Also, I tried a recipe today for Bean & Bacon soup that I came across on a blog called Table for Two
It was awesome. Of course, anything with bacon in it can't be half bad. Don't be fooled by the simple ingredients, it has a ton of flavor. I used canned beans instead of the dried because that was what I had on hand. I copied and pasted it below. Both of these recipes work well for someone watching their carbs and if you are not, just add bread and a beer on the side!
Veggie Tofu Lasagna
Ingredients:
§ Extra virgin olive oil
spray
§ 1 medium uncooked eggplant,
trimmed, 1/4-in thick slices
§ 1 large uncooked
zucchini, 1/4-in thick slices
§ 1 large uncooked
squash, 1/4-in thick slices
§ 5-6 thin slices of
onion
§ 1 cup sliced mushrooms
§ 2-3 cloves finely
chopped garlic cloves
§ 1/8 lb Angel Hair pasta, broken into
1” lengths
§ 1 pound shredded
part-skim mozzarella cheese
§ 3/4 pound part-skim
ricotta cheese
§ 2 16oz cans Hunts Fire
Roasted Tomatoes
§ 1 lb pack FIRM Tofu
§ Sea Salt, to taste
§ Cracked Black Pepper to taste
§ Oregano to taste
§ Crushed red pepper
flakes, to taste
§ 1/4 cup chopped fresh
basil
Directions:
§ Pre-heat oven to 425°F
§ To assemble lasagna,
coat bottom and sides of a 13x9x3 baking dish with olive oil spray
§ Layer half of eggplant,
zucchini, squash, mushrooms, 4-5 onion slices, garlic to taste
§ Season to taste with
salt, pepper, oregano (salt will pull the moisture out of the eggplant)
§ Sprinkle half of the
basil across veggies
§ Add all of the pasta
§ Crumble half of the
tofu across veggies
§ Place 6-8 tsps of
Ricotta cheese across veggies
§ Cover with Fire
Roasted Tomatoes
§ Sprinkle half of the
Mozzarella across veggies
§ Repeat a second layer
§ Cover with foil, place
on a flat cookie sheet and bake until the bottom starts to bubble, about 40-45
minutes. Remove foil and let bake for another 15 minutes, and then broil for 2
minutes.
§ Remove lasagna from
oven and allow to rest for about 5-10 minutes.
Modifications include
- using whole milk instead of part skim ricotta and mozzarella cheese
- adding another protein, cooked chicken (breast or thighs), or ground turkey
- Fire roasted tomatoes can be substituted with pasta sauce
- I like to use the Fire Roasted Tomatoes with Garlic and Oregano included
- If you’re not into Tofu you could leave it out but I encourage you to give it a try
- You could try no cook lasagna noodles, I’ve never tried it.
- Add a salad, some whole grain bread (Rosemary, Olive Loaf), and a nice red wine and enjoy
Creamy White Bean and Bacon Soup
Yield: 4-6 servings | Prep Time: 10 minutes plus overnight soaking of the beans | Cook Time: 45 minutesIngredients:
2 cups of dried cannellini beans
5 strips of bacon, cut into tiny pieces
1 medium onion, diced
2 garlic cloves, minced
4 carrots, peeled and chopped
1 tbsp. (or more) of fresh rosemary, chopped
4 cups chicken stock
1 tbsp. tomato paste
Instructions:
- Soak your beans overnight covered in water. Drain the next day and set aside.
- In a large stockpot, add the bacon to the pan and cook until bacon pieces are brown and crispy. Remove and let drain on a paper towel.
- If there's a lot of bacon grease in the pan, dump out all but 3 tbsp. of it.
- Saute onion, garlic, and carrots in the bacon grease until vegetables start to get tender, about 5 minutes. Stir in the rosemary and cook for an addition 1 minute.
- Gently pour in the chicken stock and add the drained beans. Whisk the tomato paste in until all has dispersed and incorporated into the soup.
- Bring mixture up to a boil then cover and let simmer gently for 45 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- When the soup is ready, carefully use your immersion blender and gently pulse the bean mixture until a desired creamy texture is achieved. You see whole beans in my picture - that's because I gently pulsed and left some beans whole because I wanted texture in my soup. You're more than welcome to blend the entire mixture to be more of a puree consistency. If you're worried about blending too much, you can always ladle out a few scoopfuls of beans, blend the soup, then add the beans back in. Really, it's all up to preference! :)
- Serve hot with bacon pieces on top.
- Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator.
http://www.tablefortwoblog.com/2013/01/23/creamy-white-bean-and-bacon-soup/
