. And I might let you know. That's not a commitment or anything you understand.

And…….does anybody have a great recipe for…….ohhhhhh……maybe cream of mushroom soup or that thick wonderful potato soup?

Boomer Butterball

[Halle]

Boomer,

This is not a diet soup but it is ummm good. We lived in Sicily for three years and Robb learned some basic Italian cooking.



Robb’s Soup a de Sicilia

Fry 6 strips of bacon in your soup pot.

Brown 1 lb Italian Sausage in a skillet set aside and crumble the bacon on top.

After the bacon is cooked sauté ½ to 1 cup chopped onion in the bacon grease and add a little more fresh garlic. If needed add a little EVO.

After the onion is translucent, add about 4 to 6 medium potatoes diced in ¼ - ½ cubes, with enough water to cover, cook about 20 minutes until tender.

Add at least one quart of chicken broth to the soup pot.

Add the sausage and bacon to the soup…and at least a gallon bag or container or whatever of fresh baby spinach leaves… (We usually get ours at the grocer salad bar and use their largest cake containers to pack it in), it will be hard to get all the spinach into the soup pot at one time, but it softens up quickly.

As soon as you get the spinach in add ½ to ¾ cup of fresh heavy cream to the soup.

As soon as the soup is warm enough your soup is ready to eat, naturally add more liquid to the soup as needed and over the next day or so, you can add more water or broth to the soup and it will go a little further. I don’t drain the sausage, good Italian sausage won't have very much fat in it and what little there is makes the soup just that much better.

[twynsmom]

This isn't considered "diet" soup, but delish on a cold day, or any day for that matter:

JULIA'S BUTTERNUT SQUASH SOUP

4 SLICES BACON, DICED
1 ONION CHOPPED
½ GREEN BELL PEPPER, DICED
3 CLOVES GARLIC, MINCED
1 CAN CREAMED CORN
1 CAN STEWED TOMATOES
1 CAN CAMPBELL’S BEAN-BACON SOUP
½ BUTTERNUT SQUASH, PEELED AND CUT INTO CHUCKS (can also use fresh pumpkin, or Banana Squash)
3 CANS WATER
¼ TO ½ TSP GROUND CUMIN
2 STALKS CELERY, CHOPPED
SALT AND PEPPER TO TASTE
BROWN BACON, ADD ONION, BELL PEPPER CELERY AND GARLIC, SAUTE’. ADD REST OF INGREDIENTS, BRING TO A BOIL AND SIMMER UNTIL SQUASH IS TENDER, APPROX. 30 TO 40 MINS.

Prepare Some Rice ahead of time and add a small bit to bowls as you ladle in the soup. Great w/sour dough baguettes, sprinkled with olive oil and sea salt and bake in oven just till brown. ENJOY!

[Boomer]

Thank you. Both of these look great.

Halle, that must have been a wonderful experience to live there. Italians sure know how to cook.

And Twynsmom, the squash soup -- thank you. We have been looking for a squash soup recipe and this one sounds easy and good.

I have some soup cookbooks, but there is nothing like an actual recipe from somebody who really uses the recipe.

Boomer

[BritParrothead]

Oh sod the diet, just give me the soup!

[Boomer]

I know what you mean.

Please do not ask me how the diet part is going. The soup is pretty good though.

Boomer