Soup is one of my top 5 things to cook and eat. I love one-pot dishes because they are easy to make, are usually healthy by default of ingredients, and are fun to eat.
After I saw Sarah make this soup last week, I put it on our “Meals” Google Calendar. She declared it “DEE-EFFING-LISH and I have to say it was fantastic! It’s a Rachel Ray Recipe and we made quite a few changes to lighten it up. Here was the inspiration: Creamy Chicken-Apple Chili.
Our version:
- A little over half a pound of chicken tenders (frozen/thawed yesterday)
- 1 apple
- 3/4 cup leftover black beans
- 1/2 a red bell pepper
- A jalapeno from our garden
- 1 carrot, for fun
- 1 cup chicken broth (homemade/frozen/thawed)
- 1/3 cup 1% milk
- 1 tsp cumin
- 2 tsp chili powder
- S+P
- 1 tsp EVOO for browning chicken, which we also coated in 1 tbsp AP flour
- 1 clove garlic (he convinced me to add it!)
- 1/2 cup reduced-fat fancy shredded Mexican blend cheese (from TJ’s) on top (1/4 cup per person)
It really was awesome!! Creamy enough with just the small bit of milk with lots of delicious chunks. And the cheese melted perfectly!!
Plus some crunch on the side (and maybe the reason I love soups – I always have them on the side!)
Yum, yum!!
I am really enjoying my nutrition classes!! I like both profs a lot and it’s so fun to talk about menus and health. Today we were talking about hospital menus and our professor said in response to the menus we’re planning for assignments in an authoritative voice: “ONE THING YOU WILL NOT FIND ON A HOSPITAL MENU: GOAT CHEESE.” Ahhhh! I can’t plan menus for hospitals if I can’t use goat cheese!! (She used it as an example because it’s super expensive).
After class around 3:30 I decided to have a Jimmi LaraBar on my commute home more as a means to delay hunger than to cure it since I planned to go to the gym right when I got home. This was my first time having Cashew Cookie. I liked it a lot!! Pecan Pie and PB are my top favorites, and also the chocolate coconut one, but I did like this. Two I haven’t liked: Ginger Snap and Cherry Pie. They were just meh – nothing special. I REALLY want to try Coconut Cream but I can’t find it!
I also had a watermelon slice when I got home –
Workout was great. Sunny and nice out for the bike ride there. I did 30 SWEATY minutes on the Stairmaster and then pushed myself hard with upper body lifting, including pull-ups, which I did 10 of (at 70 pounds assistance) with complete ease. Ahhhhh…much better.
Since I worked out late today and just have Organic in the morning and Micro tomorrow night, I am going to take the opportunity to run around Rock Hill right after class tomorrow. I’ve been wanting to explore the quaint Southern neighborhoods on the outskirts of campus and it seems like a fun day to do it. And I’ll get to catch up on last night’s sleep. I feel kind of bad moving my workouts around so much because for a while I was the Queen of 5AM Exercise, but I guess I gotta live my life as it works best these days.
My goal was to be in bed by 9pm tonight – I have -1 minute to get there!
lucy says
I was so happy to find PBs at Trader Joes today! They also had another fav of mine: key lime pie. Yum! Wish they were sold more places 🙂
BethT says
Yeah, my mom used to work in hospitals and when I went to work with her, I definitely didn’t find goat cheese on the menu in the cafeteria and/or in patient rooms 😛 Lots of cheap, simple foods.
VeggieGirl says
LARABAR!!!!!! 🙂
Megan says
Wow that Creamy Chicken-Apple Chili looks amazing! I will definately be trying it 🙂 I’m jealous that you have been able to try the PB Larabar! I’m still looking for that and the coconut one.
sarah says
aww, thanks for the shout-out! we loved it, too. i am officially 21 minutes late for my 9 pm bedtime as well.
as much as i love the IDEA of 5 am workouts, i will always be an after-work workout person. nothing wrong with doing it at any time, as long as it gets done!
and finally, i brought a coconut cream larabar to work today but i forgot to eat it! i will definitely try it tomorrow. if you don’t get some before october, i can always bring some when i come for race for the cure!!
Andrea says
wow that soup looks so yummy! i love kashi crackers too – so any excuse to eat them works for me 🙂
question… what Level do you usually do for the StairMaster?????
