Category: Soup

Quick Chicken Pho

The Sunshine Inn BlogLeave a comment

Quick Chicken Pho

  • Servings: 4 Servings
  • Difficulty: Easy
  • Print

Recently, we went to a restaurant and we ordered two of these Chicken Pho soups. Well, it was outrageously priced. It was good but dang it was expensive. So I thought, what the heck lets make it ourselves. This is what I came up with.

Ingredients

  • ¾ inch section of peeled ginger
  • 4 medium bok choy
  • 1 small bunch cilantro sprigs
  • 1-1/2 tsp of coriander seeds
  • 1 onion sliced thin
  • 1 tbsp of olive oil
  • 1 whole clove
  • 4 cups of low-sodium chicken broth or bone broth (I used chicken bone broth)
  • 2 cups of water
  • 1 lb of chicken breasts
  • ½ tsp of sea salt
  • 150 g or 5 ounces of flat rice noodles
  • 3 tsp of fish sauce
  • ½ tsp raw sugar
  • Pepper to taste (I used white pepper)

Directions

  1. Prepare the rice noodles as indicated on the package, drain and rince under cold water to stop the cooking.
  2. Slice chicken into thin strips.
  3. In a large dutch oven or pot, heat oil.
  4. Add in onion, clove, coriander seeds, cilantro sprig stems and heat thoroughly.
  5. Add broth and water.
  6. Add chicken and bok choy to the broth and heat for about 15 minutes.
  7. Add fish sauce, pepper, salt and sugar.
  8. Rince rice noodles under warm water and divide into four bowls.
  9. Pour soup over the noodles and add the chopped cilantro.

Nutrition Per Serving, 1.55 cup

  • Calories 357
  • Fat 16 g
  • Sugar 4 g
  • Carbohydrates 31 g
  • Protein 32 g
  • Fibre 3 g

This recipe is very versatile. There are so many options you can do. If you want it spicy, you can add chili peppers or jalapenos. As you see, I added bean sprouts because that is how they served it at the restaurant. Low calorie and good fibre. I used bok choy but you can use any vegetable you like. Such as, carrots, broccoli, string beans. You want higher protein, you can use edamame beans. You can even alter this to become a beef soup using beef bone broth and of course beef. This recipe holds so many possibilities all it needs is for you to have fun and make it your own.

Low-Fat Broccoli Cheddar Soup

The Sunshine Inn BlogLeave a comment

Low-Fat Broccoli Cheddar Soup

  • Servings: 6 Servings
  • Difficulty: Easy
  • Print

Soup season is upon us. Nothing quite like a great bowl of soup to take the chill out of your bones. I go from standards like vegetable soups, to chicken noodle, to beef barley and well cream style soups. Now when you think of creamy soups, you think fat, rich, flavourful. I found this recipe that is both delicious, rich and yet reduced in fat.

Ingredients

  • 1 tbsp unsalted butter
  • 2 leeks, white and light green parts only, halved lengthwise and sliced thin
  • 1-1/2 lbs of broccoli florets chopped, stems peeled sliced thin
  • 2 garlic cloves minced
  • 3 cups low sodium chicken broth
  • 1 cup of water
  • 1 tbsp of Dijon mustard
  • ¾ cup of fat-free evaporated milk
  • 4 ounces of extra-sharp cheddar cheese shredded (about 1 cup)
  • Salt and pepper to taste

Directions

  1. Melt butter in a large pot over medium heat, add leeks and broccoli stems and cook until just beginning to soften, about 8 minutes.
  2. Add garlic and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute.
  3. Stir in broth and water and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer, covered, until stems are soft, about 8 minutes.
  4. Add broccoli florets, cover and simmer until tender, about 5 minutes.
  5. Transfer soup to blender and puree until completely smooth, about 30 seconds. (Do this in smaller batches if need be to not have your blender overflow with hot liquid)
  6. Put back in pot add mustard, milk, and cheese and heat on low until cheese is melted.
  7. Season with salt and pepper and serve.

Nutrition Per Serving

  • Calories 217
  • Fat 12 g
  • Sugar 7 g
  • Carbohydrates 18 g
  • Protein 13 g
  • Fibre 4 g

This was a great way to have a nice warm creamy soup without the fat and calories. Using leeks instead of onions allows the flavour of the broccoli to come through while providing color, and silkiness to the soup. By using the extra sharp cheddar, the distinct cheese flavour is brought to the forefront. You need to remember that when you add the cheese, you can not bring it to a boil or it will separate and make the soup greasy. Same goes for reheating. Using the fat free evaporated milk helps give that creamy texture without the fat. Fat free regular milk won’t work. The cheese, well, that is where you have lots of choices. You can have sharp, jalepeno, Havarti, or even mild, this is where you have fun and make it your own,

Extra tip: preparing your leeks.
Cut off the tough dark green portion of the leek and discard. Slice the remaining white and light green portion in half lengthwise. Submerge halved leeks in cold water and agitate to remove any dirt. Once the leaks are clean, remove them from the water, pat them dry with paper towels and chop them as desired.

