Hurricane Sandy

Trick or Treat!  Or if you are on the Circle... TRICK OR DRINK!
I had originally intended to make something else, but after we had Hurricane Sandy sweep through the Northeast earlier this week, and one of my friends from high school posted on Facebook a "Hurricane" drink, I decided to make a "Hurricane Sandy" for my trick or drink offering.  So thank you Elaine for posting the recipe, and thank you to the Circle for another great Halloween!

• 1 oz. vodka
• ¼ oz. grenadine syrup
• 1 oz. gin
• 1 oz. light rum
• ½ oz. 151 rum
• 1 oz. amaretto almond liqueur
• 1 oz. triple sec
• 2 oz. grapefruit juice
• 2 oz. pineapple juice
• Diet Sprite (optional)

DIRECTIONS

1. Pour all but the juices, in order listed, into a hurricane glass, three-quarters filled with ice.
2. Fill with equal parts of grapefruit and pineapple juices, approximately 2 oz. each.
3. If drink is too strong, add Diet Sprite (or Sprite, or Fresca).

Cauliflower Cheese Soup

One of Catherine's favorite meals seem to be soup.  She'll eat soup hot or cold, for breakfast, lunch, snack or dinner.  She loves going to Panera Bread.  Earlier last week she said she wanted us to make a bunch of soups.  I happened to get an e-mail from Panera that had this recipe, and figured it would be worth a try.  I made it on Saturday, and everyone who has tried it has given it a big thumbs up.

• 1 head cauliflower, cut into small florets
• 2 Tbsp. olive oil
• 1 onion, diced
• 3 stalks celery, diced
• 2 cans (14.5 oz. each) reduced sodium fat free chicken broth
• 1 ½ cups half and half
• 1 ½ cups milk
  (I used Hood Smart Milk)
• 1 tsp. dried thyme
• ¼ tsp. ground black pepper
• ¼ tsp. ground nutmeg
• 3 cups shredded cheddar cheese
  (Original recipe calls for reduced fat cheese, but I did not have it)
• ½ tsp. salt

DIRECTIONS

1. Bring a medium pot of water to boil.
2. Drop cauliflower in boiling water and blanch for 2-4 minutes.  Drain and set aside.
3. Heat oil in the drained pot over medium heat.
4. Add onion and celery and cook until soft, about 5 minutes.
5. Add cauliflower, broth, half and half and milk, thyme, pepper and nutmeg.
6. Cover and simmer until cauliflower is tender.
7. Puree the soup in a blender and return to the pot.
   (WARNING:  I did not have good luck with the blender method.  I don't know if it was too hot or if I put too much into the blender at one time, but the top of the blender tried to explode off, splashing hot soup around the kitchen and on me.  OUCH!  I would recommend using an immersion blender in the pot.)
8. Stir in the cheese and salt until the cheese melts and the soup is heated through.
   
   Serve with additional cauliflower florets for garnish, and hot pepper flakes for an added kick.

Serves 12-13 1-Cup Servings
Nutritional Data:
(click to enlarge image)

Chicken Taco Soup

THANK YOU CHARLOTTE!  Ok, so you may not have created it, but you introduced me to it and you shared the recipe with me.  So YOU ROCK!

Me + Spicy = YUM!  (Jim + Spicy = Not So Much, but he partook... counting down the minutes until I see the first Tums come out... doh!).  Anyway, I LOVE this, and so easy since you just dump it all in the crockpot and 7 hours later, viola... awesome dinner ready to serve!

• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 (16 oz.) can pinto beans, UNDRAINED
  (the recipe called for "chili beans")
• 1 (15 oz.) can black beans, UNDRAINED
• 1 (15 oz.) can whole kernel corn, drained
• 1 (8 oz.) can tomato sauce
• 1 (12 oz.) can or bottle of beer
  (I used Sam Adams Boston Lager .... SORRY HONEY!)
• 2 (10 oz.) cans diced tomatoes with green chilies, UNDRAINED
• 1 (1.25 oz.) package taco seasoning
• 3-4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
  (the recipe calls for 3 whole chicken breasts; I used split breasts and I thought there was plenty)  I now make it with only TWO chicken breasts halves and think that is plenty... anymore, it is more of a "stew" than a "soup" in my opinion.

DIRECTIONS

1. Place the onion, pinto and black beans, corn, tomato sauce, beer and diced tomatoes in a slow cooker.
2. Add taco seasoning and stir to blend.
3. Lay chicken breasts on top of the mixture, pressing down slightly until just covered by the other ingredients.
4. Set slow cooker for low heat, cover and cook for 5 hours.
5. After 5 hours, remove chicken breasts from the soup and allow to cool long enough to be handled.
6. Shred/pull the chicken and add back into the soup.
7. Continue cooking on low for another 2 hours.
8. Serve with optional condiments:

• shredded cheddar cheese
• sour cream (shown in picture)
• crushed tortilla chips

Adapted from allrecipes.com

Nutritional Data:
(click on image for larger view) 

PF Changs Lettuce Wraps

Pinterest is the new friend of anyone looking to be creative or try something new.  You can spend hours just scrolling down looking at what your friends have pinned, or searching for ideas of things you want.  I have no idea how I came across this, but they had me at the title -- we LOVE PF Changs Lettuce Wraps!  I put the recipe into My Fitness Pal and found that it is a pretty healthy dinner option -- if I only had reduced sodium soy sauce, it probably would have been better.  It was pretty easy to make -- the most time being spent on some of the prep, and the hardest part was peeling the lettuce leaves without them splitting to make a perfect wrap.  Since I got frustrated with that part, I begged Jim to finish it for me.  With the lettuce leaves I cut, I kind of just smooshed them together and put the turkey meat over it and shoved them in my mouth.  Whether you eat them with a perfect leaf of lettuce or not, it's delicious either way!

• 1.3 lbs. ground turkey
  (Recipe called for 1 lb. ground chicken breast)
• ½ medium onion, minced
• Dash of salt and pepper
• 2 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1" fresh ginger, peeled and finely chopped
• 1 Tbsp. sesame oil
• 2½ Tbsp. soy sauce
• ½ Tbsp. water
• 1 Tbsp. natural peanut butter
• ½ Tbsp. honey
• 1 Tbsp. + 1 tsp. rice vinegar
• 2 tsp. chili garlic sauce
  (you can add more if you like it spicy)
• Dash of fresh pepper
• 3 green onions, chopped
• Half of 8 oz. can sliced water chestnuts, drained and chopped
• ¼ cup peanuts, chopped
• 10-12 large outer iceberg lettuce leaves, rinsed and patted dry

DIRECTIONS

1. Heat a large, non-stick skillet on high. Add turkey and cook half way through, and then add onion, salt and  pepper, and cook until turkey is almost done, stirring often to break up the meat.
2. Add in minced garlic and ginger, and continue cooking until turkey is cooked through.
3. Meanwhile, in a microwave safe bowl, combine sesame oil, soy sauce, water, peanut butter, honey, rice vinegar, chili garlic sauce and pepper. Microwave for 20 seconds, then stir until smooth. Add into the skillet and stir to combine.
4. Add green onion and water chestnuts into the skillet then cook for 1-2 minutes until the onions are soft and the water chestnuts are heated through.
5. Sprinkle with chopped peanuts, and serve with cold lettuce leaves
   
   Serve with either White Rice or Pork Fried Rice

Adapted from Iowa Girl Eats blog

Nutritional Data:
(click on image for larger view)