Amazing Heart Healthy Lentil Soup!

Not mine...but amazingly delicious!

Chef Julie Korhumel’s Lentil Soup

A beautiful soup, full of fiber-rich lentils, and finished with fresh herbs.

INGREDIENTS:

1 1/2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

1 1/2 large onions, diced (about 2 cups)

5 carrots, peeled and diced (about 2 cups)

4 garlic cloves, peeled and chopped

2 cups brown lentils, rinsed and picked over

One 15-ounce can diced tomatoes

1/4 cup tomato paste

1 tablespoon curry powder

1 tablespoon sweet paprika

6 cups water

1 cup fresh parsley, chopped

1 cup fresh cilantro, chopped

1 extra-large vegetarian bouillon cube, such as Knorr’s®

1/2 teaspoon Tabasco® sauce

DIRECTIONS:

In a large soup pot heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add onions, carrots, and garlic and cook until softened and golden, 10 minutes. Stir in the lentils, tomatoes, tomato paste, curry powder, paprika, and water. Cook for 30 minutes, until lentils are soft, stirring frequently. Add the parsley, cilantro, bouillon cube, and Tabasco, stirring to dissolve the bouillon cube. Serve hot.

Serves 9

Crockpot Buffalo Chicken Lasagna

This was so easy to make and it was yummy! I got the recipe from the blog, A Year of Slow Cooking.

Ingrediants
--uncooked traditional lasagna noodles
-- 3 cooked chicken breasts (I simmered and shredded my chicken)
--jar of prepared pasta sauce
--1/2 cup (amount depends how hot you want it) buffalo wing sauce
--3 red, yellow, or orange bell peppers (optional)
--tub of ricotta cheese (15 oz)
--2 cups shredded cheese (mozzarella and cheddar blend)
--1/2 cup bleu cheese crumbles (optional)
--1/4 cup of water (add at very end)

The Directions.

1) Use at least a 5qt crockpot, or cut back on the amount of ingredients.

2) In a large glass bowl, combine cooked and chopped/shredded chicken breast, the pasta sauce, and 1/2 cup of buffalo wing sauce.

3) Ladle a big spoonful of the sauce into the bottom of your crockpot. Cover with a layer of uncooked lasagna noodles. You'll have to break them to get a proper fit.

4) Add a smear of ricotta cheese to the top of the noodles. Add a layer of chopped bell pepper. Sprinkle on a handful of shredded cheese.

5) Repeat layers until you run out of ingredients.

Add the bleu cheese crumbles, if desired. Put the 1/4 cup of water into your empty pasta sauce jar and shake. Pour the liquid over the top of the entire lasagna.

Cover and cook on low for 6-7 hours, or on high for 4-5. When cooking time is complete, unplug and take off the lid of the crock. Let it sit for 20 minutes before cutting into.

*I cooked mine on high for 4 hours and I thought my noodles were over done.

Spinach-Cheese Squares

These squares are great warm from the oven, but any leftovers aren't bad cold for lunch the next day. I sometimes add chopped onion or a can of sliced mushrooms.

1/4 c. butter, melted
1 c. flour
1 c. milk
3 eggs
1 lb. shredded cheddar cheese
2 10-oz. pkg. frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking soda

Preheat oven to 350.
Mix all ingredients together and spread in a greased 13"x9" pan.
Bake 30 min., or until center is set. Let cool a few minutes before cutting into squares.

Hot Dog Bites

1/3 c. granulated sugar
1/2 c. brown sugar
2 Tbl. prepared mustard
2 Tbl. cornstarch
1/2 c. white vinegar
1 8-oz. can cranberry sauce
1/4 c. light corn syrup
1 lb. mini hot dogs

Combine all ingredients except hot dogs in small slow cooker. Heat on high 2 hours, stirring occasionally. Add hot dogs and heat an additional hour.

