Lentil Tacos

My friend Nathaly posted this recipe on her blog and I absolutely loved it. It's the perfect vegan meal or if you are in the mood for something different. Growing up in Colombia, lentils are one of our staple foods and this is a perfect way to incorporate them in a American meal. The last time that I made this, I substituted the lentils for garbanzo beans (chickpeas) and it turned out great.

1 cup finely chopped onion
1 garlic clove, minced
1 teaspoon canola oil
1 cup dried lentils, rinsed
1 Tablespoon chili powder
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon dried oregano
2-1/2 cups chicken or vegetable broth
1 cup salsa
Flour tortillas or taco shells
Toppings (see below)

In a large skillet saute the onion and garlic in oil until tender. Add the lentils, chili powder, cumin and oregano; cook and stir for 1 minute. Add broth; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 25-30 minutes or until the lentils are tender.

Uncover; cook for 6-8 minutes or until mixture is thickened. Mash lentils slightly. Stir in salsa.

Spoon mixture into shells and top with whatever toppings you like. We did lettuce, tomato, cheese, sour cream, lime, and cilantro.

Sloppy Buffalo Joes

This is Rachael Ray's spicy version of sloppy Joes. My sister-in-law made this for dinner the other night and it was delicious!

2 tbsp of olive oil
2 pounds of ground chicken or ground turkey
1 carrot, peeled chopped or grated
2 stalks celery, chopped
1 yellow onion chopped
2-3 garlic cloves, chopped
Salt & pepper
2 tbsp red wine vinegar
2 tbsp brown sugar
2tbsp Worcestershire sauce
¼ to 1/3 cup of hot sauce
*1 cup of tomato sauce
*1 cup of chicken stock
8 burger rolls
1 cup blue cheese crumbles
2 large dill pickles, chopped

In a mixing bowl combine vinegar, brown sugar, Worcestershire sauce, hot sauce and tomato sauce and set aside. Heat a large skillet with olive oil in medium heat. Add turkey and cook for about 5-6 mins or until turkey is fully cooked. Add carrots, celery, onions and garlic, season with salt and pepper and cook for 7-8 minutes. Pour into the pan the vinegar/sauce mixture and stir to combine. Simmer for a few more minutes. Pile sloppy buffalo filling onto buns and top with cheese and chopped pickles.

*The sloppy filling was a bit watery. So I would add ½ cup chicken stock or replace the tomato sauce for tomato paste to make the filling less watery. Hope you guys like it!

Weeknight Lasagna Toss

(image and recipe courtesy krafts food website)

This is one of our favorite recipes. It is super easy and very delicious.

1 lb. lean ground beef
2 green peppers, chopped (I usually just use one pepper)
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 (26oz) jar spaghetti sauce
1-2/3 cups water
¼ cup Kraft Zesty Italian Dressing
12 oven-ready lasagna noodles, broken into small pieces
1cup of Mozzarella Cheese

Brown mean in a large saucepan and drain.
Add peppers, garlic, spaghetti sauce, water and dressing. Bring to boil.
Add noodles; cover and cook in medium-low heat for 10-15 min. Or until noodles are tender, stir occasionally.
Remove from heat. Sprinkle cheese and cover. Let stand for 5 min or until cheese is melted.

Asparagus & Cheese Potato Soup

1 large onion, chopped
4 teaspoons of canola oil
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1½ cups 1-inch pieces asparagus spears or broccoli florets
2 cups of lowfat Milk
1 14-ounce can reduced-sodium chicken broth
1½ cups ½-inch cubes red potatoes
1½ cups ½-inch cubes gold potatoes
¼ teaspoon salt
1⁄8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
¾ cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese
1⁄3 cup sour cream

In a large saucepan cook onion with oil until tender. Sprinkle flour over onion and stir. Add the asparagus, milk, broth, potatoes, salt and cayenne pepper.
Cook and stir until the soup has thickened; reduce heat. Simmer and cover for about 10-12 minutes or until the vegetables are tender. Add cheese and sour cream; stir until cheese melts. Then it is ready to serve.

Chicken with Artichokes and Angel Hair Pasta

(image and recipe courtesy martha stewart's website)

¼ cup all-purpose flour

6-8 chicken breasts
1 tablespoons olive oil
1 cup of low sodium chicken broth
1 14oz can artichoke hearts packed in water, rinsed and drained.
2 tablespoons of drained capers (optional)
2 tablespoons of butter

8oz angel hair pasta

½ cup parsley leaves

In a shallow dish, place flour and season with salt and pepper. Coat chicken breast with flour and salt/pepper mixture. In a large skillet, heat 1 tablespoon of oil over medium high. Place chicken breast in the skillet and cook until chicken is light golden on both sides and cooked on the inside. While the chicken is cooking cook the angel pasta as directed on the package.

Once the chicken has been fully cooked, transfer chicken to a dish and set aside. Add the chicken broth to the skillet where the chicken was fried and bring to boil; cook until the broth is reduced by half. Then add artichokes, capers and chicken to the chicken broth mixture. Swirl to combine and bring just to a boil. Remove skillet from heat and swirl in butter.

