Yum Yum!

For my New Year's resolution I have decided I want to try as many new recipes as I can. With our busy schedules I am only left one or two nights a week that I can actually spend a good amount of time cooking.

I just received my most recent Cooking Light magazine and decided to mark the recipes that looked good and try each of them. Another thing Jer and I are trying to do is eat a couple of meatless meals per week and Cooking Light is an awesome place to find great meatless dishes.

Last night we had the Bready's over for dinner to try out a couple of the recipes on my list.

1: Moroccan Chicken Butternut Squash Soup

• YIELD: Serves 4 (serving size: 1 1/2 cups)
• HANDS-ON:40 Minutes
• TOTAL:48 Minutes
• COURSE: Main Dishes, Soups/Stews

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 cup chopped onion
• 3 (4-ounce) skinless, boneless chicken thighs, cut into bite-sized pieces
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/8 to 1/4 teaspoon ground red pepper
• 3 cups (1/2-inch) cubed peeled butternut squash (can buy this already cubed at the store, saves so much time!)
• 2 tablespoons no-salt-added tomato paste
• 4 cups Chicken Stock or fat-free, lower-sodium chicken broth (I used less sodium)
• 1/3 cup uncooked couscous
• 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 zucchini, quartered lengthwise and sliced into 3/4-inch pieces
• 1/2 cup coarsely chopped fresh basil
• 2 teaspoons grated orange rind

Preparation

1. Heat a Dutch oven over medium heat. Add oil to pan; swirl to coat. Add onion, and cook for 4 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add chicken; cook for 4 minutes, browning on all sides. Add cumin, cinnamon, and pepper to pan; cook 1 minute, stirring constantly. Add butternut squash and tomato paste; cook 1 minute. Stir in Chicken Stock, scraping pan to loosen browned bits. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer 8 minutes. Stir in couscous, salt, and zucchini; cook 5 minutes or until squash is tender. Remove pan from heat. Stir in chopped basil and orange rind.

*This is easy to make meatless especially since the zucchini and squash are so hearty and the couscous adds some oomph as well. Just omit the chicken :o)

Everyone really liked this soup. It had a great flavor and the squash was delish in it. AND has just under 300 calories per 1 1/2 c serving (that's with the chicken, without it would be even less.) 

And for dessert...

2. Warm Coconut Rice Pudding

• YIELD: Serves 6 (serving size: 1/2 cup pudding and 1/2 teaspoon pistachios)
• COURSE: Desserts, Puddings/Custards

Ingredients

• 1 cup water
• 1 cup uncooked instant rice
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 3 tablespoons cornstarch
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 cups 2% reduced-fat milk, divided
• 2 large egg yolks
• 1 cup light coconut milk
• 1/4 cup flaked sweetened coconut
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom
• 1 tablespoon chopped pistachios

Preparation

1. Bring water to a boil in a saucepan. Stir in rice; cover and reduce heat to medium-low. Simmer 5 minutes. Remove from heat; uncover. Set aside.

2. Combine sugar, cornstarch, and salt in a small bowl.

3. Combine 1/4 cup milk and yolks in a bowl, stirring with a whisk. Add sugar mixture to milk mixture, stirring with a whisk until blended.

4. Bring remaining 1 1/4 cups milk and coconut milk to a boil in a small saucepan. Gradually add hot milk mixture to yolk mixture, stirring with a whisk. Return milk mixture to pan. Bring to a boil, and cook 1 minute, stirring constantly. Remove from heat; stir in cooked rice, coconut, and next 3 ingredients (through cardamom). Top with pistachios.

*I didn't have cardamom or pistachios so I just omitted them and it was totally fine.

This recipe was SO delicious and literally only took me 20 min or less to make. AND it was only 228 calories per serving! I think this is a must-try. 

I love having the Cooking Light magazine come to my home because I like having the pictures, etc. BUT if you're not into magazine subscriptions, you can get any Cooking Light recipe online at www.cookinglight.com

And here are the twinner BFFs doing the dishes together.