Junior High Muffins

These are classic muffins...not too sweet. I buy blueberries in season and freeze them in zip-top bags, so I can bake fresh blueberry muffins all year 'round. Other fruits work well, too.
The recipe came to me from Shrewsbury Jr. High home ec. teachers Eleanor Gaucher and Evelyn Whitcomb.

1 egg
1/2 c. milk
1/4 c. vegetable oil
1 1/2 c. flour
1/2 c. sugar
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt

Preheat oven to 400. Grease muffin tin or use paper liners.
Beat egg slightly; Stir in milk and oil. Sift dry ingredients together (or combine in another bowl, if you don't want to sift them.) Stir dry ingredients into egg/milk mixture just until the flour is incorporated...The batter should still be lumpy. Gently fold in fruit, if desired.
Spoon batter into prepared muffin tin. Bake until light golden brown.
Yield: About 10 muffins

Chicken Parm (The easy way)

I don't really like to measure things or keep track of everything I do while cooking so here's my version of a recipe...

Beat one egg in a bowl or shallow dish. Take anywhere from 3 to 6 chicken breasts, dip each breast into the beaten egg and then roll it in bread crumbs. Now, you could use Italian bread crumbs or you could use plain bread crumbs and put Italian seasoning in it like I usually do. OR you could get really crazy and buy Italian croutons and crush them as best you can, which I recently had to do while in Florida because the grocery store didn't have bread crumbs. (It still turned out great!) Then you place the chicken breasts in the baking pan you own which will fit the number of chicken breasts you chose to use and cover with an indiscriminate amount of sauce. I buy a jar with 24 oz. and use about 3/4 of it but if you really like sauce use the whole thing or use less if you aren't a red sauce fan. Really this is all about you at this moment. Bake for 35 - 40 minutes in pre-heated oven at 350 degrees. (You are probably wishing right now that I had already told you to pre-heat the oven, but that's not how I roll: so deal with it.) Then put some mozzarella cheese on the top and put back in the oven for 15 - 20 more minutes. Usually, I use one of the Italian shredded cheese bags because I like the mixture of cheeses, but you should feel free to use whatever you have on hand. This is now done and hopefully, you have also put some pasta in boiling water well before it was finished, otherwise you are going to be waiting for another 20 minutes in order to start eating.

*I really like garlic too so sometimes I put some garlic powder in the bread crumb mixture or I add in some garlic salt at the end. Just adds a little pep to the dish.

Hope you enjoy a stress free meal and eat heartily!

Quick Chicken and Broccoli Peanut Pasta

Quick Chicken and Broccoli Peanut Pasta
(Got this recipe from a cooking blog)

This dish is not overwhelmingly too "peanutty". It's just right.

1 tsp olive oil
2 small or 1 large chicken breast, 8-10oz total
1/4 cup chopped green onion
1 clove garlic, minced
1tsp ground ginger
8oz whole grain pasta, such as Ronzoni Healthy Harvest
10oz package frozen chopped broccoli
pinch of crushed red pepper
1 cup chicken broth
2 tbsp natural creamy peanut butter
1 tbsp light soy sauce
1 tbsp agave nectar or honey (I use honey)
fresh chopped cilantro, for garnish

Bring a pot of water to a boil and cook the pasta according to package directions. When there are about 5 minutes remaining, add the frozen broccoli. Drain and set aside.

Meanwhile, blend together chicken broth, peanut butter, soy sauce, and honey until smooth.

Heat the olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Cut the chicken breast into bite-size chunks and season with salt & pepper. Add the chicken to the pan and brown on all sides; remove from pan. Add scallions and garlic, cook one minute more. Add ginger and red pepper; cook for about 30 seconds more. Add the sauce and the chicken to the skillet with the onions, garlic, ginger and pepper. Simmer over medium-high heat for 3-5 minutes, until thickened. Toss with drained pasta and broccoli and heat through. Serve with fresh chopped cilantro.