And cooking. And teaching classes. And everything else.

I did find time this week to make this delicious lentil dish. In fact, I just finished off the last of the leftovers today for lunch on a salad. It was 1,000 times better than it looks.

I saved the recipe from Natalie’s blog a few weeks ago and only changed a few things based on what I had on hand.

Garam Masala Lentils and Potatoes

orginally from Family Circle October 2011 then The Sweets Life.

Ingredients:
-l lb brown lentils, rinsed and picked over
-1 1/2 lbs sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 3/4-inch pieces
-2 onions, peeled and chopped
-1 (14.5 oz) can no-salt-added diced tomatoes
- 2 tsp garam masala seasoning
- 1 tsp ground cumin
-1/2 tsp black pepper
-1/2 cup cilantro leaves, chopped

Directions:
1. In a large saucepan, combined 4 cups water, lentils, potatoes, onions, diced tomatoes, salt, garam masala, cumin, and pepper. 2. Cover and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer, covered, for 35 minutes. Stir occasionally.
3. Stir in cilantro just before serving.

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I need one more week before Christmas.

But that’s not the case, so I am just embracing the busyness!

This week I tried to think of a few dinners that wouldn’t taste like holiday food and came up with this.

Roasted Stuffed Peppers – His and Hers

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Lentil Veggie Soup

• 4 stalks of celery, chipped into small pieces
• 3 onions, diced
• 1 cup of baby carrots, diced
• 1/2 lb. or 1.5 cups of brown lentils, rinsed
• 1 butternut squash, peeled then diced
• a few handfuls of fresh kale
• 1 can of low (or no) sodium diced tomatoes, with juice
• 2 lg. boxes of vegetable broth – no/low sodium
• 2 tsp. Mrs. Dash garlic and herb (no salt seasoning)
• 2 cloves of minced garlic
• 2 cubes of frozen minced garlic
• 3 cubes of frozen fresh basil
• pepper, salt and nutritional yeast to taste
• *also, I added garam masala into my leftover soup today and it was great.

1. Dice carrots, onions, celery and put into a large pot with 1 c. water and the garlic cubes and fresh garlic. Simmer mixture for 5-10 minutes until veggies begin to soften and water is almost evaporated.
2. Add in all veggie broth and lentils, tomatoes (with juice) seasonings, basil and some fresh pepper.
3. Simmer for 20-30 minutes at a low boil until lentils soften.
4. In the meantime, peel and dice the squash. Place squash on a glass dish and microwave for 4-5 minutes to soften squash.
5. Add soften cubes of squash and fresh kale to soup and continue simmering.
6. Once all veggies have reached your desired consistency, remove from heat and serve with warm crusty bread.

So good. Filling and light at the same time.

While I was busy making soup, Anna was busy doing some important work. Notice the finger. I think the iphone, ipad, ipod finger has become a natural instinct. Scary.

A masterpiece in the making.

And always so proud.

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So when I recently opened this packet of Nueva Cocina Latin Lentil soup to try, I was excited!

It’s all natural and packed with real foods. It’s amazing to me how nasty canned soups taste after making so much soup from scratch. I used to love canned soup and now so many of them taste sweet and fake. I was happy to see the real foods, low calories and fat and high protein in this packet.

To bulk up the soup, I added 2 ribs of celery (chopped), a cup of leftover cooked lentils and a giant hand of mushrooms, chopped. These veggies went in the pot with the packet of soup and 3.5 cups of water.

When it was done simmering, I had an amazing soup! Great flavors, fiber and protein. I will be purchasing this again. It’s great for an easy weeknight dinner or a soup buffet night!

Try it.

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Here are a few fun pictures from Thanksgiving at my grandmas’s house!

Anna wanting to help Papa with the turkey.

Corey taking Anna for a ride in the purse.

Her response, “more, peeese. more, peese”

More to come.

————————————-

Last night for dinner I wanted something fresh, light and crunchy. Since Thai is one of our favorite meals – I thought it would be a perfect back-to-the-grind-after-a-long-holiday-weekend meal.

Brady and I agreed that it was.

The meal had a few parts.

