Spicy Lentil Soup with Veggies

When Kevin and I lived in Tampa, we liked to eat at this pita place called Byblo's. Kevin always gets a gyro at places like this and I vary, usually try new things each visit. I didn't at Byblo's...once I tried the falafel and spicy lentil soup....I was HOOKED. We moved to the other side of Tampa and often talked about going back for lunch, but we never did. Sigh. That was 5 years ago and I STILL MISS THAT SOUP. It has been so long since I had it, I couldn't really even remember the exact taste or try to recall what ingredients could have been used, but I still crave it.

I was browsing my copy of How To Cook Everything a few days ago and came across a recipe for Spicy Lentil Soup. I decided to give it a try to see if it came close, it didn't, but was still good! I have since figured out the soup is actually split red lentil soup, I plan on trying out a few recipes now hoping to recreate it!

Below is the recipe of the spicy lentil I made the other night.

Enjoy!

Spicy Lentil Soup with Veggies

2 cups lentils, washed and picked over

Pinch of dried thyme

2 carrots, peeled and cubed (or couple hand full of baby carrots...it's all I had)

2 celery stalks, sliced thinly

12 cups chicken broth (I used the vegetarian chicken broth)

1 large onion, chopped

2 garlic cloves, minced

Salt and pepper to taste

1 can diced tomatoes in their liquid

2 tablespoons dried parsley

1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger

1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1 teaspoon ground cumin

Bring broth, lentils, carrots, celery and thyme to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and simmer until all is tender, about 30 minutes. Stirring occasionally. 

Meanwhile, heat a couple tablespoons of oil in a skillet and saute onions until tender. Add garlic, saute 1 minute more, and remove from heat. 

When lentils are tender, add tomatoes, parsley, ginger, cayenne, cumin, onions and garlic to lentils. Simmer a few minutes more before serving. Season with salt and pepper to taste. 

Dig in!

Cheesy Potato Casserole

How's your weekend going so far? 

Mine has consisted of taking Coop to play at McDonald's Play Place....his current favorite thing....., LAUNDRY, and watching Teen Mom 2 on Prime. Do you have a guilty pleasure reality show? I bounce from this and 19 Kids and Counting. I am so diverse. :P

FOOD! This was me playing around with that Cracker Barrel hashbrown casserole copycat recipe that uses cream o chicken soup. I used cream of potato....and diced potatoes....and a ton of sour cream....

It was creamy and good.....

Enjoy!

Cheesy Potato Casserole

1 pack (30 ounces) frozen diced hash brown potatoes, thawed

2 cans cream of potato soup

16 ounce container sour cream

1 tablespoon garlic powder

2 cups shredded cheddar

1 cup grated Parmesan

Preheat oven to 350. 

In a large bowl, combine potatoes, soup, sour cream, garlic powder, 1 1/2 cup of cheddar, and Parmesan. Transfer to a greased 13x9 casserole dish. 

Sprinkle with remaining cheddar. 

Bake for 45 to 55 minutes until browned and bubbly. 

Let sit for 5 minutes before serving.

Dig in!

Sweet and Sour Broccoli Ramen Salad

Our post is brought to you today by....

A party baby that's been up since 2 AM and it's now 10:30!

And MOUNTAIN DEW! The soda for sleep deprived mothers everywhere....

I really hate how much soda I am ingesting lately. I don't drink just Dew, don't worry. I also drink Cherry Coke Zero and regular Coke. I am giving myself until April and then cutting back....wayyyyy back. Hopefully baby sleeps better by then!

So now it's time for Sweet and Sour Broccoli Ramen Salad!!

It was simple, easy, pretty healthy and good. We had ours with black eyed peas and yellow rice. 

Enjoy!

Sweet and Sour Broccoli Ramen Salad

1 pack ramen noodles

1 tablespoon olive oil

1/2 cup chopped pecans

2 cups fresh broccoli florets, chopped slightly

1 head romaine or red lettuce, torn

3 to 4 green onions, chopped

1/4 cup canola oil

2 tablespoons sugar

1/8 cup white wine vinegar

1 tablespoon soy sauce

dash of salt and pepper

Heat oil in a skillet over medium, crush ramen noodles into pan and add pecans. Toast until noodles are browning. Remove from skillet and cool. 

Meanwhile, combine canola oil, sugar, vinegar, soy sauce, salt and pepper. 

Toss all ingredients in a large bowl. 

Serve immediately.

Dig in!

Apple Sausage Brunch Bake

I love breakfast food, but hate waking up early to make a big breakfast! Breakfast for dinner is a good option....yummy morning food in the evening....

This was an easy meal. I used vegetarian sausage, but included a version for pork as well as the vegetarian sausage below.

Apple Sausage Brunch Bake

8 vegetarians sausage patties OR 1 1/2 pounds pork sausage

1 can (21 ounces) apple pie filling with more fruit

2 to 3 apples, peeled a chopped (2 cups total)

2 cups shredded sharp cheddar 

1 1/2 cups baking mix (bisquick, jiffy)

1 1/2 cups milk

1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
6 eggs

Preheat oven to 375. Spray a 13x9 pan with cooking spray.

