Cooking Light Night #17

Don prepared this fantastic dinner tonight. He took one bite of the soup and proclaimed immediately that it was amazing. It's warm, comforting, flavourful. We used Chicken Italian Sausage from Trader Joes. Nathan thought it might be good to try with some spicy sausage but Don and I both agreed that we liked it just the way it was. I really enjoyed the muffins. The tart cranberries went well with the orange flavouring and I had a hard time limiting myself to just one. Don wanted them a bit sweeter and thought that a cornbread might go better with the soup. The recipe makes quite a few muffins so put the rest in the freezer to whip out and serve as appetizers next time we have company.

Sausage and Spinach Soup


Fresh herbs are added after the soup cooks so they'll retain their bright color and flavor. You can substitute 1 teaspoon dried herbs for each tablespoon fresh, but add them with the tomatoes. Serve with a toasted baguette.


10 ounce sweet turkey Italian sausage
Cooking spray
1 cup prechopped onion
2 teaspoons bottled minced garlic
1/2 cup water
1 (15-ounce) can cannellini beans, rinsed and drained
1 (14.5-ounce) can organic stewed tomatoes, undrained (such as Muir Glen)
1 (14-ounce) can fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
2 cups baby spinach
1 tablespoon chopped fresh basil
2 teaspoons chopped fresh oregano
2 tablespoons grated fresh Romano cheese

Remove casings from sausage. Cook sausage in a large saucepan coated with cooking spray over high heat until browned, stirring to crumble. Add onion and 2 teaspoons garlic to pan; cook for 2 minutes. Stir in 1/2 cup water, beans, tomatoes, and broth. Cover and bring to a boil. Uncover and cook for 3 minutes or until slightly thick. Remove from heat, and stir in spinach, basil, and oregano. Ladle 1 1/2 cups soup into each of 4 bowls, and sprinkle each serving with 1 1/2 teaspoons cheese.

Wine note: This delicious soup needs a wine that's crisp and medium-bodied, such as a California pinot gris (aka pinot grigio). The wine's crispness balances the richness of the sausage and the density of the beans. At the same time, the wine's body is substantial enough to stand up to the weight of those ingredients. Try Morgan Pinot Gris "R & D Franscioni Vineyard" 2006 (Santa Lucia Highlands, California), $18. -Karen MacNeil

Yield: 4 servings

CALORIES 261 (30% from fat); FAT 8.6g (sat 2.8g,mono 2.7g,poly 2.5g); IRON 3.4mg; CHOLESTEROL 62mg; CALCIUM 105mg; CARBOHYDRATE 23.1g; SODIUM 842mg; PROTEIN 20.9g; FIBER 5.4g

Cooking Light, MARCH 2007


Cranberry-Citrus Muffins


Turbinado sugar, with its coarse texture and mild molasses flavor, helps make the topping for these muffins extra-special. But granulated sugar also works well.


2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups fresh or frozen cranberries
1 cup granulated sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup 2% low-fat milk
1/3 cup light ricotta cheese
1 tablespoon grated orange rind
1/2 cup orange juice
1 tablespoon grated lemon rind
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
2 large egg whites
1 large egg
Cooking spray
6 tablespoons turbinado or granulated sugar

Preheat oven to 400°.

Combine first 6 ingredients in a medium bowl; make a well in center of mixture. Combine milk and next 8 ingredients (milk through egg); stir well with a whisk. Add to flour mixture, stirring just until moist. Spoon batter into 18 muffin cups coated with cooking spray. Sprinkle turbinado sugar evenly over batter.

Bake at 400° for 18 minutes or until done. Remove from pans immediately, and cool on a wire rack.

Yield: 1 1/2 dozen (serving size: 1 muffin)

CALORIES 159 (14% from fat); FAT 2.4g (sat 0.6g,mono 0.7g,poly 0.9g); IRON 1mg; CHOLESTEROL 14mg; CALCIUM 69mg; CARBOHYDRATE 31.4g; SODIUM 153mg; PROTEIN 3.4g; FIBER 0.6g

Cooking Light, SEPTEMBER 1997