Quebec Style Yellow Split Pea Soup

The Sunshine Inn Blog1 Comment

Quebec Style Yellow Split Pea Soup

  • Servings: 12
  • Difficulty: Easy
  • Print

There are many variations of this soup. You will find this in many restaurants, in Quebec, on Fridays. This is a hearty soup with lots of protein. You can half the recipe and it will still serve 6.

Ingredients

  • 2 lb of unsmoked ham hocks
  • 4 tbsp of butter
  • 4 medium carrot peeled and finely chopped
  • 2 celery rib finely diced
  • 2 medium onion finely diced
  • 3 1/2 cup of dried yellow split peas rinsed and sorted
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 2 tsp dried savoury
  • 2 tsp dried thyme
  • 8 cups of chicken broth
  • 6 cups of water
  • salt and pepper to taste

Directions

  1. Trim off and discard skin from ham hocks.
  2. In a very large pot or Dutch oven, melt butter over medium heat.
  3. Add carrots, celery and onion. Cook until softened, about 10 minutes.
  4. Stir in dried split peas, bay leaves, savoury and thyme. Cook while stirring for about 2 minutes.
  5. Stir in broth, water and ham hocks. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium-low and simmer for 2 hours. Stir regularly until the peas are soft and soup has thickened.
  6. Remove bay leaves.
  7. Remove ham hocks. Take the meat off the bones and shred. Add back to soup and serve.

Nutrition Per Serving

  • Calories 445
  • Fat 18 g
  • Sugar 6 g
  • Carbohydrates 39 g
  • Protein 32 g
  • Fibre 16 g

This is a very filling soup. Serve it with country biscuits, if carbs are not an issue and it is a full meal. If you serve it as a side or appetizer, it is thick enough that you don’t need to serve it with anything at all. Ham hocks often come frozen. If you can’t find any, you could use left over ham. Be careful on the salt you add if you use ham. When you come to reheat, you will need to add water or chicken broth. You can also freeze this soup. Like I mentioned at the top you can half the recipe easily and it won’t alter the recipe at all. Just have fun and make it your own.

Beef and Vegetable Barley Soup

The Sunshine Inn Blog1 Comment

Beef and Vegetable Barley Soup

  • Servings: 12
  • Difficulty: Easy
  • Print

We love soup. What can I say? It can be a side, a main course, comfort food, even a snack. It’s even better when they are easy and you get to use leftovers to make it.

Ingredients


– 1 tbsp of butter
– 1 tbsp of olive oil
– 1 medium onion chopped
– 3 cloves of garlic minced or 5 garlic scapes minced
– 1 carrot thinly sliced
– 3 celery stalks sliced thin
– 1 1/2 – 2 medium zucchini sliced thin
– 1 cup of barley
– 8 to 9 ounces of cooked sirloin steak sliced thin about 1 inch long
– 6 cups of reduced sodium beef broth
– 1 tbsp of Worchestire sauce
– 2 tbsp of Soya Sauce
– 2 tbsp of Diana Sauce or ketchup
– 1/2 tsp of cayenne (optional)
– salt and pepper to taste
– 1 tbsp of cajun spice

Directions

  1. In a large stock pot, over high heat, add 1 tbsp of olive oil, butter and onion. Cook 3-5 minutes until onions are transparent.
  2. Lower heat to medium, add garlic. Stir constantly for 1 minute.
  3. Add the remaining ingredients, stir until well blended.
  4. Lower heat and let simmer for an hour.

Nutrition Per Serving

  • Calories 149
  • Fat 5.1 g
  • Sugar 2.6 g
  • Carbohydrates 17.6 g
  • Protein 7.7 g
  • Fibre 4.0 g

The vegetables are interchangeable. We had steaks the night before and that was the left over. You can sub for inside round which is a cheaper cut. Be sure to cut it against the grain. As a main course, I serve a double serving with a nice salad. Remember that what you put as a veggie, spice, is how you can make this your own. Enjoy and have fun.

