Chickpea and Lentil Soup

Ok, so I'm posting this a little prematurely. I haven't actually had an entire bowl of this soup yet--but I have had a little taste. And it. tastes. good. I made the soup for a Middle Eastern-themed dinner I made for a yoga group I attend. There will be soup, pitas and homemade hummus, and a special surprise for dessert!

This is a pretty hearty soup, and I think it would be delicious all year round!

Not exactly sure where I found this recipe, but kudos to the chef!

Chickpea and Lentil Soup

Serves 6-8

Ingredients:

2 Tbs Olive or vegetable oil

1/2 onion (I used red), diced

2-3 carrots, cut into thin rounds

2 stalks of celery, chopped

1 clove garlic, minced

1/4 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

1/2 tsp turmeric

1 cup lentils, rinsed and picked over for stones

4 cups vegetable stock (or 4 cups water and vegetable bullion cubes)

1 can garbanzo beans (chickpeas), drained and rinsed

2 tomatoes, diced (or 1 can diced tomatoes with juice)

1 6 oz can tomato paste

1 cup fresh parsley, chopped

Procedure:

1. Saute onion, carrot and celery in olive oil over medium heat for about 15 minutes. Add the garlic and spices and saute for about 5 more minutes. (Careful, don't inhale the pepper!)

2. Add the vegetable stock and the lentils, and bring the soup to a boil.

3. Add the chickpeas and reduce the heat to low. Simmer, covered, for about 1 hour, or until the lentils are fork tender.

4. Add the diced tomatoes and tomato paste and stir thoroughly.

5. Stir in the parsley, and serve with a parsley garnish.

Cheesy Broccoli and Rice Bake

Ok, this recipe is painfully easy...and um, well painfully bland. Tony and I talked about ways to jazz it up (like using REAL cheddar cheese instead of the cheap-o brand), or adding other seasonings like cumin and chili powder.

I think that this recipe is totally customizable, and flavor can come in a variety of ways. Want a kick? Use Spanish rice and add some fresh or canned tomatoes. Want a hearty, savory dish? Add some meaty mushrooms (like baby portobellos) and use wild rice. Want to be a fancy-mc-fancy-pants? Use some foo-foo cheeses.

The possibilities are endless, my friends.

Here's the bare-bones way I cooked the dish this weekend:

Cheese Broccoli and Rice Bake

Serves 2

Ingredients:

1 cup brown rice (I used Minute rice because I'm horrifically lazy)

1 large head broccoli, stemmed and cut into florets

1.5 cups shredded cheddar and mozzarella cheese

Procedure:

0. Preheat the oven to 350 F.

1. Cook the rice as directed on the package, and steam the broccoli for about 5 minutes in a steamer basket, or until bright green.

2. Spray an 8"x8" baking dish with cooking spray, and layer rice, broccoli and cheese, then repeat the layers.

3. Grind some pepper on top, and place in the oven for 20 minutes until bubbly.

Serve this as a main dish with a big salad, or as a side dish to accompany a more traditional home style meal!

Sugar Donut Muffins

Before I left for Missouri, I printed off several recipes I wanted to try out while I was on vacation. Sugar Donut Muffins just seemed like a natural choice. Sugar, donut, muffins, what's not to like?

I came across the recipe at Baking Bites, and didn't change a thing. I'll re-copy it below, but I can't take a lick of credit for this recipe. These muffins were so good I made them twice in Missouri, and would have made them three times if the zucchini bread I made didn't last as long as it did!

Sugar Donut Muffins

Ingredients:

3/4 cup sugar

1 large egg

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour

2 tsp baking power

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp ground nutmeg

1/4 cup vegetable oil

3/4 cup milk

1 tsp vanilla extract

2 tbsp butter, melted

1/2 cup sugar, for rolling

Procedure:

1. Preheat oven to 350F. Lightly grease a muffin tin with cooking spray or vegetable oil.

2. In a large bowl, beat together sugar and egg until light in color.

3. In a small bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, salt and nutmeg. Pour into egg mixture and stir to combine.

4. Pour in vegetable oil, milk and vanilla extract. Divide batter evenly into 12 muffin cups, filling each about 3/4 full.

5. Bake for 15-18 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

6. While muffins are baking, melt butter and pour remaining sugar into a small bowl.

When they are done, lightly brush the top of each with some melted butter, remove from the pan and roll in sugar.

7. Enjoy with coffee, with vanilla ice cream, or just plain by themselves!

Wonton Wrapper Ravioli

This recipe is painfully easy. It's also impressive. Easy + impressive = honkin' AWESOME in my book, though I don't know about you all.

Who makes their own ravioli? Awesome people, that's who. This recipe is great, because it's completely customizable. Do you have a meat lover in the family? Fill the ravioli with seasoned Italian sausage and mozzarella. Health conscious vegetarian? Fill the ravioli chock full of mushrooms, spinach, diced asparagus, olives or whatever other veggie tickles your fancy.

Here, I've chosen to blend healthy with, well, moderately healthy. Using cheese in any of your recipes will increase the caloric value of the meal, but some people loooove their cheese, me included.

Give this a try--the benefit outweighs the risk! I found out that using TWO wrappers per side of the ravioli makes for a sturdier, and less likely to burst pocket. I've shown you pictures of the carnage to prove my point...

Wonton Wrapper Ravioli

Adapted from ideas by Rachael Ray and around the Internet

Ingredients:

1 bunch of spinach, washed and chopped roughly

1 clove garlic, minced

1 Tbs olive oil

1/2 cup cottage (or ricotta, fancy pants) cheese

1/2 cup mozzarella, and extra for garnish, shredded

1/4 cup Parmesan, shredded

1 package wonton wrappers (the pack I used had 60 wrappers, each about 2"x2")

Procedure:

1. Heat the olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add the garlic, and when it begins to sizzle, add the spinach and saute for a few minutes, until wilted, then transfer to a large bowl. Meanwhile, Start a large pot of water boiling.

2. Combine the cheeses with the spinach until thoroughly mixed.

3. Prepare a floured surface for the wonton wrappers. Set a small bowl of water and a pastry brush (or you can use your finger) nearby. Lay out the wrappers on the surface (in stacks of two if you wanted them to hold together), side by side.

4. Place a dollop of the filling mixture in the center of each wrapper, then trace the outside 1/4" of the wrapper with a brush or finger dipped in water, and do the same to the wrapper you place on top, water sides facing each other.

5. Align and press down the top wrapper on the bottom wrapper. I chose to decorate the edges by going around them with a fork, but I didn't do the control experiment to see if they would hold together without the fork scoring. Sigh.

6. Place the sealed ravioli one at a time (to prevent initial sticking) carefully in the water, and allow them to boil for about 2 minutes. They will float to the top when ready (just like dumplings!).

7. Serve with your favorite pasta sauce (or whatever goes well with your filling of choice!).