Vegetarian version:
Defrost sausage patties enough to cut into chunks. Combine with pie filling and apples in a bowl. Spread evenly in pan.

Pork sausage version:
Brown sausage in skillet until no longer pink. Stir in apples and pie filling. Spread in bottom of baking pan.

Sprinkle apple mixture with half of the cheese.

Combine baking mix, milk, salt, pepper and eggs in a bowl. Pour over apple mixture.

Bake for 35 to 37 minutes until brown and knife inserted comes out clean. Sprinkle with remaining cheese and return to oven to 5 minutes to melt cheese.

Let stand a few before serving.


Dig in!

Enchilada Eggplant Casserole

Yawn....

You forget how tired you are with a new baby. My baby doesn't like to sleep in his bassinet, he prefers his bouncy chair, in the livingroom. He doesn't like sleeping in our bedroom for more than 15 minute spurts. SO I stay with him in the livingroom, attempting to doze on the couch until Kevin takes over at 4 AM. I only get to spend about 2 hours a day in our bed...I miss our bed.

Last night was one of those nights where I didn't settle into sleep well. Cooper woke up with a bad dream and after that every noise in the house woke me up. Ug...hopefully we get a nap this afternoon!

Onto the food....I wish I had some of this for breakfast....

This is one of those crazy combinations of ingredients that sounds intriguing but you have no idea how it will work out.....but it works out well, very very well. So you eat way too much and feel bad about that decision for the rest of the night. Anyway, too much information? :)

It's a combination of Mexican flavors with Italian flares...

My mother in law actually saw this recipe in a magazine and made it. She altered it by leaving out sausage and adding more eggplant. It was SO GOOD.

Enchilada Eggplant Casserole

2 packs (32 ounces total) frozen fully cooked breaded eggplant slices

1 can (14.5 ounces) diced tomatoes and jalapenos

1 can enchilada sauce

1 pack shredded Mexican cheese (8 ounces)

2 cups ricotta cheese

Baked eggplant according to package directions. 

Preheat oven to 375. 

Coat lasagna style pan (13x9) with cooking spray. 

In a pot, combine tomatoes in their juices and enchilada sauce, over medium heat, and bring to a boil. Reduce and cook stirring occasionally, until slightly thickened. 

Combine 1 1/2 cups shredded cheese with the ricotta. 

Pour 1/2 cup sauce mixture over bottom of baking dish. Top with 1/3 of eggplant slices, spread 1/2 of cheese mixture and pour 1/3 of sauce mixture over top. Add 1/3 of eggplant slices, rest of cheese mixture and 1/3 of sauce. Top with rest of eggplant, sauce and rest of shredded cheese. 

Bake for 25 to 30 minutes until bubbly and cheese is melted. Let stand 5 minutes before serving. 

Dig in!

Smokey BBQ Quesadillas

Ahh...my post baby food related post...

Quesadillas are a fun, easy, casual dinner. I do several regular variations besides the plain cheese variety. A chili bean one, a bbq pineapple and now these will be added....

I usually serve them with Mexican rice and restaurant style refried beans. I will share the recipes for both of those eventually, but it's really hard to get a pretty picture of refried beans....

We serve them in a big pile on the table and we just pull a slice off of the plate as we chow down. 

There is no exact measurements for the recipe, so you can make as many or as little as you want. I used 2 medium onions, about a cup of frozen corn and about 1/4 cup of bbq sauce. This made enough for 8 10 inch tortillas worth of quesadillas. 

Smokey BBQ Quesadillas

Olive oil for sauteing onions

Sliced sweet onions

Frozen corn kernels

Your favorite bbq sauce

Shredded Gouda cheese

Flour tortillas

Heat about a tablespoon of olive oil in a skillet and saute onions until soft and browning. Add in corn and saute until corn is thawed and hot. Stir in enough bbq sauce just to lightly coat the onions and corn. 

Heat a large, flat skillet over medium-high and spray with cooking spray. 

Place a layer of Gouda, a layer of onion mixture and another layer of Gouda on half of each tortilla. Fold in half and place in heated skillet. Flip when brown and brown other side!

Slice in half or in thirds. Serve with sour cream!

Dig in!!

1 month ago...

It's been a month since my last post...when I was here last, I looked like this...

Me at 40 weeks 6 days pregnant....very miserable and sick!

The next day we had our little Luke.....

Weighing in at 7 pounds 11 ounces and 20 1/2 inches long!

I had an easy surgery and recovered well. Our sweet new addition will be a month old tomorrow. Here are a few pictures from the past 4 weeks!

Little Luke...or Baby Luke as Cooper insists on everyone calling him...is doing well. WELL, other than not being a big fan of sleeping for more than an hour and not in his bassinet at ALL. I get about 2 hours of sleep a night. Ug. Big brother is doing well, only a few moments of jealousy!

I am feeling well, minus the exhaustion. I had a bad pregnancy and really didn't realize how not myself I was until after I had the baby. If I could get some sleep, I'd be a new woman! 

I haven't had a lot of time to try out recipes for blogging. We are lucky to have my mother in law here to cook for us or most nights we'd be eating pizza and taco bell....

I do have a few posts coming your way in the next week, just have to find the time and energy to post them....

:)