Lentil soup-lunch version

We had company and leftover soup and a salad still to make...so I put two and two together and made a pretty good lunch out of it.  

When I first tasted this dressing, just with my finger, I thought....EW.
All I could taste was mayo and it did not taste good.

BUT with the whole salad put together it was actually pretty good.

Still not my favorite, but it was good with this salad.

I added all the toppings, this salad actually calls for only the dressing as a topping, 

which didn't sound good to me at all.  So add whatever tickles your fancy.

ENJOY!

Iceberg wedges with Thousand Island dressing

1 cup reduced fat mayo

1/4 cup tomato based chili sauce

1/4 cup milk

2 T red wine vinegar

2 T sweet pickle relish

1 T chopped fresh parsley

1 scallion, thinly sliced

S&P

1 head iceberg lettuce, cored and cut into 8 wedges

Whisk together all ingredients in a bowl.

Place wedges on a platter and divide among 4 plates, drizzle with dressing as desired.

Serves 4.  

Logan Rating: ***

Lentils

Are lentils beans?  

Wikipedia tells me that they are legumes...those are beans right? 

Side note...is anyone else disturbed by the fact that Wikipedia is in the dictionary?

Anyway I'm not entirely sure what they are but they are delicious, nonetheless!

I should probably apologize for my absence again, SORRY!  

I won't say it isn't going to happen again, because, well it probably will...so SORRY ahead of time!

So even my bean hating fiancée loved this soup, so maybe lentils aren't beans...or maybe he's just inconsistent...either way this soup is GOOD!  

It is a fantastic winter soup, it really warms you up from the inside out.

It's also very hearty, we ate it for dinner and then again for lunch later in the week, just perfect!

I used turkey bacon, because I always feel so guilty when I cook regular bacon.  

I saved some to serve as a garnish too...loved the extra CRUNCH!

ENJOY!

Lentil Soup

3 strips bacon, cut into 1/2 in pieces

1 large onion, chopped

3 med carrots, peeled, halved lengthwise and cut into 1/4 in pieces

3 garlic cloves, minced

2 T tomato paste

1 1/2 cups lentils, picked over and rinsed

1/2 tsp dried thyme

2 cans (14.5 oz each) chicken broth

1 T red wine vinegar

S&P

In a dutch oven or large pot with a tight fitting lid, cook bacon over med-low heat until browned and crisp, 8-10 min.  Pour off all but 1 T fat.

Add onion and carrots; cook until softened, about 5 min.  Stir in garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 sec.  Stir in tomato paste and cook for 1 min.

Add lentils, thyme, broth and 2 cups water.  Bring to a boil; reduce to a simmer.  Cover; cook until lentils are tender, 30-45 min.  If soup becomes too thick during cooking, add up to 1 more cup of water. 

Stir in vinegar, 1 1/2 tsp salt and 1/4 tsp pepper, or more to taste.  

Serves 4 (as a meal) 

Logan Rating: ***

I love celery!

I discovered something odd about myself while making this recipe...I LOVE CELERY!

And even weirder...I love the SMELL of celery!

Yes I'm speaking of the vegetable mostly comprised of water...it does have a smell.  I can't put my finger on what it reminds me of, but whatever it is makes me very happy.  

Onto more important things, like this recipe that is like Thanksgiving rolled into one breast of chicken.  It was so easy and so delicious, and true comfort food.  I served it with some roasted broccoli, which was also delicious, but you could use any vegetable or side you like.  Also it calls for dried cranberries, but I happened to have dried golden plums so I used those instead and it was still great.  Next time I'd try the cranberries though, in an effort to be true to thanksgiving dinner.  

Oh and don't be like me and forget to halve the stuffing recipe when you're cooking for two...I had OVERSTUFFED breasts...no pun intended...ok so maybe I did intend it a little bit!

ENJOY!

Roasted Stuffed Chicken and Broccoli

1/2 loaf soft Italian bread, torn into bit size pieces

1 celery stalk (be sure to sniff it!) thinly sliced

1/2 tsp dried sage

1/2 small onion coarsely chopped

1/3 cup dried cranberries

4 T olive oil

S&P

1 roaster chicken breast (3-3.5lbs) -I used two skin on bone in chicken breasts and stuffed under the skin

2 heads broccoli, florets separated.  

