Lentil Soup

I wasn't planning to post this soup - thought it would just be another Lentil Soup and not worth posting. But it turned out really well - different from most lentil soups I've had - more Italian, I guess. I used rosemary instead of thyme. Also, 1# of lentils is one bag - more like 2 cups. I had to add extra liquid at the end, between the pasta and beans a lot of liquid was absorbed.

Tricia’s Notes: Used rosemary instead of thyme. Needed to add additional liquid (1# of lentils = 2 cups or more)

Lentil Soup
Giada De Laurentiis/Turtlemom001

Ingredients

2 tablespoons olive oil, plus extra for drizzling

1 medium onion, chopped

2 carrots, peeled and chopped

2 celery stalks, chopped

2 garlic cloves, chopped

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 (14 1/2-ounce) can diced tomatoes

1 pound lentils (approximately 1 1/4 cups)

11 cups low-salt chicken broth

4 to 6 fresh thyme sprigs

2/3 cup dried elbow pasta

1 cup shredded Parmesan

Directions

Heat the oil in a heavy large pot over medium heat. Add the onion, carrots, and celery. Add the garlic, salt, and pepper and saute until all the vegetables are tender, about 5 to 8 minutes. Add the tomatoes with their juices. Simmer until the juices evaporate a little and the tomatoes break down, stirring occasionally, about 8 minutes. Add the lentils and mix to coat. Add the broth and stir. Add the thyme sprigs. Bring to a boilover high heat. Cover and simmer over low heat until the lentils are almost tender, about 30 minutes.

Stir in the pasta. Simmer until the pasta is tender but still firm to the bite, about 8 minutes. Season with salt and pepper, to taste.

Ladle the soup into bowls. Sprinkle with the Parmesan, drizzlewith olive oil, and serve.

Roasted Tomato Soup

the soup was a bit like a spaghetti sauce, but not in a bad way. great way to use up some tomatoes. i didn't measure by weight since these came from grandma's garden, i used 8 med-large tomatoes. the soup was good, exactly what i want from tomato soup, but needed a little extra dried thyme and basil at the end. i didn't bother straining it because the seeds don't bother me. whole house loved this one.

Roasted Tomato Soup (Ness 413 via http://savoryseasonings.blogspot.com/)

3 LB tomatoes
3 TBSP olive oil
Salt
Pepper

1 cup onions, medium chopped (or 1/4 cup frozen caramelized onions)
2 garlic cloves, minced

1 (28 oz.) can diced tomatoes (optional)
4 cups chicken broth
Thyme (fresh or dried)
1 cup packed fresh basil, finely chopped (can substitute with dried basil in a pinch)

1 cup milk or half and half (optional)


Heat oven to 400° F. On a baking sheet, combine the tomatoes and 2 TBSP of the olive oil, then sprinkle with salt and pepper. Toss the ingredients to coat evenly and spread them in a single layer. Roast the tomatoes until they are shriveled with brown spots (about 50-75 minutes).

In a large pot, heat 1 TBSP of olive oil over medium heat. Sauté onions until they are softened, then add the garlic and sauté briefly making sure to not burn the garlic. Add the canned tomatoes with their juice, the broth, thyme, basil and the roasted tomatoes (including any liquid on the baking sheet). Bring the mixture to a boil, then reduce and simmer partially covered for 40 minutes.

Using a food processor or blender, puree soup until it is smooth. Then push soup through a sieve or strainer to remove all pulp and seeds. Return the soup to the pot and stir in the milk or half and half. Season to taste with additional salt, pepper, thyme and basil. Warm the soup over medium heat, stirring often and taking care not to let the soup boil. Freezes well.

Sticky Chicken

Sticky Chicken
barriebaby

1 large pack of chicken (I prefer bone in legs or thighs)
1/2 cup dill pickle juice
1/4 cup low sodium soy sauce
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup water

In a large skillet with a lid brown chicken , pour off the fat. Add the pickle juice, cover and simmer for about 15 minutes until it has almost all evaporated. Mix the soy sauce, brown sugar and water. Pour over chicken, cover, and simmer again for another 15 minutes. Just before serving remove the lid and crank the heat to reduce the sauce. It will get very sticky and thick like honey. Serve with rice and veggies.

*Don't mix sauce and veggies, it makes the sauce watery and ruins the stickiness.
*Add ginger and garlic to taste, also add pepper.

Wilted Spinach with Bacon and Parmesan

Wilted Spinach with Bacon and Parmesan
Sharon-- GatorGrrrl

12 oz. baby spinach,washed

2 slices bacon

2 cloves garlic

2-3 tbsp parmesan cheese

salt and pepper to taste

Cook bacon until crispy and remove with a slotted spoon. Mince garlic and cook 1 minute in oil, being careful not to burn. Add spinach to hot oil and toss with tongs until they are wilted to your satisfaction, mine took about 3 minutes. Salt and pepper and place in serving bowl and top with crumbled bacon and a sprinkling of parmesan cheese.

Creamy Spaghetti and Beans

Creamy Spaghetti & Beans~ This was really, really good. So differant than your normal spaghetti recipe. You really do need a BIG skillet to cook it in if you don't mind a bit of a mess. I used a 12 inch skillet that's about 1 inch deep and every time I had to stir it (until the pasta really started to cook) the noodles were snapping and popping out of the pan. Or you could just break them in half. I did change it up a tad, I used homemade ham broth insted of chicken and grated parmesan cheese, other than that I followed the recipe. We will make this again.
Creamy Spaghetti and Beans
Rachel~burns_toast via ~ Rachael Ray
Risotto meets pasta e fagioli in this Tuscan classic.
Ingredients
•5 to 6 cups chicken stock
•2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
•2 tablespoons butter
•1/4 pound chunk pancetta chopped into small dice
•4 cloves garlic, chopped
•1 pound spaghetti
•1 medium onion, chopped
•2 carrots, cut into a small dice
•1 fresh bay leaf
•5 to 6 sprigs fresh thyme
•1 (15-ounce) can Roman beans or small white beans (recommended: Goya brand)
•Salt and freshly ground black pepper
•1 cup dry white wine, eyeball it
•1 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
•A generous handful flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped
Directions
Place the stock in a sauce pot and warm it over medium heat then reduce to simmer.
Heat the extra-virgin olive oil and the butter in a large, deep skillet over medium to medium-high heat. Add the pancetta to brown slightly. Next add the garlic and spaghetti and toast the noodles lightly, 3 to 4 minutes. Add onions and carrots, bay leaf and thyme, and season with salt and pepper. Soften veggies a bit, 5 minutes. Add wine and allow it to be completely absorbed. Add beans then add a few ladles of stock and stir the pasta. Keep adding stock a few ladles at a time allowing liquids to be mostly absorbed before adding more, as if you were preparing a risotto. When liquids are absorbed and spaghetti is cooked to al dente, 12-15 minutes, stir in cheese. Adjust salt and pepper. Turn off heat and stir another minute. Remove the bay leaf and thyme stems. Serve in shallow bowls and garnish with lots of parsley.

Sweet Potato Mexican Lasagna

Sweet Potato Mexican Lasagna (Laura -SwingSweetheart)

· 1 tablespoon olive oil
* 1 onion, chopped
* 4 cloves garlic, minced
* 6 cups canned kidney beans, drained
* 2 cups water
* 3 tablespoons chili powder
* 2 teaspoons ground cumin
* 4 teaspoons prepared mustard
* 1 pinch cayenne pepper, or to taste
* 3 tablespoons soy sauce
* 4 cups cooked and mashed sweet potatoes
* 1 package Trader Joes corn tortillas cut in half
* 16 ounces shredded Cheddar cheese
*1/2 can Trader Joes sweet corn

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2. Heat oil in a medium skillet, and saute onion and garlic until soft. Stir in beans, and mash. Gradually stir in water, and heat until warm. Remove from heat, and stir in the chili powder, cumin, mustard, cayenne pepper and soy sauce.
3.Mix together with sweet potato and corn
4. In a large baking dish, put a little sweet potato mixture at the bottom of the dish, layer tortilla, then more sweet potato mixture, top with cheese, tortilla, sweet potato, cheese, repeat finishing with cheese.
5. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes, then turn the broiler on high and broil for 5 minutes until top has browned
6. Enjoy : ) We serve with sour cream and green onion.

Tzatziki

Tzatziki
Michelle (MMmom)

3 oz yogurt (plain)
3 oz cream cheese, softened
½ cucumber, peeled, seeded, chopped fine
salt and cumin to taste
1 garlic clove, minced
1 tsp lemon juice
olive oil
a few mint mint leaves, chopped

Mix yogurt and cream cheese. Add all other ingredients into bowl. (Add enough olive oil to reach the consistency you like.) Mix well. Refrigerate 2 hours.

Chicken Curry

Chicken Curry

Ingredients:

4 Tbsp olive oil

2 medium red onions, cut into thin wedges

2 jalapenos, seeded and finely chopped

2 cloves garlic, finely chopped

1 2 inch piece fresh ginger, thinly sliced

1/4 cup fresh lemon juice

1 3/4 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1 1/2 inch pieces

1/2 tsp cayenne pepper

1/2 tsp ground coriander

1/2 tsp ground cumin

1/4 tsp mustard seeds

1 tsp kosher salt

2 ripe yellow peaches, roughly chopped

1/2 canned unsweetened coconut milk

cooked white rice

1/4 cup plain yogurt

Note; If you don't have all the spices on hand, it's ok to use curry powder instead (2 tsp)

DIrections:

Heat 2 Tbsp of the oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the onions and cook for five minutes. Add the jalapenos, garlic, ginger, and lemon juice and cook for five minutes. Transfer to a plate. Rinse the chicken and pat it dry with paper towels. Add the remaining oil to the skillet and increase heat to medium high. Add the chicken and cook until browned but not cooked through, about four minutes. Add the cayenne, coriander, cumin, mustard seeds, and salt and stir fry for two minutes. Add the onion mixture, 1/2 cup water, and the peaches and simmer for 8 minutes. Add the coconut milk, reduce heat, and simmer for 2 minutes. Spoon the curry into individual bowls. Serve with the rice and yogurt, if you want.

To freeze: Leave out the rice and yogurt. Let cool, then ladle it into resealable freezer bags. To reheat, thaw and warm in a covered saucepan over medium low heat for 20 minutes, and then serve with rice and yogurt.

Ratatouille's Ratatouille

Ratatouille’s Ratatouille
As envisioned by Smitten Kitchen

1/2 onion, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, very thinly sliced
1 cup tomato puree (such as Pomi)
2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
1 small eggplant (my store sells these “Italian Eggplant” that are less than half the size of regular ones; it worked perfectly)
1 smallish zucchini
1 smallish yellow squash
1 longish red bell pepper
Few sprigs fresh thyme
Salt and pepper
Few tablespoons soft goat cheese, for serving

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Pour tomato puree into bottom of an oval baking dish, approximately 10 inches across the long way. Drop the sliced garlic cloves and chopped onion into the sauce, stir in one tablespoon of the olive oil and season the sauce generously with salt and pepper.

Trim the ends off the eggplant, zucchini and yellow squash. As carefully as you can, trim the ends off the red pepper and remove the core, leaving the edges intact, like a tube.

On a mandoline, adjustable-blade slicer or with a very sharp knife, cut the eggplant, zucchini, yellow squash and red pepper into very thin slices, approximately 1/16-inch thick.

Atop the tomato sauce, arrange slices of prepared vegetables concentrically from the outer edge to the inside of the baking dish, overlapping so just a smidgen of each flat surface is visible, alternating vegetables. You may have a handful leftover that do not fit.

Drizzle the remaining tablespoon olive oil over the vegetables and season them generously with salt and pepper. Remove the leaves from the thyme sprigs with your fingertips, running them down the stem. Sprinkle the fresh thyme over the dish.

Cover dish with a piece of parchment paper cut to fit inside. (Tricky, I know, but the hardest thing about this.)

Bake for approximately 45 to 55 minutes, until vegetables have released their liquid and are clearly cooked, but with some structure left so they are not totally limp. They should not be brown at the edges, and you should see that the tomato sauce is bubbling up around them.

Serve with a dab of soft goat cheese on top, alone, or with some crusty French bread, atop polenta, couscous, or your choice of grain.

Spaghetti Tacos

SPAGHETTI TACOS
(luckymommyto2boys ~ Amy)

1 lb ground beef or ground turkey
1 packet taco seasoning
1 cup water
1 jar Sauteed Onion and Mushroom spaghetti sauce
1 box spaghetti noodles
12 hard taco shells
Salsa, optional
Cheddar cheese, optional
Lettuce, optional

Prepare noodles according to package directions. Drain and return to pot.
Brown meat in pan until no longer pink. Add taco seasoning and water. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 5-6 minutes, until sauce thickens. Add spaghetti sauce and cook until warmed. Add to noodles and mix thoroughly.
To assemble the tacos, place a spoonful of salsa in the shell. Sprinkle with a small amount of cheese. Finally, finish filling the shell with spaghetti. Add lettuce on top, if desired.
Very messy, but very yummy!