Serve chicken and chicken broth sauce over pasta and topped with parsley.

* To add a bit of more flavor to the meal, I would add some garlic and use seasoned artichokes instead of plain canned artichokes.

Beagle Pizzas

8 beagles cut in half
1 bag of shredded mozzarella cheese
1 medium can of pizza sauce
1 bag of small pepperoni sliced (I just got the pepperoni that they sell at the Deli Dept. in IGA)

Cut beagles in half. Pour pizza sauce evenly over bagel halves. Sprinkle mozzarella cheese over pizza sauce and add pepperonis on top of cheese. Bake beagle pizza's at 325 degrees until cheese is melted and beagle is a crispy. I love this recipe. I make it when I don't have much time to make a big meal for dinner. I usually serve the pizzas with a side of salad or soup.

Cayenne Chicken with Avocado Salsa

I made this tonight for dinner and we loved it! This is a super easy recipe and it only takes 30 min. I got this recipe from Martha Stewart’s website. We ate this with a side of vegetables and couscous. Hope you guys like it as much as we did.

1 teaspoon salt (I used half of that)
¼ pepper
¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
4 chicken breast
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium red onion, finely diced
2 tablespoon fresh lime juice
1 avocado cubed

In a small bowl combine salt, pepper and cayenne pepper and rub mixture all over chicken breasts. In a skillet, heat oil over medium. Add chicken and cook until is fully cooked. While the chicken is cooking, in a medium bowl combine red onion and lime juice and set aside. Just before serving add avocado to onion and lime juice mixture and season with salt and pepper.
Serve chicken topped with avocado salsa.

Tangy Pork Chops

I got this recipe from the Kraft website. They have easy and delicious meals. Enjoy!

6 Pork chops
1 package of Stove Top Stuffing Mix (Chicken)
1 16oz can of whole berry cranberry sauce
¾ cup Barbecue Sauce
2 Tbsp. brown sugar

Cook pork chops in a skillet until they are brown on both sides. Prepare stuffing as directed on package.

Place pork chops to a 9x13 baking pan. In a medium bowl mix cranberry sauce, barbecue sauce and sugar and mix stuffing mix. Pour mixture over pork shops and bake at 325 for 30 min or until pork chops are evenly cooked.

Sausage & Egg Casserole

(Picture courtesy of Google Images)

This is a super easy casserole. You can make it for breakfast, for dinner and even for potlucks. I mainly use it when we have brunches for baby showers. Hope you guys like it.

6 Slices of white bread, cubed

1 pound of sausage, crumbled, browned and drained (I found the sausage in the frozen isle of IGA)

1 1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

8 eggs, beaten

2 cups of milk

1 teaspoon of salt

Pepper to taste

Take the cubed bread and place evenly in a greased 9x13 pan. Sprinkle sausage and cheese evenly over cubed bread. In a mixing bowl mix eggs, milk, salt and pepper. Pour egg mixture over cheese. Cover and refrigerate overnight. Bake at 325 F for 45 mins.

You can also add some green chiles, mushrooms and onion to this recipe. Just play with it and see what works best for you.

Chocolate Pudding & Oreos Popsicles

I got this recipe from the Kraft website. Hope you guys like it.

1 package (3.9oz) of instant chocolate pudding

2 cups of milk

6 oreo cookies

1/2 cup of thawed cool whip.

-Prepare the chocolate pudding as directed on the package. You need the 2 cups of milk to prepare the pudding.

-Place the oreo cookies in a ziploc bag and crush cookies with a rolling pin.

-Add crushed oreos and cool whip to pudding mixture. Mix until well blended.

-If you don't have popsicle molds then you can use small 3oz paper cups to place the pudding mixture. Insert a wooden stick or plastic spoon into each cup and to hold the popsicles.

-Freeze popsicles for 5 hours or until firm.

- Once the popsicles have frozen; in order to remove the cup from the popsicle place the popsicle cup in warm water for 15 secs. After the 15 sec press firmly on the bottom of the cup to remove cup.

*As an alternative you can always substitute the chocolate pudding for vanilla pudding.

Spinach & Cheese Quiche

This quiche is super easy to make. I usually make it for dinner when I have nothing else to make. We usually eat it with a side of cantaloupe or kiwi. When we have left overs we eat them the next moring for breakfast. Bon appétit!

1 (9 inch) unbaked deep dish pie crust (I used the frozen pie crust from IGA)

1/3 cup of chopped onions

1 package frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained

1 1/2 cup of shredded cheddar cheese (You can use any type of cheese)
4 Large Eggs

2 cups whipping cream or half-and-half (I only used a 1 1/2 cups of whipping cream)

1/4 tsp of salt

1/4 tsp of pepper

1/8 tsp ground red cayenne pepper

You can always substitute the spinach for mushrooms, broccoli or asparagus. Also, you can put bacon, chicken and any type of cheese. Spread cheese over the bottom of the unbaked pie crust. Set aside a bit of the cheese for later use. Then spread onions and spinach on top of the cheese. In a medium mixing bowl combine eggs, whipping cream or half and half, salt, pepper and cayenne pepper. Pour cream mixture over veggies and cheese. Sprinkle cheese on top of the mixture. Bake at 350 degrees F for 45 mins.

