Corn & Salmon Chowder

This recipe is from Williams-Sonoma Cooking for Baby. I googled salmon chowder and this recipe honestly looked to be the best recipe that I found so I decided to give it a try. I slightly changed the amounts of some of the ingredients so I made those notes. It was really delicious soup! Even tho it's from a baby cook book. :-)

Corn & Salmon Chowder
1/2 lb red potatoes (I used 3)
1/4 cup diced onion
1 celery rib (I used 4)
1 medium carrot, peeled (I used half of a small bag of baby carrots)
1 clove garlic
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 bay leaf (omitted)
1 1/2 cups low-sodium vegetable broth (I used 1 can and a carton of V8 Southwestern Corn liquid soup mix)
3/4 lb skinless salmon fillet
1 1/2 cups whole milk
1 1/2 cups corn kernels, fresh or frozen (I used canned corn - only one can since I added the V8 liquid)
salt and pepper
Peel and dice potatoes and set aside. Dice onion, celery, and carrot. Mince garlic.
In a soup pot over medium heat, heat oil. Add onion, celery, carrot, garlic, and bay leaf and saute until vegetables turn golden, 5-7 minutes. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and cook, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are tender, about 10 minutes. Add broth and potatoes, increase heat to high, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer until potatoes are tender, about 12 minutes.
Cut salmon into 1-inch pieces.
Puree milk and 1 cup corn in a blender. Add corn puree, 1/2 cup corn kernels, and salmon pieces to pot. Return to medium heat and simmer, uncovered, until salmon is cooked through and soup is hot, 5-7 minutes. Discard bay leaf. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Note: If you are making this for baby, the recipe says that if the soup is too chunky to use a food mill or food processor for baby's portion.

Mac and Cheese Hot dogs

So depending on the level of comfort you want from this comfort food and the ingredients you have on hand you have a variety of ways to make this. I only buy lil smokies if they are sale so I opt for cutting up turkey hot dogs, fat free if possible. this can be done in oven or crock pot depending again on the time you have. You can use mac in a box or make from scratch (so much better but you can doctor mac in a box to help it taste more homemade.) So this is a win win as long as you eat a healthy veggie etc since it's all carbs. But oh so good.

Mac and Cheese Smokies/Hot dogs/etc
adapted from a variety of different sources, mostly a cross between my mom's recipe and lil smokies official online recipe

Ingredients:
This one is a real comfort dinner meal but can be served at a party.
Keep it warm in a crock pot after cooking according to the directions.
1 macaroni and cheese dinner pack (7 ¼ oz. size)
1 pack of Lit'l Smokies (1 lb.) 1 lb. hot dogs chopped
1 standard size cream of mushroom soup (10 ¾ oz.) or cream of broccoli or cream of whatever you have in your pantry
1/3 cup of milk (whole milk) I used skim

Toppings (parley flakes and cheddar cheese) (low fat cheese)

Directions:
Mix up the mac and cheese according to the package directions.
Mix the macaroni and cheese with the Smokies, Soup, and milk. Sprinkle parsley over the top of the mixture and put some cheddar cheese on top(if you are serving this for a family meal). If you are baking this and then putting it in the crock pot to keep it warm, then reserve the parsley and cheese and sprinkle that on right before guests begin serving the Smokies.
* Note – This is a tasty dish but not as pretty as some of the other Smokie party dishes.

Nutrition Facts (these change a bit if you alter ingredients to low fat options)
Serving Size 1 (160g) Recipe makes 8 servings Calories 412 Calories from Fat 262 (63%)
Amount Per Serving % DV Total Fat 29.1g 44% Saturated Fat 13.3g 66%
Monounsaturated Fat 10.7g Polyunsaturated Fat 2.8g Trans Fat 0.0g Cholesterol 76mg 25%
Sodium 1212mg 50% Potassium 289mg 8% Total Carbohydrate 22.2g 7% Dietary Fiber 0.8g 3% Sugars 4.0g Protein 15.9g 31%

Directions
1 Preheat oven to 350°F.
2 cook for approx 20-25 min
3 eat and enjoy

Zuppa Toscana Soup (Olive Garden Copycat recipe)

I love soup in cold weather and this soup is soooo good and came out pretty close to tasting like the Olive Garden soup. I will definitely make this again!

Zuppa Toscana (Olive Garden Copycat Recipe)
Source: Robbie's Recipes

Ingredients
1 pound spicy Italian sausage - crumbled
1/2 pound smoked bacon - chopped
4 cups water
2, 14.5 ounce cans (about 3 2/3 cups) chicken broth
2 large russet potatoes - scrubbed clean, cubed (I used 3 and could have used more, maybe 4-5, I like potatoes though)
2 garlic cloves - peeled, crushed
1 medium onion - peeled, chopped
2 cups chopped kale OR Swiss chard (I used Swiss chard it turned out Whole Foods is the only store I found near here with either of these ingredients. Oh how I miss Woodmans)
1 cup heavy whipping cream (I used half and half)
salt and pepper - to taste

Directions
1. In a skillet over medium-high heat, brown sausage, breaking into small pieces as you fry it; drain, set aside.
2. In a skillet over medium-high heat, brown bacon; drain, set aside.
3. Place water, broth, potatoes, garlic, and onion in a pot; simmer over medium heat until potatoes are tender.
4. Add sausage and bacon to pot; simmer for 10 minutes.
5. Add kale and cream to pot; season with salt and pepper; heat through.

Campbells Lemon Broccoli Chicken

I've not gone grocery shopping since I came back from visiting family and friends in IL over Thanksgiving. I laid out chicken to thaw and I found a can of soup in the pantry. This recipe was on the back of the can. It was easy and good, too.

Campbell's® Lemon Broccoli Chicken
From: Campbell's Kitchen
Prep/Cook: 20 minutes
Serves: 4
Ingredients:
1 lemon (I just used lemon juice)
1 tbsp. vegetable oil
4 skinless, boneless chicken breasts
1 can (10 3/4 oz.) Campbell's® Condensed Cream of Broccoli Soup (Regular or 98% Fat Free)1/2 cup milk
1/8 tsp. ground black pepper
4 cups hot cooked regular long-grain white rice

Directions:
CUT 4 thin slices of lemon.
Squeeze 2 tsp. juice from remaining lemon.
HEAT oil in skillet. Add chicken and cook until browned.
ADD soup, milk, lemon juice and pepper. Top chicken with lemon slices. Heat to a boil. Cover and cook over low heat 5 min. or until done. Serve with rice.
Nutrition Information
Using Campbell's® Condensed Cream of Broccoli Soup: Calories 451, Total Fat 10g, Saturated Fat 2g, Cholesterol 79mg, Sodium 539mg, Total Carbohydrate 55g, Dietary Fiber 2g, Protein 33g, Vitamin A 5%DV, Vitamin C 8%DV, Calcium 9%DV, Iron 18%DV
Using Campbell's® Condensed 98% Fat Free Cream of Broccoli Soup: Calories 438, Total Fat 9g, Saturated Fat 2g, Cholesterol 77mg, Sodium 509mg, Total Carbohydrate 53g, Dietary Fiber 2g, Protein 33g, Vitamin A 3%DV, Vitamin C 8%DV, Calcium 8%DV, Iron 16%DV