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Claire’s Test Kitchen

Claire’s Test Kitchen: Filling Creamy Tomato Soup

by Claire on September 8, 2009

I found this recipe in Prevention magazine and since I absolutely love creamy tomato soup – especially with grilled cheese sandwiches – I had to give it a try. It’s super low in points and very filling because instead of heavy cream you use white beans to thicken the soup. Interesting concept. You get thickness, plus the added fiber brings the points value down and fills you up.

And I would have taken a picture but my camera is out of batteries, so I promise, next time.

Ingredients

  • 2 14.5 oz cans stewed tomatoes (or chopped)
  • 28 oz fat free, sodium free chicken broth (I just used the empty tomato cans to measure
  • 1 14.5 oz can cannellini beans or white northern beans
  • 1 cup fat free milk (or 2% milk, but changes the points value
  • Several bay leaves
  • Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

These are not the exact directions from the magazine, but my adaptations and how I cooked the soup. Heat up the tomatoes along with the bay leaves in a medium pan over medium heat. Let it cook for about 15 minutes, allowing the bay leaves to flavor the tomatoes, and the tomatoes to cook down. Rinse and drain the cannellini or white northern beans, mash them, and then set them aside. Add one cup fat free milk to the tomatoes and simmer another 15 minutes. Stir frequently. Remove the bay leaves and stir in the mashed beans. Remove the soup from the stove and put it in the blender and puree until smooth.

Using the quantities above, I had to split the soup into two batches and I pureed it twice by putting the once-pureed mixture into a bowl, pureeing the next batch, stirring it all back together, and pureeing again. This is because the beans settle at the bottom of the soup when first added.

Claire’s Review

Very filling soup. You can definitely taste the bean texture in the soup, but it’s a healthy alternative. Next time, I’d add some basil for more flavor, I think. The bay leaves didn’t seem to do too much. Also, this yielded nearly 8 cups, and the original recipe said it served 4. So, when I ran it through the Weight Watchers online recipe builder, that calculated to 3 points for a 2 cup serving. That’s a whole lotta soup. You could reduce the serving size and consequently lower the points, if you wanted. I’ll freeze the leftovers and will have a nice hearty soup to have in a pinch.

Tagged as: Claire's Test Kitchen, cooking, filling foods, Prevention magazine recipes, Recipes, tomato soup, Weight Loss, Weight Watchers, Weight Watchers Points

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Claire’s Test Kitchen – Comfort Food Mac & Cheese

by Claire on September 1, 2009

This recipe comes from the newest Weight Watcher’s cookbook, Comfort Classics, on page 108. The original recipe makes 4 servings at 6 points per serving. I made some substitutions and halved the recipe, but the points per serving was probably still 5-6 points. It said prep time was 10  minutes and cook/broil time 15 minutes, and that’s probably about accurate.

Skillet Macaroni and Cheese

IMG_0145

Ingredients

  • 8 oz whole wheat macaroni
  • I tablespoon plus 2 tsps all-purpose flour
  • 1-1/2 cups fat free milk
  • 1 cup shredded reduced-fat sharp cheddar
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1/8 tsp black pepper
  • 1 tablespoon plain dried bread crumbs
  • 1 tbsp grated parmesan

Instructions*

  1. Cook the macaroni according to box instructions. Drain.
  2. Melt the butter in a sauce pan (WW recipe has you do this in an ovenproof skillet)
  3. Add the flour and whisk constantly for about 1 minute.
  4. Add the milk and keep whisking until sauce starts to thicken (about 5 minutes).
  5. Add cheese, salt and pepper. Stir until the cheese is melted
  6. Mix in the cooked macaroni.
  7. Place in an oven-safe dish and sprinkle the breadcrumbs and parmesan on top and broil until golden brown.

Claire’s Review

I substituted whole grain rotini for the macaroni and used light butter instead of real butter. I also didn’t use a skillet like the original recipe called for. I also omitted the breadcrumbs and the grated parmesan, using cheapo parmesan (because I had it on hand) and a little bit more of the shredded reduced fat cheddar on top to brown the dish and make it kinda crispy.

Essentially, this recipe is exactly how I used to make mac and cheese using a basic roux sauce, only now I’m using whole grain pasta and reduced fat cheese. The whole grain pasta definitely gives it a different texture and flavor than I’m used to, but it’s not bad.

I added grilled chicken to the side of the dish for extra protein and to balance out all the carbs. Yup – definitely comfort food.

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*These are my instructions, not verbatim from the recipe due to copyrights.

Tagged as: Claire's Test Kitchen, comfort food, mac and cheese, Weight Watchers, weight watchers recipes

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Claire’s Test Kitchen – Roasted Red Pepper Dip

August 31, 2009

This recipe came to me with my Weight Watcher’s membership card this month – just in time for a potluck that I was going to. At the potluck there are always chips (Fritos, Kettle Chips) and full-fat sour cream-based dips. I usually arrive to these functions early to help out, and consequently it’s easy for [...]

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