White Wedding Soup

I came across this soup on accident. I had a ton of spinach and nothing to do with it. Solution? Soup. The hardest part of this recipe is boiling water. Everything else is thrown into the broth and simmer.

Ingredients:

• 2 quarts of water
• 2 tablespoons of chicken base
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 1 cup of frozen corn
• 2 cups of fresh spinach
• 3 vine riped tomatoes, diced
• 1 1/2 cups of cooked chicken (chopped)
• 1 cup of uncooked rice
• 1 teaspoon of red pepper flakes
• 1/2 teaspoon of salt and pepper

Directions:

1. Start by boiling the water. As soon as it starts to simmer add the chicken base.
2. Add all the vegetables, chicken, rice and spices to the broth. Simmer for about 30 minutes.

Baked Potato Soup

So I start off about healthy eating and the first recipe I post is a creamy potato soup. I believe there are times that you should "treat" yourself. Yes, it's creamy, bacony and starchy, but all the ingredients are homemade and I believe that goes a long way. If you keep depriving yourself, it will only lead to the "pig-outs" that can be worse in the long run.

Ingredients:

• 2 large baked potatoes, peeled and cubed
• 3 bacon strips, diced
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper
• 3 cups chicken broth
• 1 cup half-and-half cream
• shredded Cheddar cheese

Directions:

1. Take the 2 large potatoes and peel them. Then bake in the oven until they are soft but still slightly firm. No mushy potatoes because they'll fall apart in the soup. Set aside and cool.
2. In a large saucepan, cook bacon until crisp. Drain, reserving 1 tablespoon drippings. Set bacon aside.
3. When bacon and potatoes have cooled, cubed the potatoes and set aside. And cut the bacon into medium bits and set aside.
4. Saute onion and garlic in the drippings until tender. Stir in flour, salt and pepper; mix well.
5. Gradually add broth. (See the consistency of the broth. If you like it "soupier" add more broth, you like it thicker than maybe half of the listed broth. I like thick and creamy soup, so it's about 2 cups of broth) Bring to boil; boil and stir for 2 minutes.
6. Add the potatoes, bacon and cream; heat through but do not boil.
7. Garnish with the cheddar cheese.

I Love Food

I once loved to eat fast food and "cooking" consisted of opening up a package of Hamburger Helper and adding ground beef. For me it was all about being quick and scarfing it down. Then I got on the scale and found I tipped it at 297lbs! Should I have been surprised? Probably not. But it was the wake up call I needed. All those years of working in the mall (with fast food options) and college took their toll. Not only was I fat but I constantly had stomach problems and bad acne. By age 25, I could hardly walk up the stairs to my apartment.

That lead me to start changing the way I lived and cooked meals. So in my attempt to lose weight, I started to pay attention to food labels. What I found did surprise me. Almost all prepackaged foods are loaded with ingredients that not only you couldn't pronounce but left you wondering, "What is that?" That in turn has made me more conscious about what I eat. I'm not the "organic" bandwagon but I'm now cooking meals from scratch. It's a start and with a healthier diet and active lifestyle (I run 3.0 miles a day), I have lost 80lbs. I still love the bad carbs, sugars, etc. But at least now I eat them in moderation and I don't feel as if I'm depriving myself.

So why blog? I want to be able to share my favorite recipes and some tips about living a healthier life. No I'm not an expert, just a regular woman trying to fight the battle of the bulge.