Chocolate Mascarpone Brownies

These are the brownies that we made for Lou's birthday cake. I am not a huge fan of chocolate but these brownies were really good.

Brownies

1 cup of unsalted butter
3 ounces of the best quality semi-sweet chocolate (I used IGA semi-sweet chocolate chips)
1/2 cup of cocoa powder
1/2 cup of mascarpone cheese, softened (Yes, I was able to find mascarpone cheese at IGA)
3 large eggs, at room-temperature
2 tsp of pure vanilla extract ( I used imitation vanilla)
1/2 cup of flour
a/4 tsp of salt

Ganache Topping

6 ounces of the best quality semi-sweet chocolate (For this part I used IGA chocolate chips)
6 tbsp of whipping cream
3 tsp of unsalted butter

Directions

1. Preheat oven at 325 F. Have a 8-inch square cake pan already buttered.
2. First, start by making brownie part. Take a small saucepan and melt the butter. Take the chocolate chips place them into a mixing bowl. Then pour the hot butter over the chocolate chips. Let stand for 30 seconds and stir until the chocolate is completely melted.
3. Sift in the sugar and the cocoa powder.
4. With a wooden soon, beat in the mascarpone, eggs and vanilla. Mix until smooth.
5. Slowly, fold the flour and the salt into the batter.
6. Pour the batter into the already buttered 8-inch pan. Make sure the batter is spread evenly across the pan.
7. Place pan into preheated oven and bake for 45-50 mins. Or until toothpick comes out clean.
8. Place pan on a cooling rack and let brownies cool for 15 mins. While the brownies are cooling start making the ganache.
9. Place chocolate chips into a mixing bowl. In a small saucepan, bring the cream and the butter just bellow the boiling point.
10. Pour the hot cream-butter mixture over the chocolate chips and let it stand for 30 secs. Then stir mixture until smooth and spread over the brownies. Make sure the ganache is warm when you spread over the brownies.
11. Don't cut into the brownies until the ganache has firmed up.

Overnight Cinnamon Rolls

I am a bit lazy today so I am just going to post the link to the recipe. I made these Cinnamon Rolls for breakfast this morning and they were amazing. They are a bit of work but oh they are worth it! Enjoy!

Healthy Chili with Crispy Spiced Tortillas

2 tablespoons of canola oil
1 large yellow onion, diced
1 pound of extra lean hamburger
1 red bell pepper, diced
2 small zucchini, diced
1 (15 oz) can of corn, drained
1 (15 oz) can of black beans, drained
1 (15 oz) can of pinto beans, drained*
1 (28 oz) plus 1 (14 oz) can of diced tomatoes with juices
½ cup of water
¼ cup of brown sugar**
2 heaping teaspoons of fajita spice
1 teaspoon ground cumin
¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
¼ teaspoon of ground cinnamon
* I wasn’t able to find pinto beans so I used red kidney beans instead.
** The first time I made the chili it was a bit too sweet. I would add less brown sugar to avoid the sweet taste.

In a large pot over medium heat, sauté onions until lightly browned. Add ground hamburger and sauté for about 5 minutes. Add red bell pepper and zucchini and cook for 5 minutes. Add corn, beans, tomatoes, water and brown sugar and stir. Add fajita spice, cumin, cayenne pepper and cinnamon and stir. Reduce heat to low, cover pot and let simmer 20-25 minutes.
Optional: Before serving you can sprinkle fresh cilantro and cheddar cheese.
Servings 6-8

Seasoned Tortillas
4-6 Tortillas-You can use whole wheat or flour tortillas, which ever you like the most.
Mexican seasoning- You can use one of the following: fajita or taco seasoning, chipotle chili powder, cumin or cayenne pepper.

Spray both sides of the tortilla with cooking spray and add spices. Then place tortilla in a large non-stick skillet. Cook for about a minute or until crisp on both sides. Repeat for remaining tortillas. Cut tortilla into quarters and serve along side with bowls of chili.

Green Chili-Chicken Casserole

One of my roommate's in college used to make this all the time. Matthew loves it since it has a spicy kick. Enjoy!

1 1/3 c. chicken broth
1 c. sour cream
3/4 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. ground cumin
1 cup canned chopped green chiles, drained
1/2 tsp. black pepper
2 (10 1/2 oz.) cans condensed cream of chicken soup
1 garlic clove, minced
24 (6 in.) corn tortillas
4 c. shredded cooked chicken breast (approx. 1 lb.)
2 c. (8 oz.) finely shredded sharp cheddar cheese

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine first 8 ingredients in large saucepan, stirring with a whisk. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Spread 1 c. soup mixture in a 13 x 9 in. baking dish coated with cooking spray. Arrange 6 tortillas (cut tortillas in half to arrange easier with flat edge against side of pan) over the soup mix and top with 1 c. chicken and 1/2 c. cheese. Repeat layers, ending with the cheese. Spread remaining soup mixture over cheese. Bake for 30 minutes or until bubbly. Serves 12.