roast beef panini with pumpkin bisque -- happy fall!

I thought I would do a review of today's meal, since I enjoyed it so much. The pumpkin bisque was very easy, especially since I used the stick blender directly in the sauce pot instead of transferring to the blender. I did use more salt than the recipe called for and toasted my raw pumpkin seeds on the stove top instead of roasting them. It was perfect for the first day of the fall season.

The panini was another winner. I used the Ezekiel 4:9 sprouted whole wheat bread and added a wedge of Laughing Cow light swiss cheese (spread on the the insides of the bread as if it were mayonnaise). Since I do not own a panini press, I improvised and used my George Foreman grill. I have not used it in a long time and now I have found a reason to use it!

I found both of these recipes while researching the flat belly diet. I still do not have a flat belly (after 4 weeks of adjusting my eating plan), but I have lost 6 lbs. and do not feel hungry in between meals.

cheap noodles

Well, they aren't cheap when you come to paying for them, but they are cheap when you count their calories.  I heard about these shirataki tofu noodles with only 20 calories per serving (and it is a pretty large serving) from Hungry Girl and decided to give them a try.

Today I invited Barb over for lunch and fixed Chef D's ginger rice noodle soup, but with the shirataki noodles instead of the rice noodles.  Yes, they take a little work to get them ready to use (drain and rinse, microwave for a minute, then totally dry them out on a towel), but it was well worth the effort.  They reminded me very much of ramen noodles, but a little chewier.  I do believe we have a winner here!

teriyaki chicken thighs with shitake ginger soup and bamboo rice

I really liked this teriyaki chicken tonight -- yummy!  I had all of the ingredients here, since we used many of them during Supper Club Saturday last weekend.  After they were finished on the grill, I put them in a small iron skillet, covered with foil, and placed them in the warming oven while the rice finished.  They were still tender and had a nice, sweet flavor from the marinade.  

This bamboo rice that we found at Fresh Market last week looked yummy and has only 160 calories per cup, so I had to grab a jar to give it a try.  I was a little disappointed.  I did not really know what to expect, but it was pretty flavorless.  The green onions and a little salt and pepper helped somewhat, but I will need to come up with something else to add when I use it again.  Chef D ended up putting his in his soup.

I decided to try to recreate Chef D's soup from last Saturday, minus the noodles, but I did not quite hit the mark.  I will need to add some additional bouillon next the time.  I still liked it, though.

Again, a good meal for under 300 calories this time!

a few quick reviews

As always, Sharla's Tortilla Soup was a hit on from all viewpoints. I even had one of the ladies from the potluck go back for seconds with the comment that this was the first time she had tried avocado. I love this soup and how easy it is to make.

However, the Chicken and Rice Casserole was not as big of a hit, at least on the home front. Both Chef D and I agreed that the cheese just did not fit with the flavor combinations. I will probably try it again sometime without the cheese.

Unfortunately, I loved the brownie cups way too much. Two of our fellow bible reading group members decided to bring dessert also, so I ended up with several of the brownie cups leftover...and I have very little self-control in limiting how many I eat!

shrimp wontons with asian soup - repeat

The first time I made this meal, something was just not quite right, so I thought I would give it another try tonight.  Since the wontons were a little lacking in the flavor department last time, I added a bit more seasonings (extra fresh grated ginger and a minced clove of garlic).  These wonton wrappers did not do well in the purse-shape I created last time, so we had little 'envelopes' tonight.  

It still did not work.

Chef D explained to me why it did not work. They need to be fried, not 'boiled'.  All the seasonings get washed out in the water.  So, now I need to decide whether we are going to go for a three-peat in the future.  These are just so cute I really want to make them work!

onion soup

I decided to show you before and after pictures today!  Above you see all the ingredients that I started with for tonight's meal.  Below is the finished product.  

While looking through different blogs during a past Menu Planning Monday post at the OrgJunkie, I came across a blog with both interesting-sounding recipes as well as beautiful photographs of the food.  Tonight's onion soup came from that website. The directions with it's accompanying photography were both helpful and enjoyable to look at.  In the end, though, there was just something missing with the flavor.  Although both Chef D and I finished our helping, we decided not to keep the leftovers. 

But, I am going to continue to keep up with her other recipes and give a few more a try.