Preheat oven to 450.  Make stuffing: Combine bread, celery, sage, onion, cranberries, and 1 T oil; season with salt and pepper.

Press down on center of breast with the palm of your hand until the breast bone cracks.  ( I did not do this, because I had separate breasts). Working from neck end of chicken use fingers to loosen skin from flesh and separate skin from flesh and separate skin from center breastbone with a paring knife.  Generously season under and over skin with S&P.  Tuck stuffing under skin, distributing evenly.  Rub skin with 1 T olive oil and place on rimmed baking sheet.  Roast until thermometer reads 165, 45-60 min.  Remove from oven.

Cover loosely with aluminum foil and let rest 15min.

   

Meanwhile toss broccoli with remaining 2 T oil on another baking sheet; season with salt and pepper.  Roast until beginning to brown, 15-20 min, tossing halfway through.  

Remove chicken breast meat from bone; slice crosswise.  Serve chicken with broccoli.  

Serves 4. 

Logan Rating: ****

Diet Schmiet!!!

Sooooo I couldn't help myself...I mean look at these things!  I've never deep fried anything that I can think of, this was a first, but it was TOTALLY worth it!  Everything in moderation right?

Anyway this was so good!  Not just the deep fried goodness, but the salsa on the steak was scrumptious too!  This is a great refreshing way to serve steak.

And if you are better than me, you could serve it with a salad or maybe some roasted potatoes.

If you are like me, you will deep fry some onions, and LOVE IT!

Don't worry, I made up for it with Kickboxing the next night...I know you were worried!

Try this one, I'm telling you, you will NOT be disappointed...

Oh but I will warn you, you should definitely halve the onion ring recipe if you are only cooking for 2...or else it will not be moderation at all...it will be excess of a bad thing, which is delicious, but NO good.

Grilled Steak with Southwestern three tomato salsa

3 plum tomatoes, cored and seeded

1 jalapeno, ribs and seeds removed

1 T fresh lime juice

1/2 tsp ground cumin

2 yellow tomatoes cored and seeded (I used yellow cherry tomatoes)

2 T oil packed sun dried tomatoes, thinly sliced, PLUS 1 T oil from jar

S&P

4 boneless strip steaks (10-12 oz each)

Make salsa; in a food processor, puree tomatoes, jalapeno, lime juice and cumin; transfer to a small bowl.  Stir in yellow and sun dried tomatoes.  Season with S&P.

Heat grill or pan to med high.  Lightly oil grates or pan.  Pat dry steaks.  Season both sides with S&P.  Cook turning once, about 8 min total for med rare.  Just before serving, stir oil from sun dried tomatoes into salsa.  Serve steaks topped with salsa. 

Onion Rings

1 large sweet onion, sliced crosswise into rings

1 1/3 cups all purpose flour

1/2 cup cornstarch

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

salt

12 oz seltzer water

6 cups vegetable oil, such as safflower (I only used about 1 cup...you don't need to fill the pot with oil, just flip the rings one time while cooking)

1/2 cup packed fresh parsley leaves

Preheat oven to 250.  Soak onion slices in a large bowl of ice water, 10 min; drain and pat dry with paper towels.  In a large bowl whisk together flour, cornstarch, baking powder, 1 tsp salt, and seltzer. 

In a large heavy pot, heat oil over high until deep fry thermometer registers 375.  (Come on!  Who has a deep fry thermometer??? NOT ME...I just waited until the oil sizzled when I placed the onion into it).  Working in batches, place onion in batter, coating completely; using your fingers, lift out, letting excess drip back into bowl.

Carefully lower onion slices into oil, making sure not to overcrowd pot; cook until golden brown.

Using a slotted spoon or metal tongs transfer onion rings to a paper towel lined baking sheet, and season with salt.  Keep warm in the oven.  

After onion rings are done.  Carefully lower parsley into pot (oil will splatter) and fry until crisp, 10 seconds; transfer to baking sheet and season with salt.  Sprinkle over onion rings.  (I skipped this step...seemed messy and unnecessary to me).

Serves 4.  

Logan Rating: *****

Squash and Apple Soup

Well folks, I've created a monster!  Logan and I went out to eat this past weekend and while we were sitting and enjoying a wonderful meal cooked by someone OTHER than me, he began to critique the food.  He now thinks he is a food critic and expects exceptional food at all times.  What have I done?  Its actually quite funny, a guy who a few months ago loved pretty much everything I cooked, now has a rating for everything he eats.  Which is completely my fault...I suppose he could start a column and make some money off of this new hobby.  :)  Well I guess I  just have to keep cooking!

