The Best Tomato Soup

The Best Tomato Soup
From the kitchen of Kristin Sumption given to her by Liz Haas

2 large cans of Hunt's Tomato Sauce (the big boys, I cant remember how many ounces that is)
1/4 Gallon Whole Milk
1 Stick of Butter
1/2 Cup Flour
1 Tablespoon Better Than Bouillon (Chicken Base)
2 Dashes of each; Garlic Salt, Pepper, Onion Powder (I use a lot more pepper, but you can just do it to taste)
1 Box of pastini or star noodles

In a large pot, melt the butter and stir in the flour. Slowly add tomato sauce, mixing with a whisk. Whisk in milk. Add in the bullion and bring to a simmer. Then add your spices and 1 cup of water.

Make pastini as directed, drain water, add in lots of fresh parmesan, a dash of garlic salt and parsley

**Okay, so when I made this here are a couple changes I made:
I used everything organic
I used 4, 15 oz tomato Sauce Cans b/c I couldn't find the big size in Organic
I used 2 cups whole milk and 2 cups 1% milk (I will probably use 1 cup whole milk and 3 cups 1% next time) ***See newest modifications below
I used Organic Chicken Low Sodium Better Than Bouillon
I used 4 dashes of Garlic Salt and Onion Powder and A LOT of pepper (probably close to 2 tsps)
I also used 1 cup of Organic Chicken Broth instead of the 1 cup of water...just wanted to add a little more flavor b/c I used unsalted butter and low sodium Chicken Bouillon

And I followed all of the directions and just left it on the stove over low heat until we were ready to eat and stirred it every 15 minutes or so, to make sure it didn't stick to the bottom of the pot.


**I also now make this soup with 4 cups of rice milk, instead of the whole milk, when I'm trying to lower the dairy content.

Lemon Rosemary Hummus

Lemon Rosemary Hummus
From the kitchen of Emma Caro


1 can chickpeas
4 cloves garlic minced
2 tbs. fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon minced fresh rosemary
1 teaspoon olive oil
salt and white pepper to taste

Place everything in food processor and blend until smooth... easy and simple but tastes like Spring

Quick Salad Suppers

Quick Salad Suppers
From BLC (Biggest Loser Club) News email
4 steps to whipping up a healthy meal in a flash

When you're facing the fridge and thinking what in the world am I going to whip up for dinner? There's always a salad. Consider these your salad supper building blocks:

Start with Lettuce
Unless you live in a remote fishing village, the produce section of your local supermarket has something beyond iceberg lettuce. Today you can buy a variety of types of head lettuce, including green leaf, red leaf, and romaine lettuce. This is a great place to start.

Add Some Protein
To make a simple salad into a main meal, you'll need to add protein to meet your nutritional needs. Stay within the Biggest Loser meal recommendation by choosing a lean protein without the added fat calories; look for protein sources that provide fewer than 50 calories for every 7 grams of protein, such as salmon (50 calories per ounce), chicken and turkey breast (35-40 calories per ounce), tuna and shrimp (30 calories per ounce), and nonfat cottage cheese ( 30 calories per ounce).

A Little Carbohydrate
You may find that a salad with a small amount of carbohydrate is more satisfying. Healthy carb additions include garbanzo beans, black beans, kidney beans, quinoa, wild rice, sweet pototo, corn, peas, toasted whole wheat pita or a few whole wheat crackers.

And Some Salad Dressing
The leading source of fat in a woman's diet is salad dressing! Can you believe that? Of course you can since going a little heavy on the dressing makes your healthy salad more like a greasy cheeseburger! Every tablespoon of oil packs 120 calories so use sparingly; dip your fork, look for light dressing, or go with the calorie-free option of balsamic vinegar or freshly squeezed lemon.

