Creamy Corn and Vegetable Soup

 Ellie Krieger is an excellent cook who develops creative and interesting ways to make healthy foods taste great.  I have two of her books and have yet to be disappointed with her recipes.  I have made her Creamy Corn and Vegetable Soup several times with great success.  My good friends Sarah and Kristen were coming over for a girls lunch and since Sarah is vegan, I decided to make a vegan version of this soup.

Creamy Corn and Vegetable Soup

Adapted from Ellie Krieger

Ingredients

• 4 cups fresh corn kernels or 2 (10-ounce) packages frozen, thawed
• 2 cups nonfat milk (I subbed 2 cups of vegetable broth)
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 large onion, diced (about 2 cups)
• 1 medium red bell pepper, seeded and diced (about 1 cup)
• 1 medium zucchini, (about 1/2 pound) diced
• 2 cups low-sodium vegetable broth
• 2 plum tomatoes, seeded and diced
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 1/2 cup fresh basil leaves, cut into ribbons

Put 2 cups of the corn and the milk (in our case, the first two cups of vegetable broth) into a blender or food processor, blend until smooth.  Set aside.

Heat the oil in a large soup pot over a medium-high heat. Add the onion, bell pepper, and zucchini and cook, stirring until the vegetables are tender, about 5 minutes. Add the remaining 2 cups of corn and the broth and bring to a boil. Add the pureed corn and tomatoes and cook until warmed through, but not boiling. Add the salt and season with pepper. Serve garnished with the basil ribbons.



Put 2 cups of the corn and the first two cups of vegetable broth into a blender or food processor, blend until smooth.  Set aside.



Heat the oil in a large soup pot over a medium-high heat. Add the onion, bell pepper, and zucchini and cook, stirring until the vegetables are tender, about 5 minutes.



Add the remaining 2 cups of corn and the broth and bring to a boil.

Add the pureed corn and tomatoes and cook until warmed through, but not boiling.

Add the salt and season with pepper. Serve garnished with the basil ribbons.

My vegan take on Ellie Krieger's Creamy Corn and Vegetable Soup turned out very well.  I personally enjoy the original version a bit more, but my friend Kristen who has had both said she could not tell a difference between the two.  I served this with a big loaf of crusty bread and a large green salad with tons of chunked up fresh vegetables.  The lunch was beautiful and it was so nice to relax and have some good old fashioned girl talk.  Don't get me wrong, I love watching sports with the guys, but there is just something really special about some great food, wine and conversation with your girls.

-Heather

Gingery Turkey Meatballs with Noodles

My goal each weekend is to prepare food that can be cooked, frozen fully, and then defrosted easily for meals during the week.  Meatballs always freeze well so I have been on a search for some unique new recipes.  Traditional meatballs eaten with pasta and red sauce are great, but it’s always nice to change it up a bit.  Cooking Light’s Gingery Pork Meatballs with Noodles seemed like a great new take on the meatball.  Because I have a freezer full of ground turkey and am not a huge pork fan, I will be changing the recipe to Gingery Turkey Meatballs with Noodles.

Gingery Turkey Meatballs with Noodles

(Adapted from Cooking Light's Gingery Pork Meatballs with Noodles) 
September, 2010.

Ingredients

Meatballs:
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1/4 cup dry breadcrumbs
1/4 cup finely chopped red onion
2 tablespoons lower-sodium soy sauce
2 teaspoons grated peeled fresh ginger
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 pound lean turkey (CL called for ground pork)
1 large egg, lightly beaten
Noodles:
8 ounces uncooked whole wheat fettuccine (CL called for wide rice noodles)
1 tablespoon dark sesame oil
1 cup red bell pepper strips
1 cup julienne-cut snow peas
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper
1/2 cup thinly sliced green onions

Preparation

1. Place a foil-lined jelly-roll pan in oven. Preheat oven to 450°.
2. Combine first 8 ingredients in a large bowl; stir gently just until blended. Cover and chill 30 minutes. Divide pork mixture into 20 equal portions; shape each portion into a meatball. Arrange meatballs in a single layer on preheated pan. Bake at 450° for 20 minutes or until done.
3. Cook noodles according to package directions; drain. Rinse noodles under cool water; drain. Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add bell pepper, peas, salt, and crushed red pepper; cook 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add noodles; toss. Place 1 3/4 cups noodle mixture on each of 4 plates; top each serving with 5 meatballs. Sprinkle each serving with 2 tablespoons green onions.

Nutritional Information Per Serving 
(According to CL's original recipe including the pork and rice noodles and omitting the turkey and whole wheat fettuccine.)

Calories: 506
Fat: 15.4g
Saturated fat: 5.1g
Monounsaturated fat: 6.2g
Polyunsaturated fat: 3.3g
Protein: 30.6g
Carbohydrate: 58.8g
Fiber: 3.7g
Cholesterol: 138mg
Iron: 3.4mg
Sodium: 700mg
Calcium: 81mg  

Place a foil-lined jelly-roll pan in oven. Preheat oven to 450°.

Combine first 8 ingredients in a large bowl; stir gently just until blended. Cover and chill 30 minutes.

Divide pork mixture into 20 equal portions; shape each portion into a meatball. Arrange meatballs in a single layer on preheated pan.

Bake at 450° for 20 minutes or until done.

Cook noodles according to package directions; drain. Rinse noodles under cool water; drain. Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add bell pepper, peas, salt, and crushed red pepper; cook 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Add noodles; toss. Place 1 3/4 cups noodle mixture on each of 4 plates; top each serving with 5 meatballs. Sprinkle each serving with 2 tablespoons green onions.

OMG....Gingery Turkey Meatballs with Noodles are amazing!!  We absolutely loved this.  The meatballs came together easily and the pasta was a cinch.  Slicing the snow peas gave them a great texture and shape.  I adapted this recipe from Cooking Light and it originally called for ground pork.  Ground turkey is an excellent substitute and I look forward to making this recipe again and again.  I will double the recipe next time so that I can have a start to an easy weeknight dinner waiting for me in the freezer. 

-Heather