Chicken Coup Broccoli

We actually needed to steam the broccoli a little before we put it in with the rest of the dish, but it turned out wonderfully! Very satisfying...

Autumn Bliss Soup

An old favorite in my family during the autumn change is cream of broccoli soup. Basically, the ingredients we normally use follow the protocol, so it was just a matter of reducing the regular amounts used for a whole family down to the recipe for one. I didn't quite get there and the recipe that follows is enough for two. So, make one for yourself today and freeze the other to take with you to work tomorrow and warm up all morning in your wee little crock pot. Everyone will be soooo jealous - I promise!

Here's the sharesies:

Autumn Bliss Soup (160 calories per serving)

Makes two servings

100g chicken (110 calories per serving)

2c broccoli (50 calories per serving)

2c water

2T chicken boullion

2T onion, chopped (large if you're really really strict about not mixing veggies)

2T milk

1t celery seed

1 or 2 bay leaves

1T butter buds

Chop up broccoli so that each florette is divided into about 5 pieces and keep the stalk. Steam the broccoli so it's about half done. Take off the oven and add 3/4 of this to the blender and puree it completely. Cut the remaining 1/4 of the broccoli into spoon size bites and set aside. To your soup pan, bring water, boullion, onion, milk, celery seed, bay leaves and butter buds to a boil. Pound chicken thin and slice into bite sized pieces, add to soup pan. When chicken is cooked completely, add all the broccoli to the soup pan and let simmer 15 minutes.

Immediately pull out the bay leaves or they'll just continue to get strong in the soup. At this point, you could also pull out the onion, too. Serve hot.

Baked Shrimp

The original recipe I found for this baked shrimp called for nutmeg, lemon juice, and for the grissini to be crumbled and sprinkled over the top of the shrimp. I think this is a great waste of a grissini stick, as I'd much rather just eat it and enjoy the flavors and textures it has unto it's own. At first, I went with the original recipe, but the lemon juice was just too tart (and it called for waaaay too much of it), there wasn't enough garlic (one small clove wasn't enough),

the nutmeg caused the whole dish to taste bitter, and there needed to be a little bit extra flavor. Where I knew that it could do that, I figured I'd best give it a shot as the recipe was and adjust it from there. OK, almost I followed the original recipe. Hahaha! I couldn't bring myself to first crumble, then add the grissini to the top of it. I'm so glad I didn't!

So, here's the sharesies on the recipe that I'll follow next time around, after considering what I had for lunch. I'm sure this one will be much better!

Baked Shrimp (90 calories)

100g shrimp (90 calories)

2 cloves fresh garlic, minced

1t lime juice

a sprinkle onion powder

a sprinkle pumpkin spice

salt and pepper to taste

1t parsley

Shake ButterBuds

In a ramekin (just because it's pretty) combine everything but parsley & butter. Top shrimp with parsley and butter. Bake for approximately 8-9 minutes. I served this beside broccoli & a parmesean grissini. It made a beautiful plate!

"Honey" Citrus Glazed Shrimp

This one, where it's a little late, I think needs some tweaking. I post it here as a jumping off point for other people who experiment. Luckily, we can make the "glaze" and taste it all by itself, as those things are all "free." What I found was that, even though it is tasty, it overpowered the shrimp. I think less tobasco, less fruit juice next time. And I'm sure it needs something to even out the juice tang, but I'm not sure what yet. I'll have to ponder this one a little longer, I think. Or, better yet, I'll just pass it around to some of my other recipe making friends and see what they come up with to balance it.

All in all, it didn't have honey's smoothness and I think, ultimately, that's what's missing. Anyway, here's the sharesies:

"Honey" Citrus Glazed Shrimp (90 calories)

100g shrimp (90 calories)

Juice of one lime, or lemon

6-10 drops orange stevia

2t Tobasco sauce

1t Ground Ginger

1/2t Celery Seed

1/4t Knox gelatin (if you want to thicken it)

Combine all ingredients except shrimp in small bowl. Add shrimp to the bowl and let marinade for an hour. Glaze will be soupy and won't look much like a glaze until it gets heated up. Center all ingredients on 8" square of foil and fold into a packet. Place in toaster oven at 350* for 10 minutes or until shrimp are done, then serve hot. I poured it all over the top of some broccoli!

Up Town Chicken Soup

This afternoon, before we leave, I decided to do chicken soup, but with a twist. I need to think about getting out of here, so this post will be a short one. Here's the sharesies:

Chicken Broccoli Soup (110 calories)

100g chicken (110 calories)

1/4t onion powder

1/4t chicken boullion

1 1/2c water

5 cloves garlic

fresh basil

Braggs' Liquid Aminos

Allowed amount of broccoli

Add water, buollion, chicken, onion, garlic, basil, boullion. Allow chicken to cook fully. Add broccoli and allow to cook. "Salt" with Braggs' - but be careful not to add too much or it'll be too salty.

Gotta jet!

Today, we've got a new recipe for you. Mom is brilliant with food and can make just about anything taste gourmet - she certainly did with this one! We hope you enjoy the sharesies:

Broccoli Fish Soup (150ish calories)

100g Halibut (100 calories)

broccoli (allowed amount) (50 calories per cup)

1 T chicken tomatoe bullion (find this in the mexican section of your store)

3 c water

1/2 t garlic powder

1/2 t onion granuals

1/2 t dried basil

2 T Braggs' Liquid Aminos

1/4 t paprika

salt & pepper to taste (we didn't use any salt, though)

Bring garlic, onion, basil, & water almost to a boil. Add broccoli & cook about 5 minutes with lid on. Set halibut on top of broccoli, pour Braggs over fish and sprinkle with paprika. Replace lid & cook about another 5 minutes. Add salt, pepper to taste and enjoy! We added a sea salt grissini as a side and found it complimented this dish very well.