My rice cooker helped make the perfect brown rice. The lentils were cooked as the package says and left plain so I could cover them in sauce. The veggies were a mix of fresh red, yellow and orange peppers, asparagus, carrots, broccoli slaw, and water chestnuts. The veggies were lightly steamed. Then everything was covered in sauce.

For the sauce – I had a lot of ideas and so I combined them to make something new.

I started with a basic Thai peanut sauce:

• 3 cloves of fresh garlic, pressed
• 1 T. fresh ginger, pressed or minced
• 3 T. water
• 4 T. light sodium soy sauce
• 3 T. light coconut milk
• 4 T. peanut butter, all natural, no sodium, creamy
• 1/2 lime, juiced

I mixed all of this together but it was a little too liquidy and wasn’t the taste I was going for. It needed more.

So…

I took half of the Coconut Peanut sauce and mixed it with 3 tsp. of Red Curry paste.

Then I added a dash of chili powder and some ground red pepper.

The result was the perfect Thai Spicy Peanut Red Coconut Curry Sauce!

Got that?

Then, since I was making this dinner for more than just Brady and I. I made more sauce with remaining Coconut Peanut sauce and Red Curry paste.

I also simmered some chicken in the sauce for Brady.

My only complaint is that we don’t have leftovers!

Have a great day! I am off to teach class!

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Not sure that smile can get any deeper.

Our day was busy with a playgroup this morning then a fun birthday lunch for Sadie’s 2nd birthday at Cindy’s house! After lunch it was nap time for Anna and work time for me. When she woke up, we got back to errands.

It was freezing and we had to drop off some mail at a neighbors house, so I bundled Anna up in her new winter coat to ride in her little red car.

It’s a little big, and a little puffy, but it’s warm and cozy.

When we got home, we made chili for our dinner company.   Brady’s aunt Karyn, cousins: Drew + Rebecca and Patrick + Jackie + their tiny new baby and his grandma came over for dinner!

They brought a huge salad and chocolate chip cookies for dessert. I made baked potatoes, corn bread and two kinds of chili. I did a basic classic lean beef chili and this lentil + butternut squash chili.

It was super simple.

I love when recipes are easy and semi-homeade but healthy and hearty at the same time. This one is just that,.

Lentil and Butternut Squash Chili

• Bear Creek “Darn Good” chili mix
• 8 c. water
• 1 small can of tomato paste
• 1 T. chili powder
• 1 can of red kidney beans
• 1 can of chili beans with sauce (vegetarian)
• 1 1/2 c. cooked lentils
• 2 c. roasted butternut squash

Start with a pack of Bear Creek Chili Mix and follow directions.

1. Bring 8 cups of water to a boil.

2. Add packet of Bear Creek Chili, 1 can of tomato paste and whisk together.

3. Add chili beans and kidney beans and stir together.

4. Let soup cook together for 10-15 minutes.

5. Add 1 T. chili powder.

6. Mix in 1 1/2 cups of cooked lentils and roasted butternut squash.

7. Simmer together for 20-30 minutes.

8. Enjoy!

Bu-Bye, See ya Soo!

PS. Where are her legs?

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So all of a sudden, I feel like I need to start thinking about the weekend. I will save that fun list of activities, to-do lists and ideas until tomorrow and leave you with this.

Lentils with Kale + Sweet Potatoes

• 2/3 c. diced onions
• 1 clove of minced garlic
• 1 tsp. EVOO
• 5 sweet potatoes, diced
• 1 bunch of kale, ripped into small pieces without the stem
• 1 bag of brown lentils, rinsed
• 2 tsp. Mrs. Dash seasoning

1. Dice the sweet potatoes and spread them onto an EVOO sprayed cookie sheet. Sprinkle with Mrs. Dash.
2. Roast them at 425 for 25-30 minutes until slightly brown and soft.
3. While they are roasting, place diced onions + EVOO and garlic in a pan and simmer for 5-7 minutes until soft and almost translucent.
4. In another pan, cook lentils as directed.
5. Add the torn pieces of kale to the onions and cook together until kale wilts.
6. When the sweet potatoes are done, add them to the onions and kale and mix in lentils.
7. Cook together for a few minutes then sprinkle with sea salt and pepper.

Yum.

