cause i'm a fatty

Brazilian Seafood Stew 

Ingredients:

Cod filet
Crab
Shrimp
Garlic
Onions
Small green chilies
2 cans of whole tomatoes
Coconut milk

Directions:

1. In a big soup like pot, aute the vegetables in EVOO.
2. On low heat, put the tomatoes in, and stir.
3. Add seafood, which should cook by the time the soup boils.
4. Add a splash of coconut milk, and salt and pepper.  

This soup is a meal by itself and SOOOO EASY to make. I got it from a friend, Nadia, who got it from someone else, so I can’t take any credit. I love the addition of cilantro and chopped chili peppers at the end. I cooked the vegetables with some annatto powder but have heard that some use palm oil to get the red color. 

Sausage & Pasta Soup

When you get a little lazy but still want something hearty, soup + pasta is the perfect solution. I simply browned some onions, garlic, chopped baby carrots, and half a Portuguese sausage (casing removed). When the sausage was fully cooked I added in a handful of chopped cilantro, 2 tablespoons of sriracha, and a can of chicken broth. Brought the soup to a roaring boil and added in the pasta and covered until the pasta was cooked, al dente. The garnishes were simply a little more cilantro, and some salt and pepper.

This is a healthy soup and you can make so many variations on it (lentils and spinach go great with sausage!)

Cream of Pumpkin Curry Soup

I was originally going to make pumpkin bread with a cream cheese frosting, but didn’t have enough sugar, so I looked up pumpkin recipes that utilized spices and had an asian twist.

My feelings for this soup were mixed. I liked the idea of a creamy soup that was spicy and sweet, but the pumpkin brought something unexpected to the table. My mom loved it, so it’s probably just individual taste. In retrospect I should have put some nutmeg into the soup. The recipe is from the Libby’s Company, and the original is found on All Recipes. you can see, I made a lot of adjustments and probably should have used half-and-half to get that creamier consistency. 

Ingredients:

2 tbs of butter
1 cup finely chopped onion  
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
2 teaspoons of curry powder
1/2 teaspoon of salt
1/2 teaspoon of ground coriander/cumin
1/4 teaspoon of crushed red pepper
3 cups of water
3 Maggi Chicken/Beef Bouillon Cubes
1 (15 oz) can of Libby’s 100% Pure Pumpkin
1 cup evaporated milk/half and half
sour cream (optional)

Directions:

Melt butter in a saucepan over medium-high heat, add onion and garlic, cook until tender. Add in curry powder, salt, coriander, and crushed red pepper, cook for 1 minute. Add water and Maggi cubes, bring to a boil, and reduce heat to low, stirring occassionally for 15 minutes. Stir in pumpkin and cook for 5 minutes or until heated through.

Transfer mix into blender, and blend till creamy.

I garnished with a tiny drop of low fat sour cream, and because it was still lacking some flavor, I made a quick aji criollo (an Ecuadorian hot sauce consisting of blended cilantro, chili peppers, garlic and lime juice) to give the soup a little oomph. 

Pierogies with Spicy Tomato Soup 

I wouldn’t have gotten through college without Mrs.T’s Frozen Pierogies. They’re filling, low in fat, and there are ways to get creative with them. While I usually like pairing them with either cold salsa and sour cream or marinara sauce, I was low on time the other day and decided to heat up a can of Campbell’s Tomato Soup. 

My preferred method of making pierogies is to saute the frozen pierogies in a little bit of olive oil until they’ve browned and crisped a little, then throw in 1/2 cup of water, cover and simmer until they are fully cooked and the water is gone. 

In the same pan I added the Condensed Tomato Soup, and 3/4 of a can of water (instead of the full can) to make the soup creamier. I added a pinch of garlic powder, another pinch of onion powder, and one big pinch of cayenne pepper for some spice. Let the soup simmer for a few minutes and added some chopped cilantro and crushed pepper for garnish.