Peanut Butter Truffle Brownies

Peanut Butter Truffle Brownies
Source: Sweet Pea's Kitchen

For the Brownies:
1 cup butter
2 cups sugar
3 eggs
3 teaspoons vanilla
2/3 cup cocoa powder
1 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder

For the Peanut Butter Filling:
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup peanut butter
2 cups powdered sugar
1-3 teaspoons milk

For the Ganache Topping:
1/4 cup peanut butter
2 cups chocolate chips
1/4 cup butter
2 tablespoons heavy whipping cream

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350F. Butter the bottom and sides of a 9 by 13 inch metal baking pan. Put a long piece of parchment paper in the bottom of the pan, letting the parchment extend up two sides of the pan and overhang slightly on both ends. (This will make it easy to remove the bars from the pan after they have baked.) Butter the parchment.
In a medium saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter. Remove from heat and add the sugar; stir to combine. Beat in eggs and vanilla until combined. Mix in cocoa, baking powder and salt. Add flour and stir until just combined and no streaks of dry ingredients remain. Pour into prepared pan and spread into an even layer. Bake for bake 25-30 minutes. Let cool completely in pan on a cooling rack.
While the brownies are cooling, make the peanut butter filling. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the ingredients and beat until smooth. Add more milk if necessary to make it spreadable. Spread in an even layer over the brownies. Place in the refrigerator until filling is set, about 30 minutes.
While the filling is setting, make the ganache, combine the ingredients in a double boiler or in a microwave safe bowl. Melt together and combine. Pour the ganache over the top and spread gently. Return to the fridge until set.

Chili in a Snap!

Chili in a Snap!
From Biggest Loser Email
Contestant Ken Andrews whips up a fast, zippy chili

On this week's Biggest Loser each team was required to chose one member to do all the cooking. For the red team, that was Ken. Here is his recipe for a quick turkey chili that kept his team members satisfied.

1.25 lbs extra lean ground turkey
1 can black beans (no salt, organic)
1 can white kidney beans (no salt, organic)
2 cups chicken broth (low sodium, organic)
2 cups chopped red onions
2 cans organic, no salt added tomato soup
3 cups chopped bell pepper
2 cups chopped celery
1 can chipotle peppers
1 tsp salt
2 tbs minced garlic
1 tbs black pepper
1 tbs chili powder
2 tbs fajita seasoning

Sautée the turkey in a non-stick pan until brown. Drain and rinse black beans and white kidney beans. Drain chipotle peppers. Add all ingredients and let simmer for a few minutes. Serve with a green salad.

Makes 16 1-cup servings

Per Serving: 130 Calories ; Calories from fat: 15; Total fat 1.5g; Saturated fat 0g; Cholesterol 15mg; Sodium 400mg; Total carbs 17g; Fiber 5g; Sugars 4g; Protein 13g.

No-Pasta Veggie Lasagna

No-Pasta Veggie Lasagna
From Biggest Loser Club, The Biggest Loser Simple Swaps

This cheesy Italian favorite features zucchini instead of pasta

2 large zucchini (about 1 pound), ends trimmed, thinly sliced lengthwise
3 links (about 4 ounces each) lean turkey Italian sausage
1 red bell pepper or roasted red bell pepper, diced
1 cup diced yellow onion
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1 cup low-fat marinara sauce
2 egg whites
1 (15-ounce) container fat free ricotta cheese
2 teaspoons Italian herb seasoning
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
2/3 cup shredded low-fat mozzarella cheese
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit. Lightly coat an 8 x 8-inch baking pan with olive oil cooking spray. Set aside.

Lightly spray a baking sheet with olive oil cooking spray. Arrange the zucchini slices in a single layer on the baking sheet. Spray them lightly with olive oil cooking spray. Broil (or grill) the zucchini for about eight minutes or until tender and very lightly browned. Set aside to cool.

To prepare the meat sauce, cook the sausage in a nonstick skillet over medium-high heat for about three minutes, stirring occasionally with a wooden spoon to break up any clumps. Add the bell pepper, onion, and garlic, and cook for about four minutes longer, until the meat is no longer pink. The juices should be cooked dry. Stir in the marinara sauce and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for about five minutes, stirring frequently. The sauce will be very thick.

Meanwhile, in a mixing bowl, combine the egg whites, ricotta, Italian seasoning and black pepper until well combined.

To assemble the lasagna, spread half of the meat sauce in the bottom of the prepared baking pan. Layer on half of the zucchini slices, followed by half of the ricotta mixture and half of the mozzarella cheese. Repeat with the remaining meat sauce, zucchini slices, ricotta mixture, and mozzarella. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese. Bake for about 40 minutes or until bubbly and lightly browned. Let stand for 5 minutes before serving.

Makes 8 servings

Per serving: 210 calories, 18 g protein, 17 g carbohydrates, 7 g fat (2 g saturated), 45 mg cholesterol, 3 g fiber, 340 mg sodium