Italian Beef Casarecce Soup

You will not regret making this! It's easy to make, filling, easily adapted to what you have on hand, and the best part is it tastes like you're eating a bowl of lasagna. It comes together in about 30 minutes, and requires very little prep. An easy weeknight meal that's sure to impress.

Easy Low Calorie Crab and Corn Chowder

While placing my online grocery order I saw that packs of imitation crab were buy one get one free. I don't usually buy seafood, but I actually really like imitation crab so I went for it. Mine was a mix of pollock and king crab, although you can certainly use 100% crab meat for this recipe. I love seafood chowders but the recipes can be a bit heavy using large quantities of heavy whipping cream and whole milk. I lightened this up a bit and simplified it using cream of potato soup instead of needing fresh potatoes; I also used canned corn. I hope you enjoy!

Simple Beef Chili

I mentioned on Facebook that I hadn't been posting as much because my husband and I have been very serious about a deep freezer/pantry clean out! I love having about 5 times the amount of storage space for food versus our old apartment, but I didn't want things to become lost or forgotten. I've been coming up with interesting meals lately. Usually something frozen, with a can of something, and some veggies. Nothing blog-worthy. I did however spot canned tomatoes, canned black beans, canned kidney beans, canned corn, and frozen ground beef the other day; these ingredients just scream homemade chili. I'm surprised I've never posted a recipe for basic beef chili, but this one is so easy to follow and completely customizable. You can use beef, ground turkey, ground chicken, shredded chicken, veggie crumbles, or no meat at all. You can use black beans, kidney beans, pinto beans, garbanzo beans, lentils, etc. It's up to you, so use whatever you have on hand.

Sweet Potato Pumpkin Soup

It's decorative gourd season, and you know what that means . . . soup! At the store the other day I picked up sweet potatoes, a couple cans of pumpkin puree, carrots, onion, and some other staples. All of those earthy veggies make the best soup, and the whole meal comes together fast. Hope you enjoy!

Crock Pot Chicken & Dumpling Soup

This is a definite crowd pleaser. Super easy to put together, you can even make this into a freezer bag meal that you thaw out the day before you cook it. I love using the crock pot when it's too hot to be in the kitchen. It's been in the high 80's here, and just last night cooking pancakes for dinner I was sweating bullets. This was a total fuss free meal and it's so delicious, give it a try when you're in need of some hearty comfort food!

Chicken Pot Pie Soup, Two Ways

I've made this soup a few times now and a couple of different ways. I definitely preferred the presentation of the soup when it was made on the stove top with frozen vegetables and cubed chicken over the crock pot with canned veggies and shredded chicken. Both taste the same, but the veggies have more crunch when you use frozen. Canned are definitely cheaper so use them if you're on a tighter budget. It's definitely easier to make this in the crock pot. I tossed in the chicken breasts, and dumped everything else on top. Then 30 minutes before serving I shredded the chicken in the crock pot and let it hang out on low heat. You'll see in the pictures below the stove top version is just prettier, but man I love my crock pot. Either way the recipe is super easy. Give it a try if you're in the mood for chicken pot pie without the fuss! I should also say my 11 month old daughter loves this soup, it's kid friendly and has lots of veggies for your little ones.

Thick and Savory Beef Stew

This recipe was completely inspired by my mom. I went over to my parents for dinner and my mom used left over pot roast and gravy she had made to make a beef stew. It was the best stew I'd ever had, I was pretty sure it was because of the gravy. And I was right, the gravy makes a world of difference. I don't know why I never thought to try it that way, but it works so well. It's thick and very beefy, but overall about the same nutrition as using plain beef or chicken broth. You can fancy this up with additional spices and fresh herbs, but this is a great basic stew recipe.

Small disclaimer, hideous picture quality! This was probably day 3 of the stew, I had been getting home from work after day. So instead of having time to take a good photo when it was hot and fresh, I just snapped a quick picture at work with my phone so I could post this recipe!