This soup was good, but not a favorite around here.  However, again I think this is my fault, because I kind of screwed up the recipe.  It calls for unsweetened apple cider, which I couldn't find so I just bought apple juice...and it was a smidge too sweet.  SO I'm telling you all that if you are going to try this recipe don't make the same mistake.  To compensate for the sweetness I ended up sprinkling some cayenne pepper on top along with the other garnishes.  Also I decided to make homemade squash puree instead of buying frozen, it was super easy.  It does take extra time because you have to roast the squash, so if you don't have much time then I would just buy frozen...that makes it a really quick recipe.  

I definitely want to try this one again, because I have a feeling next time it would be much better.  You try it, and let me know!

ENJOY!

Squash and Apple Soup

1 T olive oil

1 small onion, finely chopped

3 granny smith apples, cored, peeled and finely chopped

2 1/2 cups unsweetened apple cider

1 tsp ground ginger

2 1/2 cups water

3 packages (12oz each) frozen squash puree or 6 cups homemade puree (see below)

S&P

1/4 cup plain yogurt (I use greek)

In a large pot, heat oil over med.  Cook onion, stirring frequently , until beginning to brown, 4-6 min.  Add apples; cook, stirring occasionally, until softened 3-5 min.  Remove 1/2 cup apple mixture, and reserve for garnish.

Stir cider, ginger, and the water into remaining apple mixture in pot; bring to a boil.  Stir in squash puree; cook until heated through, 8-10 min (4-5 min for homemade).  Reduce heat; simmer until mixture thickens, 15-20 min.  Season with S&P.  At this point, soup can be refrigerated up to 3 days, or frozen up to 1 month, in an airtight container; let cool completely before storing.  

Ladle soup into bowls, garnish with 1 T yogurt and 2 T reserved apple mixture. 

Serves 4.  

Squash Puree

Preheat oven to 400.  Place 3 whole acorn squash (about 2 lbs each) on a rimmed baking sheet; bake, until very tender when pierced with the tip of a sharp knife, about 1 hour.  When cool enough to handle, halve each squash lengthwise and discard seeds; scrape out flesh into a food processor (discard skins).  Process until smooth.

Logan Rating: **

Moo Shu Pork

Sorry about the poor quality photos...my good camera died halfway through this recipe.

So half the reason I wanted to make this recipe was because the name is so fun!  Moo Shu pork, so fun to say!  I've heard the name before, but have never tried it.  I'm glad I did, because its not only fun to say, but also quite delicious!  Sorry it doesn't really look very appetizing in this pic...use your imagination.  :)  I promise though this one was tasty and really easy.  It is kind of weird to put it on a tortilla, but really you must try it the authentic way, because there is a reason they do it!   Logan had the leftovers over rice, which he said was good also, so you do have options if the tortilla is too weird with an Asian dish for you.  This might also be really good as a lettuce wrap, but really try the tortillas first, its crazy but AWESOME.

ENJOY!

Moo Shu Pork

4 tsp veg oil

4 large eggs, lightly beaten

1 pork tenderloin (1lb) halved lengthwise and thinly sliced

2 T cornstarch

S&P

1 lb shitake mushrooms (or whatever shroom you want) thinly sliced

2 T minced peeled fresh ginger

1/2 head napa cabbage, shredded

5 scallions, trimmed and thinly sliced

1/3 cup soy sauce

1/4 cup rice vinegar

8 flour tortillas

In a large skillet, heat 1 tsp oil over med.  Add eggs; cook without stirring until just set, 1-2 min.  Transfer to a cutting board.  When cool enough to handle, roll into a log and slice crosswise into 1/4 in strips.

Place pork in a med bowl and sprinkle with cornstarch.  Season with S&P and toss to coat.  Wipe skillet clean and heat remaining oil over med high.  Add pork and cook until browned 4-5 min; it will finish cooking later, transfer to plate

Add mushrooms and ginger to skillet; season with S&P.  Cook until shrroms are lightly browned 3-5 min.  Add cabbage, scallions, soy sauce, vinegar, egg strips and pork; cook tossing occasionally until cabbage is wilted and pork is cooked through, 2-3 min.

