Curried Lentil Soup

This has quickly become one of my favorite soups.  And I think I could easily call it my very favorite healthy soup.  I love that this is full of lentils, beans, and vegetables with no heavy cream.  (Not that I'm against soups with heavy cream every once in a while.)  The toasted almonds add so much flavor and a yummy crunch, and I love the sweetness of the dried cranberries with the curry flavor. 

I've used red lentils when making this, and I would continue to steer away from the larger brown lentils for this soup.  I prefer this soup without the sausage, but my husband does not see the sausage as optional.  The soup pictured above has thickened a bit due to sitting in the fridge as leftovers.  It's delicious the first time around or as leftovers though.

Curried Lentil Soup
Ingredients:
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 cup finely chopped onion
2 large carrots, peeled and diced small
2 stalks celery, diced small
2 cloves garlic, finely minced
1 tablespoon curry powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
6 cups chicken broth
1 cup dry red lentils, rinsed and picked over
1 can white beans or chickpeas, rinsed and drained
1-2 cups chopped spinach, slightly packed into measuring cup
1/2 pound precooked chicken sausage, diced (optional)
Salt and pepper, to taste
Toasted almonds, chopped (for garnish)
Dried cranberries (for garnish)

Directions:
1. In a large pot, heat the oil over medium heat and add the onion, carrots, celery, garlic, curry powder, salt and pepper.  Saute for 4-5 minutes until vegetables start to soften, stirring often.

2. Add the broth and lentils.  Bring to a low simmer for 20-25 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the lentils are tender. 

3. Stir in the beans, spinach and sausage (if using).  Heat through.  Season with additional salt and pepper as desired.  The soup will thicken slightly upon standing.

4. Serve with toasted almonds and dried cranberries.

Source: adapted slightly from Tamara B. via www.melskitchencafe.com

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookie Cups

These little gems have all the goodness of a cookie, but in a little mini muffin form.  They are very quick to mix together.  I didn't even pull out my electric mixer; I just mixed the dough together with a wooden spoon.  (I always love it when I don't have beaters to wash.)  And for some reason these seem easier to make than cookies.  Rather than pulling out a couple of cookie sheets and making sure I drop even amounts of dough onto the sheets to make cookies, for these I just stuffed dough into mini muffin cups.  The hardest thing about making these is that my three-year-old (who was "helping" me) was trying to eat the dough as fast as I could put it into the muffin tin. 

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookie Cups
Yield: 2 dozen mini cookie cups
Ingredients:
1 large egg
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup peanut butter
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips, plus extra to sprinkle on top

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Lightly spray 2 dozen mini muffin cups. 

2. In a large bowl add the egg, brown sugar, granulated sugar, peanut butter and vanilla; mix until combined.  Add melted butter and mix until smooth.  Add the flour, baking soda and salt and mix just until combined.  Stir in the chocolate chips. 

3. Fill the mini muffin cups all the way to the top with dough.  Sprinkle a few extra chocolate chips on top.  Bake for 6-9 minutes, or until the tops are set and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs.  Allow to cool in pan 10-15 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.  Store in an airtight container. 

Source: adapted very slightly from http://bakeeatrepeat.ca

Spinach Artichoke Dip Bread

I had this bread at a recent church activity and it was amazing.  I love spinach artichoke dip, and while I love dipping pita chips in it, slathering the tasty stuff on some toasty bread is also a really wonderful idea.  I asked around for the recipe from the church activity and was told that they had used Spinach Artichoke dip from Costco--spreading it on French bread, sprinkling it with mozzarella and parmesan cheese, and warming it in the oven.  I didn't want to make a trip to Costco in order to make this at home, so I made a simple homemade dip and it worked great. 

Spinach Artichoke Dip Bread
Ingredients:
8 oz. cream cheese, softened
14 oz. can artichokes, chopped
2 cups chopped spinach, slightly packed
2 teaspoon garlic, minced
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese, plus additional for sprinkling
1/3 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
Salt and pepper to taste
1 loaf French bread

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  In a medium bowl combine cream cheese, artichokes, spinach, garlic, 1 cup mozzarella cheese, 1/3 cup Parmesan cheese, and salt and pepper to taste.  Mix well.

2. Cut loaf of French bread in half lengthwise (like cutting open a long hamburger bun).  Spread artichoke mixture on both sides.  Top with additional mozzarella cheese. 

