No-Cheese Sauce

This is straight from the Forks Over Knives Cookbook (p29). I will say- this will never replace cheese, but I think if you were making a Mexican dish and wanted to add some flavor and cut the fat of cheese, you could sub this in. Or maybe cut half the cheese with this mix! I think it would be really good in chicken enchiladas. Or as a chip dip- cut with plain yogurt or sour cream.

Makes 2.5 cups
1 large yellow onion, peeled and coarsely chopped (about 2 cups)
1 large red bell pepper, seeded and coarsely chopped (about 1.5 cups)
3 tablespoons cashews, toasted, optional
1 tablespoon tahini, optional
1 cup nutritional yeast
salt to taste

Combine all ingredients in a blender in the order given and puree until smooth and creamy, adding up to 1/2 cup of water if necessary to achieve a smooth consistency.

Thoughts? I have no idea if I really understand what nutritional yeast is... but I've used it a few times in recipes from this book, and it really does make things creamier!

What I did differently? I really don't like raw onion, and the book calls a variation of roasted red pepper. So I roasted the onion and pepper myself. I also skipped the tahini as I didn't have any in the house.

Results? It tasted a little like queso. Think of this as you think about where you would use this.

Would I make it again? Yes, but as I mentioned earlier, I would make it as a dip or a filler. In this case, I put it on a plate of nachos in place of cheese, it was pretty good.

Tortilla Soup

I took about 5 different recipes and made this tortilla soup that turned into quite a winner!



Tortilla Soup



Ingredients:

I red bell pepper, spilt and seeded

1 cup of frozen corn

2 large chicken breasts, diced (about a pound)

1 tsp poultry seasoning

1 tsp cumin

salt and pepper

1 small zuchinni, diced
1 medium yellow onion, finely chopped
3 cloves of garlic, minced or grated
1 chipotle in adobo (2 if you like it REALLY hot), chopped with 1T of sauce
2 (14 oz) cans of stewed tomatoes
1 (8 oz) can of tomato sauce
3 cups of low sodium chicken stock

Garnish options:
Tortilla chips, broken into large pieces
1/2 cup cheddar or pepper jack cheese, shredded
1/2 cup low fat sour cream (or better yet- plain yogurt)
Chopped red onion
Chopped cilantro
Diced Avocado

Directions:
Place red pepper cut side down on cookie sheet, with frozen corn. Broil until corn is lightly charred and red pepper skin is black (8 minutes or so). Place red pepper in glass bowl and cover with plastic wrap for 5 minutes. Remove charred skin and dice red pepper.

While veggies are cooking, heat 1T oil in large soup pot over hight heat. Add chicken, poultry season, cumin, salt and pepper. When chicken starts to brown, add zuchinni, onion,s garlic and chipotle peppers. Cook vegetables until onion is soft. Add tomatoes, tomato sauce and stock. Bring to a bubble and reduce heat to medium low.

Stir in corn and red pepper, and heat until warmed through.

Ladle into bowls and top with desired garnishes.