Pho

What You'll Need:

Broth:

8 c. chicken stock

1/2 tsp fresh ground fennel

1/8 tsp (a little less) ground cinnamon

1/4 tsp garlic powder

1/4 tsp ground black pepper

1/2" fresh ginger root, peeled

2 small pinches of clove powder, or 2 whole cloves

3/4 tsp sugar
3/4 tsp salt
1 tsp oyster sauce
1/4 c. white onion, chopped


Veggies:
1 pack baby bella mushrooms  (pre-packaged and sliced)
1 (12 oz) pack firm tofu (drained and patted dry), cut into 1/2" cubes
1tbsp olive oil
1tbsp soy sauce


Noodles:
1 package (thin or flat) rice noodles




What to Do:
For the Broth:
In a medium sized pot, boil the chicken broth, fennel, cinnamon, garlic powder, black pepper, ginger root, clove, sugar and salt together.  After the broth is at a full boil for about 5 minutes, add the chopped onion and stir in the oyster sauce.  Reduce the heat so the broth cooks at a fast simmer; continue to cook until onions are translucent.  Once the onions are cooked all the way through, removed the ginger root (and whole cloves, if you used them).


While the broth is cooking:
Heat a frying pan on med to med-high heat with about 1 tbsp of oil and 1 tbs soy sauce. Saute the mushrooms and tofu for approximately 10 minutes, or until the tofu is golden brown. 

For the Noodles:
Prepare as directed on the package

Keep the broth, noodles and mushroom/tofu mix separate until you are ready to eat. Garnish with fresh bean sprouts and/or fresh cilantro.

Lentil Soup (Daal)

Yield: approximately 4 1/4 cups 

What You'll Need:

1 1/2 c. red lentils

4 1/2 c. water

1 roma or small tomato, chopped

1/4 onion, chopped

1 tsp lemon juice

1 tsp turmeric

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp red pepper flakes

1 tbs. olive oil

1 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp whole cumin seed

  

What to do:
Place lentils, water, chopped tomato, chopped onion, salt and red pepper flakes in a medium to large-sized saucepan over high heat. Bring to boil (uncovered), stirring occasionally.  Once the lentils begin to boil reduce the heat to med-low and continue to cook (covered; med-slow simmer) for about 15 minutes,  stirring occasionally.  Once lentils are cooked (will be mushy, slightly lumpy and have a thick soup-like consistency) add in the lemon juice.

In a frying pan, heat olive oil over medium heat, then add cumin seed and garlic powder.  Saute over med-high heat (making sure that all ingredients are soaked with the oil) until cumin seed start to turn brown, begin to sizzle and garlic powder turns golden brown (approximately 1 1/2 to 2 minutes; see video clip). Promptly remove from heat and dump into the saucepan containing the cooked lentils (will make a sizzling sound when added). Stir the sauteed mixture into the lentils, check for salt (if needs more add 1/4 tsp at a time, until reaches desired taste).

Garlic powder and cumin seed in olive oil (before sauteing)

Quick Tips:
* You can also serve this over rice (brown or white) instead of eating it like a soup
* Add more or less water to change the consistency (you may need to add more salt if adding additional water)

Low-Fat Creamy Mashed Potato Soup

What you'll need:

3/4 c dried potato flakes

3/4 c water

1/3 c fat free milk

1/8 tsp butter buds (optional)

dash of salt

3 c. fat free milk

1/2 c. chicken broth

1 c. frozen peas, green beans and corn

1/4 sweet onion, finely chopped

1/2 tsp black pepper

1 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp dried parsley

salt to taste (I use approximately 1/2 tsp)

1 heaping tbs white flour

1/4 c water

What to do:

In a small microwavable bowl, heat the 3/4 c water, 3/4 c fat free milk, salt and butter buds for 2 minutes on high heat. Remove from microwave and mix in dried potato flakes. Let sit for 1 minute or until moistened. Fluff with fork and set aside.  Once the mashed potatoes are cooled, form 1/2" - 1" balls.

In a medium sized sauce pan, bring the 3 cups of milk, frozen vegetables, chopped onion and chicken broth to a boil, stirring frequently so the milk doesn't stick to the bottom of the pan.  Reduce heat so soup remains at a steady simmer.  Add in garlic, salt, black pepper and dried parsley and allow to cook for 4-5 minutes, stirring occasionally.  In a separate bowl, mix flour and water together.  Bring soup back to a fast simmer and add in the flour/water mixture while stirring constantly.   Cook for 1 minute, then reduce heat to a slow simmer.  The water/flour mix should thicken the soup; if you wish to have a thicker consistency, just add more of the water/flour mix (while the soup is boiling).

Once soup base has reached desired consistency, carefully drop in the mash potato balls that were rolled earlier.