When I made this, Husband said it was the best soup I’ve ever made. Which is something special considering I make A LOT of soups – scratch that – I make A LOT OF GOOD soups. So this has become a staple around here. I even froze a bunch into 2 cup servings.

I can’t take much credit for the recipe though. I pretty much copied it word for word except for a minor tweak. Here‘s the original.

Healthy - This tastes so good you’ll want more then one bowl but you’ll be so full after one bowl that you’ll fight it. One serving (2 cups) has about 500 calories and around 20 grams of fiber; not to mention lots of protein. See stats here.

Cheap - Soups are almost always economical and this is no exception. The chorizo goes a long way. And the peas are super cheap.

Easy - This is another one where you throw it all in and walk away. It can be done in a slow cooker, but since I don’t have one, I do it on the stove in a dutch oven on low.

I’ve made this recipe countless times. It’s even good enough to serve to guests.

Healthy - Okay, folks. Hold onto your hats because this is one is a nutritional powerhouse. About 380 calories. Good fats. And more than 12 grams of fiber! Not to mention it’s high protein and low carb if that’s what you’re into. Needless to say, you will not be hungry after a bowl full of this stuff! And it tastes GOOD! I made it again this week and it still gets an “Ummmm” from Husband. See stats here.

Cheap - A whole recipe probably costs less than $4. And that’s about 3 main course servings.

Easy - About 15 minutes of prep and 30 minutes of cooking, and you only have to chop up two or three things.

Serves 3 main courses.

Healthy - At less than 500 calories a serving and 9 grams of fiber, it’s really filling, and it has a ton of flavor! It calls for cheese but I’ve also substituted avocado to change it to a good fat; I’ve also left it out altogether and it didn’t make a big difference. Here are the stats from the last time I made it using mayo.

Cheap - The protein in this dish is versatile so use whatever’s on sale or whatever’s in your freezer or fridge. And the vegetables it calls for are inexpensive, especially if corn is in season like it is now.

Easy - No need to cook, it’s mostly chop and mix. Just use leftover protein from last night’s dinner. The most labor intensive part of this is keeping an eye on the corn while chopping up everything else. Listen to the corn, once it pops, it’s time to turn it.

I got the recipe from Robin Miller on foodnetwork.com and I’ve made some tweaks. The original is here.

The roasted corn really makes this recipe, don’t skip this step, the work to flavor ratio is worth it. The Granny Smith apple might sound weird but it’s really good and adds a nice crunch, trust me. And try to chop everything uniformly and on the small side so you you get a little of everything in each bite.

Ingredients

• Cooking spray
• 2 ears fresh or frozen cob corn, thawed
• about a pound of cooked protein such as chicken, pork loin, etc. – whatever you have on hand
• 1 (15-ounce) can pinto beans (or whatever you have on hand, I’ve also used kidney beans), drained
• 1 cup shredded cheese, OR one diced avocado, OR 4 tablespoons mayonnaise, OR leave it out if you’re really watching calories
• 1/2 cup Spanish olives, sliced
• 1/2 cup tomatoes, diced
• 1 Granny Smith apple, cored and diced
• 1/4 cup pickled jalapenos, diced
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro leaves (optional)
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/4 cup cider vinegar

Directions

Heat a dry pan over medium high heat. Add the ground cumin and toast until you see little whisps of smoke or until it’s very fragrant, stirring occasionally. Put the olive oil in a dish and incorporate the toasted cumin. Wipe down the pan and add cooking spray. Place corn on the pan and cook until golden brown or charred on all sides, turning frequently  (if you hear a popping sound, it’s ready to turn). While the corn is cooking chop everything else but keep an eye on it. Remove the corn from heat and cool. When cool enough to handle, slice kernels from cob.

Transfer kernels to a large bowl and add chicken, beans, cheese, olives, tomatoes, apple, jalapenos, and cilantro. Toss to combine.

Take the olive oil and cumin mixture and whisk in vinegar. Add dressing to chicken mixture and toss to coat. Season to taste with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Let sit for 10 minutes before serving  (if you can wait that long). The flavors are even better the next day.

Enjoy!

When we got in the car, the first thing I did was Google the recipe. I didn’t find it, but I did find this one and I pretty much followed it to the letter so I can’t claim any originality.

It’s an Emeril recipe, and normally his recipes are good but don’t qualify as easy because they usually have a billion ingredients listed, but this one wasn’t too bad. And although it takes two hours, most of that is braising time.

We ate it as a main course with a side of healthy corn bread to sop up the liquor (what they call the liquid you get when everything cooks down). We were in southern food heaven! And it was better than Cracker Barrel because I didn’t have Jethro and his big-boned, big-haired mama eyeballing my moaning and slurping.

Healthy - You always hear you should eat dark leafy greens, but I don’t come across many recipes that incorporate them. So this is a real find. Each main course serving (about 2.5 cups worth) is less than 350 calories and has 10 grams of fiber! See stats here. And yes we’re talking about bacon and all it’s saturated fat goodness, but a little goes along way here.

