Spinach Egg Drop Soup

I almost feel guilty posting this recipe, because it's just so simple - it's something my mom and grandmother would make out of the natural contents of their kitchens for a cheap and easy meal. You could dress it up with all manner of seasonings, but I find it comforting and tasty just the way it is. And let's face it, we all need something that can be thrown together quickly out of the cupboard now and then. So keep a few cans of chicken broth and creamed corn on hand for the day that you feel like a healthy, comforting soup.

Spinach Egg Drop Soup

1 can creamed corn
2 cans or 1 box chicken stock
3 eggs (or more, for more substance and protein)
several handfuls of fresh baby spinach (optional)

Start heating the corn and chicken stock in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Meanwhile, crack the eggs into a small bowl and scramble well; if you prefer thin streams of egg in your soup then thin the eggs out with a few teaspoons of water, but if you like bigger pieces of egg as in the photo above, leave the eggs as they are. Once the broth/corn mixture starts to steam (but not boil), give the broth a stir with a spoon, and while the liquid is swirling around, pour the egg into the broth and let it swirl with the broth. If you want to break up the egg, stir actively; if not, wait on stirring until the egg has cooked for a little while. Stir occasionally to keep corn from sticking to the bottom of the pan. Add spinach if using, in any amount desired, and let cook until leaves have wilted. Salt and pepper to taste.

Or, if you want the simple version: dump everything in a pot together, cook, and eat!

White Bean, Bacon, and Spinach Soup

And now, as promised, a hearty and healthy fall soup. I love soups for a variety of reasons; they are a simple, filling, flavorful meal that can be made healthy without losing flavor and comfort. Healthy in this case can mean low-fat, low-carb, high-fiber, and high-protein; it is so easy to incorporate legumes and vegetables that you almost don't notice it (although I would not have agreed with that statement as a child...).

This white-bean soup is a riff on the America's Test Kitchen cannellini bean soup recipe; I replaced the bacon with turkey bacon but doubled the amount, reduced the chicken stock to make it heartier, replaced the dried beans with canned beans to speed up the process, and added spinach to up the veggie count. The turkey bacon gives it a wonderful smokiness, and the beans and veggies make it so filling that you don't need cream to fill it out. Note: fiber in the beans, onions, and spinach, protein in the beans and bacon, low-fat, and all sorts of health benefits from the legumes, spinach, and even the garlic.

It's easy to have most of these ingredients in your kitchen at any given moment, so stock up on your next trip to the store and make this when you're at a loss for a simple good meal.

White Bean, Bacon, and Spinach Soup

16 oz. turkey bacon (one package)
1 onion
3 cloves garlic
4 C chicken stock
2 cans white beans (also called cannellini beans)
2 C fresh baby spinach leaves (or more if you like!)

1. Cut the turkey bacon into strips that you'll sprinkle on top later; brown it until crisp in a dutch oven pot. Place the turkey bacon on paper towels and leave any remaining grease in the pot.
2. Dice the onion and sauté it in the pot. Add a tablespoon of olive oil if the onion is sticking to the pot. When the onion is soft, throw the whole cloves of garlic into the pot (with the loose outside skin removed) for 30 seconds.
3. Add the chicken stock and beans and simmer covered for 10-20 minutes until beans are heated and flavorful.
4. Scoop the garlic out of the soup, crush each clove with the flat of a chef knife, remove the clove skin, and finely chop the garlic meat. Return the chopped garlic to the pot.
5. Add the spinach to the pot and continue cooking over medium heat until the spinach has withered and reduced.
6. Salt and pepper to taste, and serve with turkey bacon strips on top.

Smoked Sausage, Spinach, and Flax Seed Noodles

From time to time it happens that I end up out to dinner with a guy who tells me that he likes to cook (me: "great!") Italian food (silence on my side of the table). My girlfriends have heard me rail against typical Italian food: I find it boring, tomato-based sauces make my stomach turn, cream-based sauces clash with lactose intolerance, pasta dishes leave me cold. All this plus carb- and cholesterol-consciousness makes an unattractive class of food for me. I will savor a good pizza or fresh fettucini on occasion, but I can certainly think of much more exciting things to make or try given the choice. I know I claim to be unpretentious, but I'm just voicing my preference for non-Italian food - even though I know other people have a right to love it (sorry guys, that wasn't the way to impress this girl).

So you will imagine my surprise when I was immediately drawn to this recipe in a magazine. I have a feeling that it was the photo of browned sausage with shiny vegetables that caught my eye. This savoriness just happened to be hosted by a tangle of fresh pasta, which I was willing to accept in a fresh or high-fiber incarnation if tossed with the sausage and veggies. Why not try this simple combination of fresh, healthy, and flavorful ingredients?

I was also happy to see the method employed in the recipe for creating a clear sauce for the dish (notice: no tomatoes or cream involved). I've been wanting to work on this kind of sauce, so I made up a grocery list and got to work with leftovers in mind. I chose a smoked sausage I liked, high-fiber noodles with flax seed, and doubled the meat and vegetables. The leftovers are great!

Smoked Sausage, Spinach, and Flax Seed Noodles

4 chicken sausages, smoked (about 10 oz. total)

1 small red onion

6 C fresh baby spinach

1 T balsamic vinegar or low-sugar, low-fat balsamic vinaigrette

1 tsp cornstarch

3 tsp olive oil, divided

1 C reduced-sodium chicken broth

1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper

1 12-oz. package of high-fiber pasta (flax seed spaghetti at Trader Joe's worked)

Bring a large covered pot of water to a boil over high heat. Reduce to low and simmer covered until ready to cook pasta. Meanwhile, cut sausage into 1/4-inch-thick diagonal pieces and slice onion. In a small bowl, mix vinegar and cornstarch.

Heat 2 tsp oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat until hot but not smoking. Add sausage, reduce heat to medium, and cook 1 minute. Turn sausage and cook another minute. Add remaining tsp oil, onion, and spinach and saute 1 minute. Add broth and 1/4 C cold water; bring to a boil over high heat. Stir in cornstarch mixture and pepper. Cook, stirring, until liquid is a little glossy, about 30 seconds. Set aside.

Return pasta water to a boil over high heat. Add pasta and cook according to package directions. Drain in a colander. Add drained pasta to sausage and sauce in skillet and toss gently to combine. Serves 4.