Archive for the ‘Sidebar Photoblog’ Category

Is it soup weather where you live? Or is it sunny and 75 degrees outside?  Well, it’s been snowing off and on all day here and the tempature is going to drop to below zero tonight. 
Soup weather!!! 
Tonight I made Baked Potato Soup topped with Cheese and crisp Capocollo.

Recipe Follows The Pictures:

Baked Potato Soup
4 large baking potatoes
5 slices bacon
1/2 cup butter
1 large onion, diced
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
6 cups milk
2 teaspoons coarse salt
1 teaspoon pepper
1 1/2 cups (6-ounces) grated cheddar cheese, divided*
5 thinly sliced capocollo

Directions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Scrub potatoes well and prick several times with fork; bake approximately 1 1/2 hours to 2 hours. Remove from oven and let cool. When cool, cut in half lengthwise and peel and dice into medium size cubes and set aside. Discard skins.

Cook bacon until crisp. Drain, reserving drippings, crumble, and set aside.

In a large soup pot over low heat, add reserved bacon dripping and butter. Add onion and saute approximately 4 to 5 minutes until soft. Stir in flour until well combined; cook for several minutes, but do not let brown. Gradually add milk and bring to a boil, stirring constantly, until thickened. Add potato pulp, salt, pepper, crumbled bacon, and 1 cup cheese. Stir and cook until cheese is melted. Add extra milk, if necessary, for desired thickness.

To serve, use individual soup bowls garnished with a pinch of cheese and diced capocollo

Plated Halibut on Sweet Peppers

I once read never trust a “skinny chef.” Well, you can trust me by about forty extra pounds. Over the last year, I have been working on changing how this family eats.  With focused effort, I have lost 42lbs with about 44lbs to go.  When it comes to weightloss, for me , it’s all about proportion size of the food.  I grew-up with the parental dining rule that  ”there’s kids in other countries starving, so you better clean your plate.”

These days, I am a member of Weight Watchers and I go to my group meetings on Thursdays.  So I thought on Thursdays I would spotlight a meal that is very low in calories and fat, but also really delicious and simple to make. 
I hope you enjoy tonight’s meal: Roasted Halibut on a bed of Sweet Peppers with Avocado Sauce and Steamed Asparagus.

Recipes follow the pictures: