Mexican Lentil Stew

Mexican Lentil Stew
Recipe from here

• 2 cups dry red lentils
• 2 Tbsp olive oil
• 1 medium onion
• 3 stalks celery
• 4 cloves garlic
• Two 14.5 oz. cans fire roasted diced tomatoes
• 4 cups vegetable broth
• 1/4 tsp each turmeric and cumin
• 1 tsp each chili powder
• 10-15 dashes hot sauce
• 1 medium lime
• 1 handful cilantro

STEP 1: In a medium pot, bring the 2 cups of lentils and 4 cups of water to a boil. Once it reaches a boil, turn off the heat and let sit with a lid on for about 20 minutes.

STEP 2: While the lentils are cooking, begin the stew. Finely dice the onions and cook over medium heat in 2 Tbsp of olive oil. While the onions begin to cook, finely dice the garlic and add to the pot. While the onions and garlic cook, finely chop the celery and then add to the pot.

STEP 3: Cook the onions, garlic and celery until they are soft but not brown. Add the cans of diced tomatoes, vegetable broth, turmeric, cumin, chili powder and the hot sauce. Continue to cook over medium heat until hot.

STEP 4: At this point, the lentils should have absorbed the water and become soft. Add the lentils and any remaining water to the soup mixture. Stir well and slightly mash using the back of your spoon. (I used my immersible blender - which worked great!)

STEP 5: Once the entire mixture is hot, add a handful of chopped cilantro and taste test to see if you want any more heat (hot sauce) or salt and pepper.

STEP 6: You can either add the juice of lime to the pot or serve the bowls of stew with a wedge of lime. I like the wedge of lime because it makes for a pretty presentation and that way people can choose whether or not they want it.

Our verdict:
We really liked this soup - it was different. I probably would call it Mediterranean Lentil Soup instead of Mexican...the turmeric adds a different flavor. I only made a half batch, and it was still a lot of soup. I couldn't find red lentils, so I used plain ol' lentils. You could easily add some chicken to this if you wanted to, but it's nice to find some good vegetarian meals as well - healthy and keeps our food costs down a bit! The website this recipe came from is really great, breaks everything down by cost....this soup only costs $0.77/serving! :)

Baked Potato Soup with Cream Cheese

Baked Potato Soup with Cream Cheese
Recipe from here

• 8 oz. cream cheese, softened and cubed
• 4 small-medium russet potatoes, peeled and chopped
• 6 slices of thick cut bacon, chopped into 1/2″ pieces
• 1 red onion, chopped
• 6 cloves of garlic, chopped
• good quality chicken stock
• pinch of cayenne pepper, to taste
• sea salt and freshly ground pepper
• a good knob of butter
• big handful of garlic chives, chopped, reserving some for garnish

Directions:

In a heavy bottom pot or Dutch oven, cool the bacon over medium high heat until the bacon is cooked to your preference. Remove the bacon from the pot, place on a plate covered with a paper towel, and set aside for later.

Remove all but 2 Tbsp of the bacon fat from the pot and add the onions, cooking until soft, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for another minute while stirring until fragrant. Add the potatoes to the pot and stir around to get a bit of bacon fat on the potatoes. Add enough chicken stock to the pot to cover the potatoes, and turn up the heat to bring to a boil. Once it boils, lower the heat to keep it at a simmer. Cook until the potatoes are tender, about 15-20 minutes.

With a stick blender or in a blender, puree about 2/3 of the soup, leaving some chunks of potato in the soup. While blending, add the cream cheese into the soup. Add the bacon back to the soup, along with the garlic chives, and season with salt, pepper, and cayenne to taste.

Our Verdict:
YUM!!! Brandon and I both really love soup, and I love how a pot of soup will be several meals for us! :) We had family visiting last weekend when I made this - and it was a perfect sized batch for the 4 of us. It had good flavor, was hearty and delicious! Would also be great with ham in it - especially for to use up some leftover ham!

Chicken Tortilla Soup

Chicken Tortilla Soup
Recipe from: Family Feasts for $75 a Week by Mary Ostyn

6 cups chicken broth
One 14.5 ounce can diced or crushed tomatoes, undrained
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
Six 6-inch corn tortillas, cut into strips - 1/2 inch wide and 2 to 3 inches long
2 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves or 3 thighs, cut into bite-size pieces
1 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
2 jalapenos, seeded & minced
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon kosher or sea salt
1/2 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese (I used pepper jack)
Chopped fresh cilantro
1 lime, cut into 6 wedges

1. Combine broth and tomatoes in a soup pot, and bring to a boil, reduce heat to medium-low, and let simmer 10 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, heat oil in a medium skillet over medium-high heat until hot. Add tortilla strips in a couple of batches and cook, stirring once or twice, until light brown and crisp, 5 to 7 minutes. Remove fried strips to paper towels to drain.
3. In same skillet, cook chicken 3 to 5 minutes without stirring, until nicely browned on first side. Add onion, garlic, jalapenos, cumin, and salt; cook 5 minutes or so, stirring occasionally, until chicken is cooked through and vegetables are softened.
4. Add contents of skillet to simmering broth; cook 10 minutes.
5. Ladle soup into bowls. Garnish each with tortilla strips, cheese, and cilantro; serve each bowl with a wedge of lime.

The verdict: We LOVED this!! It was a really quick soup to put together - and has a LOT of flavor! If you don't want to make the tortilla strips, it'd be a great way to use up the last few tortilla chips in the bottom of the bag!! Will be making this again for sure!!! Yum!!

Black Bean Soup

This was an easy and quick soup recipe - it made a VERY small batch, so I will be at least doubling it the next time. It's a good basic black bean soup, and you could do a lot with it to spice it up! I was thinking of adding lentils and maybe some bacon next time. I wanted to make cornbread with it - but realized at the last minute I was out of cornmeal, so we just ate it with salad. Next time there will be cornbread! :) Sorry there's not a picture of this one!

Black Bean Soup
Recipe from Taste of Home

• 1 large onion, chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 can (14-1/2 ounces) chicken broth, divided
• 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
• Dash cayenne pepper
• 1 can (15 ounces) black beans, rinsed and drained, divided

Directions

• In a large saucepan, cook onion and garlic in 2 tablespoons of broth over medium heat until onion is tender. Stir in the oregano, thyme, cumin and cayenne; cook for 1 minute. In a blender or food processor, cover and process half of the beans for 30 seconds; add to saucepan with the remaining beans and broth. Cook, uncovered, over low heat for 15 minutes or until heated through. Yield: 2 servings.

Creamy Tomato Soup with Grilled Cheddar Basil Sandwiches

We LOVE tomato soup - especially with grilled cheese sandwiches! I have been trying to recreate the Tuscan Tomato Basil Bisque from Safeway, and this was the closest I've gotten so far! I will add some red pepper flakes next time, and see if that does the trick! :) The grilled cheese sandwiches with fresh basil on them were awesome!! :) Enjoy!

Creamy Tomato Soup with Grilled Cheddar Basil Sandwiches
Recipe from Muir Glen

Soup

• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 1 tablespoon finely chopped garlic
• 2 cans (14.5 oz each) muir glen® organic or meridian ruby™ diced tomatoes, undrained
• 1/2 cup whipping cream
• 1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil leaves
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

Sandwiches

• 1/4 cup butter, softened, or olive oil
• 12 slices white bread
• 12 slices aged cheddar cheese (6 oz)
• 12 large fresh basil leaves

1. In 4-quart saucepan, heat olive oil, onion and garlic over medium heat 5 to 10 minutes, stirring frequently, until onion is soft and translucent.
2. Reduce heat to low. Add tomatoes; heat 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat; add remaining soup ingredients. In blender, place soup mixture. Cover; puree until smooth. (I used my immersible blender, it's easier! Once I put hot soup in the blender, and even though I was holding the lid on - the steam built up pressure inside the blender and exploded the lid off - and I had a HUGE mess of salsa chicken black bean soup all over the kitchen!)
3. Spread butter on 1 side of each bread slice. Arrange 6 slices bread, buttered side down, on work surface, and place 2 slices cheese and 2 basil leaves on each bread slice. Top with remaining 6 bread slices, buttered sides up. In 10-inch nonstick skillet, cook 2 sandwiches at a time over medium heat until golden brown and cheese just melts; repeat for remaining sandwiches. Serve with soup.

Beef Barley Lentil Soup

Originally posted March 29, 2011 (a few notes added at the end - since I've made this a number of times now)

Both Brandon and I really enjoy soup! In fact my dream some day is to own/run a Soup Shack - you know when I have my pumpkin patch/Christmas tree farm with goats and donkeys. Someday....

Anyway, I tried this soup and it was REALLY good!! A couple of differences from the original recipe - I cooked it on the stove top instead of using the crockpot. I'm a HUGE fan of my crockpot, but I was home during spring break, so I decided to just cook this on the stove instead! Also, I accidentally left out the tomatoes. I don't think I'll put them in the next time either! It was super yummy the way it was - so why change it?!? :) Neither of us are HUGE tomato fans, we like them in things, but they're not our favorite - so we were perfectly happy without them! I think I might add a little more of the lemon pepper next time too.


** I've made this several times since originally posted it, and we really love it. I've not ever put the tomatoes in, and we love it without them. I have made it in the crockpot as well as on the stove top, and either way works great! This makes a LOT of soup - and company has enjoyed it! Definitely one of our favorite soups!!


Beef Barley Lentil Soup
Recipe from Taste of Home

• 1 pound lean ground beef (90% lean)
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 2 cups cubed red potatoes (1/4-inch pieces)
• 1 cup chopped celery
• 1 cup chopped carrot
• 1 cup dried lentils, rinsed
• 1/2 cup medium pearl barley
• 8 cups water
• 2 teaspoons beef bouillon granules (I used 4 cups of beef broth and the rest water1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon lemon-pepper seasoning (I would use a little more next time!)
• 2 cans (14-1/2 ounces each) stewed tomatoes (I didn't use)

Directions

• In a nonstick skillet, cook beef and onion over medium heat until meat is no longer pink; drain.
• Transfer to a 5-qt. slow cooker. Layer with the potatoes, celery, carrots, lentils and barley. Combine the water, bouillon, salt and lemon-pepper; pour over vegetables. Cover and cook on low for 6 hours or until vegetables and barley are tender.
• Add the tomatoes; cook 2 hours longer. Yield: 10 servings.

St. Patty's Day Recipes (yes, in November!) Browned Beef Stew & Chocolate Guinness Cake

Originally posted March 19, 2011 :)

I made a couple of delicious things on St. Patrick's Day, and wanted to be sure to share the recipes. I don't have my own pictures, but I'll try to find some on the internet that look similar to what I made! :) So dinner was Browned Beef Stew with Dumplings and dessert (which I took to life group) was Chocolate Guinness Cake! SO YUMMY!!! My tummy and taste buds were VERY happy!! I'd also made Rainbow Cupcakes for my class! I'll share the recipe for those as well!!

I grew up with my mom making Browned Beef Stew with Dumplings, and it's still one of my favorite meals!! The stew is thick and doesn't have a bunch of random vegetables in it, which appeals to me. (I'm not a huge fan of green beans or peas in soup!!) And the dumplings, YUM!!

Browned Beef Stew

2 1/2 pounds beef stew meat
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1/3 cup oil
1 large onion, chopped
1 garlic clove, minced
4 beef-bouillon cubes*
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1/4 teaspoon pepper
5 medium potatoes, cubed
1 16-0z. bag of carrots, sliced
4 cups water*

*Note - I used a 16 oz. container of beef broth instead of beef bouillon and water.

Coat stew meat in flour, reserve leftover flour. Brown meat in 6 qt. Dutch oven in oil. Add onion and garlic, cook until onion is almost tender. Stir in reserved flour until blended. Gradually stir in water, bouillon, salt, Worcestershire and pepper. Cook, stirring constantly until slightly thickened. Add potatoes and carrots and cook until done. *see below for adding dumplings to stew*

Dumplings for Stew

1 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons double-acting baking powder
1 teaspoon chopped parsley or 1/8 teaspoon thyme leaves or savory (optional - I don't use this)
1/2 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup milk
2 tablespoons oil

About 30 minutes before serving:
In large bowl, with fork, stir flour and next 3 ingredients until mixed. In cup, combine milk with oil; slowly stir into flour mixture just until mixture forms soft dough. Drop dough by heaping tablespoons into stew.
Cook dumplings 10 minutes uncovered; then cover and cook 10 minutes more.




Chocolate Guinness Cake (recipe and picture from Taste of Home)

Ingredients

• 1 cup Guinness (dark beer)
• 1/2 cup butter, cubed
• 2 cups sugar
• 3/4 cup baking cocoa
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 2/3 cup sour cream
• 3 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1-1/2 teaspoons baking soda
• 
  TOPPING:
• 1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese, softened
• 1-1/2 cups confectioners' sugar
• 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream

Grease a 9-in. springform pan and line the bottom with parchment paper; set aside.
In a small saucepan, heat beer and butter until butter is melted. Remove from the heat; whisk in sugar and cocoa until blended. Combine the eggs, sour cream and vanilla; whisk into beer mixture. Combine flour and baking soda; whisk into beer mixture until smooth. Pour batter into prepared pan.
Bake at 350° for 45-50 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool completely in pan on a wire rack. Remove sides of pan.
In a large bowl, beat cream cheese until fluffy. Add confectioners’ sugar and cream; beat until smooth (do not overbeat). Remove cake from the pan and place on a platter or cake stand. Ice top of cake so that it resembles a frothy pint of beer. Refrigerate leftovers. Yield: 12 servings.