Fast Udon Soup

You get home from work, take care of bills, play with the kids (if you have them), say hi to the dog or cat and before you know it, it's 7pm. Oh no! What to do for dinner?

Udon noodle soup is very tasty and, yes, it's healthy. This recipe adds diced tofu. You don't have to put tofu in it. Chicken or beef works, too. This recipe literally only takes about 10 minutes from start to eat. This soup provides a hearty meal and warms you up on a cold day.

Tofu Udon Soup

Ingredients:

• 6 ounces udon noodles
• 6 cups chicken or vegetable broth 14 ounces firm tofu, diced
• Salt 
• 4 handfuls baby spinach leaves 
• 5 scallions, thinly sliced 
• 1 teaspoon hot sesame oil, plus more for serving

Cook udon noodles in salted boiling water until tender, about 5 minutes. Drain and rinse under cold water until cool. (You can find udon in the Asian section of most grocery stores.)
Bring vegetable or chicken broth to a boil. Add tofu and udon. Bring broth back to a boil. Stir in spinach and cook just until heated through. Add scallions and sesame oil.
Add a few pinches of salt and/or drops of sesame oil to taste.

This recipe is courtesy of Whole Foods. Serves 4.

Grilled Flatbread Pizza

If you like pizza, this is a sure bet. As far as pizza goes, it's healthy as it uses a flatbread, whole wheat crust, lots of veggies, not an overwhelming amount of cheese and no oil. This is nothing like pizza from a delivery restaurant. This pizza is light, crispy and may leave you wanting more. Make two if you and the people you're sharing it with are really hungry!

Here's a picture of all the ingredients I used for the flatbread pizza. 

• Flat, whole wheat lavash bread - got these from Trader Joe's. They come in a pkg of 6 for about $2.49
• 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese - not from a can - grated
• 1/4 cup Feta cheese - regular or flavored is fine
• Veggies - I used green bell pepper, garlic, yellow onion, zuchinni, mushrooms and tomatoes. Slice all of them. 
• 5 oz. Marinara sauce - Fresh & Easy has some in jars for $1.79 that do not have any chemicals or preservatives 

I used one flatbread for two people. First, lay your flatbread on your grilling pan or surface. It's much easier than having to transport the flatbread with all your pizza ingredients later.

 Spread marinara sauce on the flatbread very sparingly, leaving about a 1/4" around the edges for a crust. Too much sauce will make the flatbread soggy and you won't get a nice, crisp crust. (see photo on the left) Then evenly sprinkle the parmesan cheese over the sauce.

Flatbread Pizza Before Going Under Grill

Sprinkle on the chopped garlic. Place slices of onion, bell pepper, zuchinni, mushrooms and lastly tomatoes. Finally, sprinke on the feta cheese.





Grill for about 5 to 6 mins at medium, then check the bottom of the crust. It should not be darkening too quickly. Grill for about 2 more minutes. To give the veggies on top of the pizza a nice, grilled look, put grill pan under the broiler for no more than 2 minutes.

Flatbread Pizza Just Off the Grill

These slices don't stay on the plate very long!

Use a big spatula to remove the pizza from the grill pan. If you have fresh basil, wash about 10 leaves, rip them up and spread the pieces over the cooked pizza. Slice, serve and enjoy!