Ashley says
Hi Kath, I’m a reader but don’t comment much. I got the new shape today and saw you in it! Great story, it’s very similar to my own & I loved the pics. You are such an inspiration & I love your blog. I’m a fellow North Carolinian as well- I’m from Greensboro. Keep up the awesome work 🙂
Heather says
I’m so excited that you tried that RR recipe! I saw it in last month’s issue and have been dying to test it out… looks like a winner 🙂
Belle says
hi kath! i’ve been reading for a while now, but this is the first time i’ve ever commented. that watermelon looks delish! so does the soup. i can’t wait until it gets cold enough to have soup more often.
i picked up kashi crackers at the store tonight for the first time ever- after seeing them on your blog so much, i really wanted to try them!
have a great night!
Rose says
Everything looks great, and that soup is right in time for the changing of seasons… I can’t wait for fall and soup is a perfect reason why!
Enjoy your run tomorrow – as long as you’re getting your exercise in, I think it’s ok to do it according to your schedule (which seems different depending on the day!) Do you feel less or more energetic at different times of the day? I didn’t know if that might affect things at all. But either way, you’re still holding it all together with such a busy schedule!
Michelle in Alaska says
Hey Kath, on the positive side of switching up your work-out schedule, I have heard that it is good to mix it up so your body doesn’t get complacent. So, maybe doing it at various times in the day during the week, you will keep your body guessing!!
Chelsea says
Get to bed girlie!!!!
Christie says
I know how you feel about changing your workouts but I am going to have to do that on tuesdays and ithink it is good cause than it motivates you to try to do diffeent things!
Another Kelly says
That soup sounds interesting. I love recipes that combine sweet and savory. The weather’s been getting chilly here so I can’t wait to break out my soup cookbook when I get back from my vacation.
emmy says
A 9pm bedtime is mindboggling to me. Major props to all of you who can do this. It’s 11:45 here and I have to get up by 6am.
Casey says
Hi Kath! I’m new to the blog, but I absolutely love it! Thanks for all the great pictures and recipes, they are really inspiring. I live in Lenoir, NC while my husband is in graduate school. I also graduated from Winthrop in 2001. Enjoy!
caitlin (see bride ruN) says
awww a 9 PM bedtime sounds amazing. i got in bed at 10:45 and was impressed with myself.
all the good TV is coming back and interrupting my sleep!
Kath says
Andrea ,
Level 12. I started on 8 and moved up to 12 over time.
Ashley ,
Thanks for the comment!! I have yet to get my Shape. Maybe they just forgot me!?
Belle ,
Have a BLAST with the crackers!!!!! Honey Sesame is the best kind 🙂
Rose ,
While I’m pretty tired when I first get out of bed, I do think I have more explosive energy that I pull from somewhere than I do at 5:00 PM. I definitely have more motivation in the morning too! But once I’m going, I think my energy levels are the same. I also workout best on a near-empty stomach and sometimes in the afternoon I can still feel lunch moving around in there and that’s not good! But that doesn’t usually happen with breakfast if I workout a few hours after that, so I think it’s a protein/vegetable thing.
Casey ,
Welcome to KERF!! Let me know if you and your husband want to meet for dinner in Charlotte sometime 🙂
Kath
ttfn300 says
Great sounding chili, I just tried out your turkey-goat cheese bake last night 🙂
And that coconut cream pie larabar… picked it up at whole foods my last day in philly (i knew i wouldn’t be there for awhile, so i was due for a treat, right? haha). Yum, it was really tasty, although very decadent– good for an occasional treat! I just got one, though, otherwise I’d offer to send you one!
Casey (Take Two) says
Hi Kath – My name is Casey, and I just started reading your blog too (and I love it, you give me so many good food and cooking ideas!), but I live in Michigan. You mentioned a Google Meals Calendar. I use Google Calendars too, would you mind making your calendar public so us readers could take a peek and get even more inspiration?
JJ125 says
Oooh! Ginger Snap Larabar is my FAVORITE! I am such a ginger junkie and that has real spicy-smooth flavor in it and I loooove it.
Natalie says
The soup looks great! I had a chicken apple stew once and to this day it was my favorite soup ever.
Totally agree about the ginger snap…it’s the only one I haven’t liked. It’s a little too spiced up for me.
Kath says
Casey (Take Two),
Hmmm. That does sound cool for you all to see, but I feel like it’s a little too personal since I put my meal engagements on there too. Plus, I only plan a week out and change it around a lot, so it’s not that much to see. Lastly, I kind of like to keep the blog meals a surprise!! Sorry to disappoint, but thanks for asking.
Kath