Garlic Butter Roasted Carrots

Ingredients:

2 pounds carrots, diagonally cut into about 2 to 3­inch pieces (I used a bag of baby carrots)

5 tablespoons butter

4 garlic cloves, minced

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon fresh ground pepper

chopped fresh parsley, for garnish

Preheat oven to 425F.  Grease a baking sheet with cooking spray; set aside.  Melt butter over medium heat in a large nonstick skillet or pan.  Add garlic and cook for 3 minutes, or until lightly browned, stirring very frequently. DO NOT burn the garlic.  Toss the carrots with the garlic butter either in the pan or pour the butter over them in a mixing bowl.  Transfer carrots to baking sheet.

Arrange in one layer and bake for 22 to 30 minutes, or until carrots are tender.  Garnish with fresh chopped parsley and serve.

I served these last night with pork roast and baked potatoes.  They were just the right amount of garlicy goodness.  

Grandma’s Cheeseburger Soup

 

One of my favorite Christmas traditions!! Straight from The Underbakke Family Cookbook! 

Ingredients:

1 lb. ground beef

1/4 C. flour

3/4 C. chopped onion

8 oz. velveeta cheese

3/4 C. shredded carrots

1 1/2 C. milk

3/4 C. diced celery

1 tsp. basil

3 Tbsp. butter or oil

1/4 C. sour cream

3 C. chicken broth

Salt and pepper

4 C. diced potatoes

In a 5-quart pot, brown ground beef; drain and set aside. Saute onions, carrots, celery and basil in same pan, about 5 minutes. Stir in flour and add broth, potatoes and ground beef. Cover, reduce heat and simmer until potatoes are tender; about 15 minutes. Add cheese, milk, salt and pepper. Cook and stir until cheese melts. Remove from heat and blend in sour cream. Serve.

Weight Watchers slow cooker cheeseburger soup

Review by Lyndee

Ingredients:

cooking spray

1 medium garlic clove minced

1 medium onion chopped

1 medium celery stalk chopped

6 baby carrots chopped (not in original recipe but I’m glad I added it)

1 red chili pepper (also not in original recipe)

1 lb uncooked lean ground beef ( with 7% fat)

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

3 cups canned chicken broth, divided

1 cup low-fat evaporated milk

8 ounces Kraft Velveeta reduced fat cheese product cubed

1/2 teaspoon paprika

1/4 teaspoon table salt

1/8 teaspoon black pepper

24 baked corn tortilla chips, crumbled (optional)

Coat a large nonstick skillet with cooking spray and heat over medium-high heat for about 30 seconds.

Add garlic, onion, celery, carrots and pepper to skillet; cook, stirring frequently, until vegetables are tender, about 5 to 10 minutes. Coat a 3-quart or larger slow cooker with cooking spray; spoon in vegetables.

Place same skillet over medium-high heat and brown beef, breaking up meat with a wooden spoon as it cooks, pour off any liquid and add meat to slow cooker.

In a small cup, combine flour and 1/2 cup of broth; stir until lump-free. Pour flour mixture into same skillet; add remaining 2 1/2 cups of broth.

Bring to a simmer, scraping up any browned bits in bottom of skillet with a wooden spoon, and then pour into slow cooker; stir in evaporated milk, cheese, paprika, salt and pepper.

Cook on low setting for 2 hours.

Serve soup topped with crumbled chips.

Yields about 3/4 cup of soup and 3 tablespoons of chips per serving.

Note: If the soup cooks too long, the cheese could separate.

If that happens, combine 1 tablespoon of all-purpose flour and 1/4 cup of soup in a cup; stir to a paste.

Stir flour mixture back into soup in slow cooker; cover and cook on low setting for 10 to 15 minutes (does not affect POINTS values).

This soup was awesome! It was so good I didn’t add the tortilla chips.  Figured that was just wasted calories and I liked it without just fine.  Excellent flavor and I’m a sucker for crock pot soups.  

Healthy veggie soup with cheese

Review by Lyndee:

1 bag broccoli, cauliflower and carrots (frozen food aisle)

1 container plain greek yogurt

1 can chicken breast

½ cup 2% shredded cheddar cheese  

Onion

Salt & Pepper (to taste)

Hot sauce (optional)

Cook frozen veggies and chopped onion per instructions on bag.  Add yogurt and chicken breast.  Let simmer until veggies are soft.  Salt & pepper to taste.  Add a few dashes of hot sauce if you would like. Stir in shredded cheese just before serving.   

If it’s runny, mix ¼ cup of milk and 2 teaspoons of flour.  Pour in slowly while stirring.   

This turned out pretty well for a throw together, last minute soup of the top of my head.  The only thing I would change is maybe when cooking the veggies, instead of using water as directed on the bag, I would try some chicken broth to add a little extra flavor.