3. Place on a baking sheet (lined with foil for easy clean up) and warm in oven until cheese is melted, but bread is not getting too dark on the bottom, about 8-12 minutes.

Source: inspired by http://damndelicious.net via Deidra S., dip adapted slightly from this post

Kale, Quinoa and Beet Salad

While I enjoyed this salad, I almost didn't post it because it didn't receive rave reviews at our dinner table.  But as I sat down to enjoy the last bit of it for lunch, I realized that I like unique salads, and the kale/quinoa base of this salad can be a great starting point for a delicious salad, even for those who don't care for beets. 

When I served this I billed it as a "build your own salad" and kept all of the different components in separate bowls to let people dish it up how they liked.  I also kept the leftovers stored in their separate bowls, which helped keep things fresh longer.

Kale, Quinoa and Beet Salad
Yield: Serves 4
Note: Steps 1-3 (along with roasting the beets) can be prepared ahead of time and stored separately in the refrigerator until ready to assemble the salad.
Ingredients:
1-2 beets, roasted (avocado or roasted butternut squash could be good alternatives to beets)
1 bunch kale (about 6 oz)
1 teaspoon olive oil
3/4 teaspoons kosher salt
1/2 cup dry quinoa
1 cup water
1/3 cup walnuts
1/3 cup dried cranberries
1 apple, chopped
1/3 cup feta or goat cheese

For the dressing:
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 teaspoons honey
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1/2 teaspoon minced garlic
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper

Directions:

 1. In a small saucepan combine the quinoa and water.  Bring to a boil, then turn down heat to low, cover and simmer 15 minutes or until tender.  Cool. 

2. Place walnuts in a small skillet and toast over medium heat, turning frequently, until fragrant and lightly browned (5-7 minutes).

3. Wash and dry kale.  Cut into thin ribbons.  Toss with 1 teaspoon olive oil and 3/4 teaspoons kosher salt.  Massage kale for 3-4 minutes until it turns bright green and softens. 

4. Whisk together dressing ingredients.  Pour over cooled quinoa and mix well.  Combine the quinoa, kale, beets, walnuts, dried cranberries, apple and cheese. 

Source: adapted slightly from www.jeanetteshealthyliving.com

Chocolate Frosted Peanut Butter Bars

These bars have great chocolate-peanut butter flavor and are just perfect to feed a crowd.  The cookie base is a perfect texture and flavor and is topped with a layer of peanut butter and then chocolate frosting.  All the greatness of a cookie (plus frosting!), and in quick bar form. 

Chocolate Peanut Butter Bars
Ingredients:
For the bars:
2 cups (10 oz) all-purpose flour
2 cups (6.4 oz) quick oats
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup (8 oz) unsalted butter, softened
1 1/4 cup (9.5 oz) packed light-brown sugar
3/4 cup (5.7 oz) granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1 cup (8.6 oz) creamy peanut butter
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

For the frostings:
1 cup (8.6 oz) creamy peanut butter

1/4 cup unsalted butter
3/4 cup chocolate chips
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 cup cocoa powder
1 cup powdered sugar
1/4 cup heavy cream (or milk)

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Spray a rimmed 13x18 inch cookie sheet. 

2. In a medium sized mixing bowl stir together flour, oats, baking soda and salt.  Set aside.

3. In a large mixing bowl cream together the butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar until light and fluffy.  Add the eggs and blend well.  Add 1 cup peanut butter, 1 teaspoon vanilla and mix well.  Add the flour mixture and mix until just combined. 

4. Put dough into prepared cookie sheet.  Spray hands with non-stick cooking spray and press the dough into an even layer in pan.  Bake for 12-15 minutes until just golden.  (The edges should be puffed and beginning to set, but still soft.)

5. Remove from oven and cool 5 minutes.  Drop spoonfuls of the remaining 1 cup peanut butter over the top and let sit for 1 minute.  Spread into an even layer. Allow to cool completely.

6. For the frosting, melt 1/4 cup butter and chocolate chips in the microwave for one minute.  Stir.  Continue warming in the microwave, stirring every 30 seconds, until completely melted and combined.  Transfer to a mixing bowl.  Stir in the salt and vanilla.  Add cocoa powder, powdered sugar and cream.  Beat until fluffy.  Spread over cool bars.

Source: Bar recipe from www.cookingclassy.com; frosting adapted from my friend, Janette