Spiced Kettle Corn

I love this recipe!
2 tablespoons corn oil
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/2 cup unpopped popcorn
4 tablespoons sugar
fine salt, to taste
ground cinnamon, to taste
cayenne, to taste

Read the original recipe and directions here.


MY CHANGES:
I always use unsalted butter, so I have control over the amount of sodium.
I like to use corn, canola or light olive oil.
More sugar. Hey, I have a sweet tooth, ok?!
Less salt. Really I don't measure the seasoning. I spread the popped corn onto a sheet of wax paper and shake on the salt, cinnamon and cayenne to taste. I don't always remember to put salt!

Update 2-18-15, FOR MYSELF. Please double check your points with your ingredients! 
WW Points: whole recipe 27 points!! Oh, ok, maybe I don't have to eat the whole thing! If I eat 1/8 of the recipe that's 3 points, 1/4 is 7 points. I guess I have to see what I can afford!

Taco Soup

I don't make this often, but it's easy to fix. I originally got the recipe from a Weight Watchers group member, but I'm sorry to tell you I don't remember the points value. If you want to be really bad (since we didn't count points) you can top a bowl of this with a dollop of sour cream, some shredded cheese and tortilla strips or tortilla chips.

There are a few versions out there, but this is the way I fix it. I don't eat hominy so those got nixed. so did the pinto beans. If I have to eat beans they need SOMETHING to help me not taste them. I've also seen versions with Rotel tomatoes in them. I've used ground buffalo or turkey in place of the beef. So as you can see, you could make this with what you have on hand. I told you, it's EASY! 

Taco Soup

1 lb. lean hamburger meat (90% or 94%)
1 small onion, chopped
1 can sweet onion Ranch-Style beans
1 can black beans 
2 cans stewed tomatoes
2 cans of whole kernel corn 
1 can chopped green chilies
1 packet (dry) taco seasoning
1 packet (dry) ranch dressing mix
1 can water



Brown hamburger meat with onion. If you used a meat with a higher fat content, drain the grease. Combine all ingredients together and simmer until well heated. I do not drain vegetables, but you can if you would like. 

Attempt at Chicken Curry Soup

I looked at several recipes online and I wasn't truly satisfied with any of them, so I kind of came up with my own. 

Yes, I know. I should follow directions, and maybe I would be more happy with my work. I call this an attempt because while I found it edible, it was not quite what I was after. 

I used:
1 tbsp or so of corn oil
3 scallions (white and green separated), sliced
3 cloves of garlic, minced
1 red bell pepper, chopped
1 tablespoon yellow curry
1 sweet potato, cubed
Lemon Grass Paste
Ginger Paste
1 chicken breast, cubed
1 carton chicken stock
1 tbsp lime juice
1 c. Jasmine Rice

I started by cooking the rice (1 c. rice + 2 c. water). 

While the rice was cooking, in a soup pot I sauteed the white part of the scallions and the garlic for about a minute in the oil. I used just enough oil to get it going. Next, I added the bell pepper. After another minute or two, the lemon grass paste and ginger paste joined the party. About a 3 inch squeeze of each. I didn't really measure. Then, add in the curry paste, to taste. Careful because it can get spicy FAST! Continue cooking and stir frequently until you can smell the curry goodness! 

Next, I slowly stirred in the chicken stock. I added the coconut milk at this point, too, but I later thought that I should have done that later. (It's not a good idea to boil that, ya know.) I tasted at this point and it was little flat, so I added some salt and pepper. 

Next time, I will add the chicken and cubed sweet potato in after the stock. After the chicken and sweet potato are cooked, I will stir in the coconut milk.

I actually ended up stirring in a corn starch slurry in an attempt to make this a thicker soup, but I don't think that really added anything to it. 

Serve this soup over rice. 

No I don't claim this to be authentic to anything, but it's an authentic Kae experiment.