Serves 4.

Logan Rating: ***

Fish Sticks

There's a funny joke about fish sticks from a south park episode that was said over and over this night.  If you know it, laugh now.  I'm just going to leave it at that as to not offend any of my readers. 

ANYWAY, these were AWESOME!  This meal brought me back to grade school, except these were MUCH better than the frozen crap they used to serve in the lunch line.  I absolutely love panko bread crumbs, they are good on just about anything.  These are baked instead of fried so they really aren't too bad for you, but they still taste delicious and are delightfully crunchy!  The tarter sauce was just OK...I could have done without all the parsley, next time I think I'd only add maybe a tablespoon or two.  But other than that this recipe was pretty flawless, because really...how can you go wrong with fish sticks???  I served it with a twice baked, baked potato because I was feeling dangerous...and we had gone for a run that day so I figured why not!?  Probably backwards thinking, since it most likely negated all the hard work I had done, but OH WELL!  Anyway, I also just wanted to share a quick thought that I had while I was making these.  If you have kids, or you really like fish sticks, you could make a BUNCH of these and then freeze them.  You're very own frozen fish sticks!  Do it...I dare you!

ENJOY!!!

Panko-Crusted Fish Sticks with Herb Dipping Sauce

1 large egg, lightly beaten

S&P

2 cups panko

1 T old bay or other seafood seasoning

2 T olive oil

1 1/2 lb tilapia fillets, cut into strips

1/2 cup mayo (I use fat free, no one ever knows the difference!)

1/4 cup packed fresh parsley, chopped

1 T dijon

1 T fresh lemon juice

2 tsp horseradish sauce

Preheat oven to 475.  Place egg in shallow bowl; season with S&P.  In another bowl, stir together panko, old bay, and oil.  Dip tilapia into egg, letting excess drip, then coat completely with panko mixture, gently pressing if necessary.  Place on baking sheet, leaving room in between.

Bake until lightly browned 12-15 min.  (The recipe says not to turn the fish sticks, but I say thats bull..turn them or else you will have one side golden brown and the other side not as yummy)

Meanwhile make sauce; in a small bowl, stir together mayo, parsley, mustard, lemon juice, and horseradish; season with S&P.

Serve fish sticks with sauce and lemon wedges on the side if desired.

Serves 4.

Logan Rating: ****

Down home cookin

This meal totally reminds me of my childhood, my mom used to make chicken and dumplings all the time.  This was my first time ever making this fantastic dish and I'm sorry to say it is definitely better than the recipe I grew up on, but MOM don't worry yours is still good!  I added more of that free cabbage to this recipe in an effort not to waste free food, oh how happy that head of cabbage made me.  

So I have to tell you guys this one is a must make this winter.  It is total comfort food and I'm not embarrassed to say I ate this for 3 meals in a row...dinner, lunch and then dinner again...if there would have been more leftover I may have just eaten this for every meal last week, it was that good!  The dumplings were amazing and the flavor of the soup was perfect, way to go Martha, you done did good!

ENJOY!

Chicken and Dumplings

3 T butter

1 onion cut into 1 in pieces

5 carrots, sliced

1 T fresh thyme or 1/2 tsp dried

1 cup all purpose flour

1 can chicken broth

S&P

1 1/2 lbs boneless skinless chicken thighs, cut into 2 in pieces

2 T coarsely chopped dill or 3/4 tsp dried

1 3/4 tsp baking powder

1/2 cup milk

1 package frozen peas (unthawed)

In a pot melt butter, add onion carrots and thyme.  Cover and cook until onions softens, about 5 min.  Add 1/4 cup flour; cook stirring 30 sec.  Add chicken broth and bring to a boil; season with S&P.  Nestle chicken in pot; reduce heat to med-low, cover and cook for about 20 min.

Meanwhile make dumplings; whisk remaining 3/4 cup flour with dill, baking powder and 1/2 tsp salt.  With a fork, gradually stir in 1/2  cup milk to form a moist and soft batter.  (it should be just a little thicker than a pancake batter).

Stir in peas, return to a simmer and drop batter in heaping tablespoonfuls, leaving space between each dumpling.  Cover and simmer until chicken is tender and dumplings are firm, about 20 min more.

Serves 4 

Logan Rating: ***