Pumpkin Soup

The Sunshine Inn BlogLeave a comment

Pumpkin Soup

  • Servings: 8 1 cup portions
  • Difficulty: Easy
  • Print

Is there ever a wrong time for pumpkin? What you will find here is a soup that is great as is, or can be used as a base. The puree I used was one I froze from a pumpkin I cooked, you can use canned puree (just be sure not to use pie filling)

Ingredients

  • 1 tbsp of olive oil
  • 1 large chopped onion
  • 3 garlic cloves chopped
  • 4 cups of pumpkin puree
  • 6 cups of chicken broth
  • 1 tbsp of cajun spice
  • 1/2 tsp of cayenne pepper (optional)
  • salt and pepper to taste

Directions

  1. In a large pot or dutch oven, heat oil over medium heat
  2. Add onion and cook until tender.
  3. Add garlic cook for approximately 2 minutes.
  4. Add puree, broth and spices.
  5. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 60 minutes.
  6. You can either serve or if you want smoother, use your blender to puree it even more.

Nutrition Per Serving

  • Calories 107
  • Fat 1.8 g
  • Sugar 3 g
  • Carbohydrates 11.6 g
  • Protein 5.1 g
  • Fibre 3.3 g

This is an easy soup that is both nutritious and low calorie. It can be served as an appetizer or as a main course. As a main course, use two servings. You can serve it with a nice sunflower and flax seed bread (see recipe), white bread (see recipe) or country biscuits (see recipe). You can use this as a base for a vegetable soup. You can thicken it with a little flour and use it as a sauce. So basically, have fun and make it your own.

Hamburger Soup

The Sunshine Inn BlogLeave a comment

Hamburger Soup

  • Servings: 10 of 1 cup
  • Difficulty: Easy
  • Print

Cold weather is upon us. Comfort food is a must. I love seeing the leaves turning colours, cooler nights for sleep, but salads get pushed aside for cozier foods. Here is one of them.

Ingredients

  • 1 lb lean ground beef
  • 1 medium onion chopped
  • 4 garlic cloves or 1 tsp of garlic powder
  • 19 ounce can (540ml) of chopped tomatoes
  • 10 oz can (284 ml) tomato soup (preferably sodium reduced)
  • 1 tsp worchestershire sauce
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • 4 cups of low sodium beef broth (I use campbell)
  • 3 medium carrots peeled and sliced (relatively thin)
  • 1 cup chopped cabbage

Directions

  1. In a large pot or dutch oven, brown the meat and drain off excess fat.
  2. Add onions and garlic and cook on low heat until onions are tender.
  3. Add tomatoes, tomato soup, worchestershire sauce, salt, pepper, and broth.
  4. Bring to a boil, cover and simmer for 30 minutes.
  5. Add the vegetables and simmer for an additional 30 minutes.

Nutrition Per Serving

  • Calories 122
  • Fat 4.8 g
  • Sugar 5 g
  • Carbohydrates 8.5 g
  • Protein 11.2 g
  • Fibre 1.7 g

This is an easy soup that is both nutritious and low calorie. It can be served as an appetizer or as a main course. We had it as a main course and it made 6 bowls. You can serve it with a nice sunflower and flax seed bread (see recipe), white bread (see recipe) or country biscuits (see recipe).

Overall, it was a nice comfort food for a cooler night. If you want it spicy, you can add a little cayenne pepper to taste. You can add extra veggies like frozen corn. Possibilities are endless, so have fun and make it your own.

Home Made Ramen Style Noodles 

The Sunshine Inn Blog2 Comments

Have you ever watched a show and “Oh I have to try that”? Well that is what happened to me last week.  I will not take credit for this recipe as I saw this on YouTube. Asian at home. You have to check her out.  This is a healthier version of ramen noodles.  Anytime I know and control what I put in, makes me happy.

You can really have fun with this.  You pick the protein, the spice, the flavour, vegetable, the noodle and the next time something completely different.  This is a great way to use leftovers. You can make it as healthy as you like or need. Lower smart point proteins like shrimp, less noodles more vegetables. You choose what you like.

My first version was vegetable broth 1/2 cube, 1/2 a small roasted chicken breast, spinach baby carrots sliced thinly, broad rice noodles cooked,salt, pepper, dried rosemary and oregano and a few drops of hot sauce.  When ready to use, you pour boiling water, fill and shake. For my first try, not bad but lacked a little flavour and heat for my taste.

Of course I tried again. I changed the noodle to capellini, the protein to black bean, carrots became shredded carrots, spinach became kale, spices were a creole mix, and sriracha chili sauce.


Try it and have fun. I know I did.