Cheap - I halved the recipe and the entire pot cost about $5! And that’s with buying the really nice applewood smoked bacon from Central Market.

Easy - The hardest part about this recipe is washing the greens, see the tips section at the bottom for advice and don’t be scared, it’s not as bad as it sounds.

Makes about 6 main course servings or 12 side course servings.

Ingredients

• 3/4 pound sliced bacon (splurge on the good thick stuff since you’re not using much)
• 3 cups sliced onions (half moon slices about 1/4 inch thick)
• 8 cloves garlic, mashed and quartered
• 3 teaspoons salt
• 3/4 teaspoon cayenne
• 3/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 quart water
• 1 (12-ounce) can beer
• 1/4 cup distilled white vinegar
• 2 tablespoons molasses or cane syrup
• 5 pounds fresh greens, such as mustard greens, collard greens, turnip greens, or kale, rinsed well, picked over and tough stems removed (I’ve only used turnip greens)

Directions

In the largest, heaviest pot you own, cook the bacon until it has rendered most of its fat, about 5 to 6 minutes. Add the onions, garlic, salt, cayenne, and black pepper and cook until the onions are wilted, about 4 minutes. Add 1 quart of water, the beer, vinegar, and molasses and bring to a boil. Begin adding the greens in batches, pressing down with a wooden spoon to submerge them in the hot liquid and adding more as they wilt. When all of the greens have been added, reduce the heat to a simmer and cook the greens, partially covered and stirring occasionally, for about 1 to 1 1/2 hours or until tender.

Enjoy!

Tips

Prepping the greens

• The goal is to loosen the dirt from the leaves and have it sink to the bottom.
• Clean your sink very well.
• Remove the stem from the leaf by folding it in half along the stem and place it on the counter, place your hand flat along the leaf part close to the stem, and rip the stem away.
• Put the leaves in the sink and fill the sink with water. Don’t overfill the sink with leaves. Make sure there aren’t any leaves touching the bottom of the sink because the dirt will settle onto them.
• Slosh everything around a little and then don’t touch it for five or ten minutes while the dirt settles to the bottom.
• Carefully remove the leaves without stirring up the dirt too much, place them on paper towels, and then drain the water.
• If you do the whole recipe you’ll probably have at least three sink fulls of leaves.
• When you look at the gigantic pile of leaves vs. the size of your pot you think it’s never going to fit, but they cook down a lot.
• Grab a handful of leaves and tear it into thirds as you add it to the pot.

Healthy – It depends on what kind of meat you use but when using chicken it’s under 500 calories a serving! And it’s base is a fiber rich vegetable. See the stats here.

Cheap - It’s really cheap since it can utilize left overs and the main ingredient is cabbage; you can often find the pre-made bags of coleslaw mix on sale. I bought one last week for $1.

Easy – What’s great about this is that you just cook extra meat for whatever you’re cooking the night before, or use whatever you have left over in the fridge. The first time I made it I used left over brisket, the next time was left over ham. In fact, I’ve never made it with chicken.

I got the recipe from Ellie Krieger on foodnetwork.com and made some very minor tweaks; here’s the original.

What makes this salad is the dressing. Yes, you could use a store bought dressing and it would be okay, but nothing compares to the flavor of fresh ginger and garlic!

Ingredients

• 4 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce, divided
• 2 teaspoons toasted sesame oil, divided
• 1 pound skinless, boneless chicken breasts or whatever protein you have on hand
• 1 bag of pre-made cole slaw veggies (green cabbage, red cabbage, carrots)
• 3 scallions, trimmed and thinly sliced, greens included (about 1/2 cup)
• 1 (8-ounce) can whole water chestnuts, chopped up
• 1 (11-ounce) can Mandarin oranges in water, drained
• 1/3 cup rice wine vinegar
• 1 teaspoon grated garlic
• 1 teaspoon minced ginger
• 2 tablespoons canola oil or olive oil
• 2 tablespoons brown sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons chili-garlic sauce or chili sauce, such as Rooster Sauce
• 1/4 cup sliced almonds, toasted (optional)

1. If using leftover meat, skip to step three.
2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Combine 1 tablespoon soy sauce and 1/2 teaspoon sesame oil and brush onto chicken breasts. Arrange in a baking dish and bake until juices run clear, about 13 to15 minutes. Remove from oven, cool completely, and cut into 1/4-inch slices.
3. In a large bowl, combine cole slaw mix, scallions, water chestnuts, Mandarin orange and sliced chicken. In a separate bowl, whisk together 3 tablespoons soy sauce, vinegar, garlic, ginger, oil, 1 1/2 teaspoons sesame oil, brown sugar and chili sauce. Pour dressing over salad and toss to combine. Divide among bowls and top each serving with 2 teaspoons toasted almonds.

Tips

• Keep peeled ginger root in the freezer. It keeps forever and it’s easier to grate than fresh ginger.
• For best results pour sauce on about 10 minutes before serving. This gives it a little time to marinate but not get soggy. Not that it gets super soggy, it still tastes good the next day, just not a great as the night of.