Minestrone Soup & Lima Bean Patties

I have to post some photos still of the chili I made, forgot to do that last night! Yesterday I ended up having leftovers, so delicious! The chili is even better the next day. I topped off the meal with a yummy salad with roasted red peppers, red onion & cucumber in a tortilla bowl. I think I'm addicted to those bowls - I just can't get enough of them :) And only 1 point!

So tonight I am going to be making a Minestrone Soup recipe I got from WeightWatchers - it's only 1 point per serving and it's delicious and so easy! I don't use a rutabaga though, instead I opt for a yam or regular white potato. And instead of whole wheat pasta I use brown rice pasta.

Minestrone
POINTS: 1 per serving / 6 servings

INSTRUCTIONS
1 sprays cooking spray, (5 one-second sprays per serving)
1 large onion(s), chopped
2 medium stalk celery, chopped
1 1/2 medium carrot(s), chopped
8 oz rutabagas, chopped
2 cube vegetable bouillon cube, dissolved in 3 1/2 cups hot water
14 oz canned tomatoes, chopped
2 tsp dried oregano, or a combination of dried Italian herbs
1 oz uncooked whole wheat pasta, shells or other small shape
1/8 tsp table salt, or to taste
1/8 tsp black pepper, freshly ground, or to taste
1 Tbsp parsley, fresh, chopped (for garnish)

Pour in prepared vegetable stock; add tomatoes and oregano. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover and simmer over a very low heat for about 15 minutes.

Coat a large saucepan with cooking spray and heat over medium-high heat. Add onion, celery, carrots and rutabaga; cook for about 3 minutes.

Add pasta to saucepan. Cook until pasta is tender, about 10 minutes more. Taste soup and season to taste as necessary. Ladle into individual serving bowls and sprinkle with parsley.


I am going to be making Lima Bean Falafels as well to go with the soup on the side - I got this recipe from a wonderful site called Vegetarian Meal Plans (great blog!). I made these once before and loved them. I do find them a bit dry, but I like to serve them with low-fat dip on the side and that takes away any dryness.

Lima Bean Falafels

2 cups frozen lima beans
1/4 cup roughly chopped chives
small handful of cilantro leaves
large handful of parsley leaves
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1 garlic clove, roughly chopped
salt and pepper, to taste
1 tablespoon spelt flour

Cook lima beans in boiling water for about 5 minutes. Drain and run under cold water to stop the cooking. In a food processor, combine all ingredients, except spelt flour. Process to a finely chopped consistency. Adjust seasoning, if necessary. Transfer mixture to a bowl and stir in 1 tablespoon of spelt flour. Form patties and saute in an oiled skillet until browned on both sides.

Yields approximately 12 2-inch patties.

I put these through my Recipe Builder on WeightWatchers and it works out to be about 3 points for 1/2 the recipe! Totally worth it considering that is 6 small patties! These are also good in a WeightWatcher wrap with some fresh veggies and fat-free cheese slices.