Poblano Albondigas with Ancho Chile Soup

Before I forget, this weeks host of BSI is Nutmeg Nanny and she chose Mango!

You guys are going to be jealous of my Chobani score this weekend – only .75 cents each!  While I actually prefer plain Greek yogurt because its less carbs, the flavored ones are delicious.  Although I ended up eating the yogurt later on by itself since I ate the fresh strawberries.  My egg/salami sammie comes in at:  9 points.

I am lucky that my co-workers don’t mind my obsession with soup.  😀  I could literally have soup every day and never get sick of it.  Yesterday’s soup was so good, and something I’ve never made (or heard of!) before.  My inspiration came from here.  I adjusted the recipe to taste too – leaving out the fried tortilla strips and I had no idea how spicy ancho chile powder was – I ended up having to add 1/2 cup of buttermilk so the broth wasn’t as spicy – I’d suggest starting at 1 tablespoon and adjust from there.

I tend to like smaller meatballs in soups – so I made this recipe 4 servings – 2 1/4 cups of broth, zucchini and 11 meatballs per serving comes in at 7 PointsPlus.   And next time I’d leave out the rice completely, it kind of got lost in all the broth.

Ingredients for the balls (can you tell I love balls?):

• 4-5 poblano chiles, charred (I left the charred parts on)
• 1 pound of ground sirloin
• 1/2 a zucchini
• 1/4 cup panko bread crumbs
• 1 large egg
• 2 garlic cloves
• 1 tablespoon cumin seeds (first time using these too!)
• 1 teaspoon oregano
• 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt

I put everything in my food processor and just pulsed until combined.  Since the meat mixture was pretty “wet” I put it in the fridge for an hour.  And while the original recipe said to put the balls directly into the soup, I Pam fried mine so they would hold their shape.

Ingredients for the soup:

• 1 teaspoon olive oil
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 3 tablespoons pure ancho chile powder
• 2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 8 cups chicken broth
• 1/2 teaspoon oregano
• 1 cup sliced zucchini
• 1/4 cup long-grain rice
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
• juice of one lime
• zest from one lime

For the soup:  Heat oil in a Dutch oven.  Add garlic and saute for a couple minutes.  Add ancho chile powder and cumin and cook for 1 minute.  Add chicken broth and oregano.  Bring to a rolling boil.  Reduce heat to very low and cook 10 minutes.

Stir in the zucchini and rice.  Put a lid on and cook for 15 minutes.  Remove lid, add meatballs and cook an additional 5-7 minutes.  The balls will be nice and tender and the broth is spicy deliciousness.  My one co-worker told me “each dish you make me I think it will be my favorite, and then you top it with the next dish!”  We both can’t wait until lunch – I am making Jessica’s Strawberry Orzo Spinach Salad – I tweaked the recipe until it came in at 7 points a serving (i.e. less bacon and pecans, but it will still be good!)

it's spicy!

love this soup! the broth is spicy, the meatballs are tender - this also kept me full for a long time!

I also need to add more fruit and veggies to my meals, so on the side I had a pear salad with a tablespoon of Annie’s light Goddess dressing – lunch comes in at 9 points.

Tony wasn’t very hungry for dinner, so he had just a baked potato.  I had a small steak, 1/2 a baked potato and some zucchini.  It tasted like summer!

dinner was 9 points 😀

You’ll note I didn’t mention a workout for yesterday.  Right before I was going to work out, I tested my blood sugar and it was 90.  So I ate a cup and a half of strawberries, and then headed to the gym.  By the time I got there, I could still feel my blood sugar dropping, and sure enough it was 70 – way too low to work out.  I’ll have to make up for it today! 😀

Stats for Monday

• 37 points (including wine and sesame sticks)
• no workout
• average blood sugar was 88

I absolutely love my camera and need to find photography classes near my house using my FoodBuzz money – I am sure I know only 10% of its capabilities!  Meanwhile, I am always happy to stumble upon food blogs that share tips.  Check out Taylor Takes a Taste for cool photography tips, tricks and tutorials – she has some great ideas!

Have a great Tuesday! 😀