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I dug into the dwindling 50lb. box of local butternut squash and pulled out 1 of the 12 left. Then I grabbed a bag of lentils, some frozen greens from Whole Foods and the curry powder. Other inspiration for the recipe came from Natalie’s and Angela’s  recent curries.

Lentil + Roasted Butternut Squash Curry

• 1 cup of diced onions
• 3 cloves of garlic, minced or pressed
• 1/2 cup of water
• 1 1/2 cups of lentils (I used 1cup red and 1/2 cup brown)
• 1 butternut squash, cubed and roasted
• 1 cup of frozen greens (spinach, kale or collard greens)
• 2 Tbsp. curry powder
• 1 tsp. cumin
• 3 cups of vegetable or chicken broth
• salt and pepper to taste
• dash or red pepper

1. In a large pot, put diced onion, 1/2 c. water and minced or crushed garlic. Sautee until the onions are soft.

2. Stir in curry powder, cumin and a dash or red pepper.

3. Then add broth, lentils and greens and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and cook for 15-20 minutes or until lentils are soft.

4. Stir in cooked butternut squash and mix together.

5. Add a dash or red pepper and serve warm.

In other news: Look who started eating lettuce. She wanted some tonight and she liked it.

She really is my child.

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Can you see how this statement would apply to this fantastic Indian dish I created this week. Brady and I were in the mood for Indian and since my parents were not sold on the cuisine, I had to make it good. This came together with not too many ingredients and mostly things you keep on hand. Anna loved it too! Don’t be surprised if you see it again next week.

Indian Curry Lentils

• 1/3 can of lite coconut milk  
• 1 T. cumin (or more to taste)
• 1 T. curry
• 1 T. natural peanut butter
• 1 T. tahini (sesame seed paste)
• salt and pepper
• 1 can diced tomatoes
• 1 lb. of cooked lentils
• dash of ground red pepper

1. Make lentils as directed – cooked al dente (this term can be used for lentils too, right!?)
2. In a saucepan (different then the lentils), mix coconut milk, tomatoes, curry, peanut butter, tahini, and salt and pepper.
3. Heat the sauce until it’s simmering for about 10-15 minutes.
4. Add lentils and cook another 5-10 minutes.
5. Stir in a small amount of ground red pepper (optional)
6. Serve over brown rice and with warm naan.
7. Wine won’t hurt this meal either!

So excited for Hallie’s special girls night tomorrow! Off to get things ready!

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I made this recipe up the other day when I was trying to use up my lentils and my box of Israeli couscous and some fresh produce from my new local veggie delivery (more on that soon!!).

Here is a little info on Israeli couscous, also known as ptitim:

• it is a wheat-based baked pasta that is shaped like a little pearl
• it is known as “Ben Gurion’s rice” in Israel
• it’s filling and can be used in tons of dishes, both hot and cold
• it has a lot of surface area so it holds sauce well
• it is cooked with a 1:2 ratio (1 part couscous, 2 parts water) but I browned mine before I cooked it.
• it doesn’t clump together like North African couscous

Warm Israeli Couscous and Lentil Salad

• 1 cup of lentils (cooked as directed)
• 1 cup of Israeli couscous – browned with 1 tbsp. EVOO for about 5 minutes, then cooked as directed (2 c. water)
• 1/2 red onion, chopped
• 2 cups of fresh spinach
• 1 cups of mushrooms, chopped
• 1 clove fresh pressed garlic
• salt and pepper to taste
• 2 Tbsp. EVOO
• 1 Tbsp. balsamic vinegar

1. Cook your lentils and couscous as directed.
2. While those are cooking, chop your veggies and place them in a new pot or pan.
3. Cook veggies on med. heat with 1 T. EVOO until they are softened.
4. Mix fresh garlic, balsamic, salt and pepper and 1 T. EVOO into the veggies and simmer for a minute.
5. Add couscous and lentils to the pot with the veggies.
6. Stir together and serve warm.
7. Or enjoy cold!

* This salad does not have an overpowering flavor. Feel free to add soy/sesame flavors to go with an Asian meal or feta and lemon juice to go with a Greek meal! More veggies and a glass of wine would also go well!!

We are headed to Cleveland for Brady’s grandpa’s memorial tonight.  We will be back tomorrow.

Hope your weekend is off to a great start!

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