Low Sodium Taco Chili

When I want a quick meal that's slightly healthier for a fast food item, I pick up chili and a baked potato. The other day I decided to go ahead and make my own chili to have over sweet potatoes. Regular chili is delicious, but I wanted to incorporate some new flavors. This taco chili is full of nutrients and low on salt. If you aren't on a low sodium diet, I definitely suggest adding extra cheddar cheese and taco sauce to yours. My husband said it was even more delicious that way. I also completely forgot to buy peppers at the store. This recipe would be fantastic with fresh green chili peppers or jalapenos for extra heat.

Lower Sodium Beef and Potato Soup

*I wrote this two weeks ago, and told myself I would make it again to snap a decent picture. I only have one I took quickly to show my husband, then we ate it all. This happens a lot. So I never posted this. I've decided to go ahead and post it anyway, so it's definitely in past tense. I've been doing the low sodium thing for a while now and it's helping tremendously.*

During pregnancy, salt is your worst enemy. I've been swelling up like crazy lately. Mainly I've been too focused on overall calories, when I should be focusing on sodium. I'm eating 2000 calories a day and still gaining 5 lbs in one week, which is impossible by the way. So I've decided to stick as closely as I can to 1500 mg of sodium per day, plus extra potassium.

This soup can be fancied up into a stew if you feel like adding flour and taking the time to cook it out. I personally like the kinds of soups where you throw everything into a pot, bring it to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer. So although this soup is more watery than a stew, it tastes just as good. Plus no added salt!

Lower Sodium Sausage, Potato, and Kale Soup

Another soup recipe, and what to do with those other sausage links leftover from this recipe. Hubby and I love Olive Garden for the soup, salad, and bread sticks. The only downside is the sodium. Nowadays I'm not even worried about overall calories because I always stay right around 2000-2200. I am however worried about sodium content, which has put a damper on eating out. I decided to spice up the leftover chicken apple sausage and try a lighter version of our favorite soup, Zuppa Toscana. This doesn't taste as good as the real deal because I'm using milk instead of cream, and I've omitted the bacon. Give this a try if you're also stuck on a low sodium diet like me!

Sausage Lentil Soup

My apologies for all of the soup recipes lately. Trying to go low sodium has been difficult, and soup has been something that's easy. This soup turned out amazing. I honestly didn't think I would end up sharing the recipe, because it wasn't a recipe. I had random ingredients and tried to make them work. Thanks to my pregnancy brain I left the grocery store with chicken apple sausage, potatoes, carrots, mushrooms, and parsley. Did not think it through. Luckily I had lentils and canned tomatoes at home, and this turned out wonderfully! Feel free to substitute the chicken apple sausage for Italian, spicy, or whatever you have on hand.

Single Serving Pumpkin Sweet Potato Soup

I had a sweet potato hanging out on the counter, and some leftover pumpkin puree in the fridge. I've been making pumpkin spice lattes in the morning, but that only uses one tablespoon of pumpkin at a time. I really wanted to use up these ingredients before they went bad, so I made myself a single serving of soup. It turned out great! It was quick and easy.

Sweet Potato Soup with Carrots, Apples, and Ginger

My birthday week was a definite success! The only downside was gaining five pounds in a week. It wasn't because I was eating in excess, it was because we were eating restaurant food! My stomach hasn't been feeling great from the lack of fiber, and I am definitely retaining water. My solution is to eat as clean as possible and see if a few of the pounds will come off. I've been wanting soup lately. Something creamy and rich, even though it's been beach weather this whole week. Who says you can't make soup when it's 82 degrees out!? I went to the store and picked up all organic ingredients for this meal, and I absolutely love the way it turned out.

Beef Pho for Under 200 Calories!

Well hello, we meet again. It has been quite some time since I've published a blog post. My absence is due to many reasons, one of the main ones being that I recently published a book! That's right, I wrote a book using iBooksAuthor and my book is now published to the iTunes store. If you have an iPad you can download it for $1.99, it's called "Healthy and Homemade Recipes" ^_^ 

Potato & Pepper Stoup

I've been sick the past couple of days and things have been pretty lazy around here. No working out, no going out, lots of movies, naps, and most importantly hot tea! Although it isn't cold or rainy outside, that's how it feels to me which makes me crave my favorite rainy weather food: soup!