Tomato Wheat Soup and Pasta De Amore

Originally posted on Facebook October 28, 2009. This was the first of many recipes I felt a deep need to share with the world. Mind you, this is from approximately 2 months before I was diagnosed with CKD. At the time, I knew I had high blood pressure, so I was attempting to treat it with exercise and healthy foods, especially a sort-of-reduced sodium diet. I was still using a lot of salt in my cooking. I was inspired to try the soup recipe below by the book  SuperFoods Rx: 14 Foods that will Change Your Life. While this book is certainly not for those on a renal diet, it is a great general health plan.

 Some recipes I thought I'd share.

Tomato/Wheat Soup

Moosewood Collective Low Fat Cookbook. Really good healthy recipes. 

3 c. chicken stock

1 c. finely chopped onions

1 c. peeled and diced carrots

3/4 c. diced celery

2 large cloves minced garlic (but more is always better with garlic)

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. dried dill

1/2 tsp ground fennel

2 cups undrained canned diced tomatoes (16 oz)

1/4 c. bulgur wheat

black pepper to taste

Combine all but last 3 ingredients in a large soup pot. Bring to Boil and simmer, covered, 5 min. At wheat and tomatoes w/ juice and stir well. Cover, bring back to boil, reduce heat and simmer 15 min. Add pepper to taste.

**Notes:

1. I made the chicken stock from scratch.

Boil leftover rotisserie chicken carcass, garlic, onion, oregano, basil, salt, pepper, celery leaves/bits. Boil 30 min and strain well. It's free and delicious.

It was easier than I thought it would be, but if you don't have a chicken carcass lurking around in your freezer, you might want to beef up the spices a bit to boost the prepared stock.

2. While the recipe states that you should add dill and fennel, add whatever spices you find appropriate. I didn't have fennel so I used a garlic/onion poultry seasoning and a Mrs. Dash Dill Blend. Do what you like.

3. Bulgur (bulghur, bulgar) wheat is expensive if you buy it packaged, so go to the bulk bins in the hippie food aisle and just buy what you need. It keeps best frozen if you get extra for later use. Honestly, I'd go with more than 1/4 cup next time to add a little more protein to this soup.

4. Re-heats really well. Just add a little water and heat on stovetop. 

Sex Pasta

(from Sandra Lee's Semi-Homemade Christmas Edition Magazine) (She doesn't call it that.)

1 (12-oz) package bow-tie pasta

1.25 c. whole milk

2 c. grated smoked Gouda cheese

1 (15 oz) jar roasted red pepper Alfredo Sauce, Classico brand

1 (3-oz) package real bacon pieces, Ocsar Mayer brand

1/4 c chopped green onion

smoked paprika

Heat over to 350. Cook pasta. Keep warm somewhere else. In the pot, heat the milk over med-low heat until simmering but not boiling. Add cheese, whisking until melted. Add sauce and stir in. Then combine with pasta, onions, and bacon. Pour into a 2 quart covered casserole. Sprinkle with paprika and bake 20 minutes ish. (Until hot and bubbly)

***Notes

1. THIS IS NOT HEALTHY!!! In fact, it is about as far as you can get from healthy. You have been warned.

2. You can substitute Smart Taste pasta if you feel like making it a little less guilt-ridden. It's still tasty. Also, if you can't find bow-tie, any small pasta is fine. We used penne.

3. Couldn't find roasted red pepper sauce so we used Sun Dried Tomato Alfredo Sauce.

4. You really do need the smoked gouda. I had never tried it before, since I don't really buy $5 cheeses. But it's cheese that tastes like bacon. I think angels make it.

5. This is actually called Smoky Pasta Bake, but we didn't think that this was an appropriate title to capture how good this is.

I don't have a picture of this one. I was going to, but it got eaten really fast.