Monday, January 24, 2011

Recent Recipe Favorites Around Here

Lentil Soup

Ingredients

1 onion, chopped
3 carrots, diced
2 stalks celery, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 bay leaf
1 teaspoon dried basil
I teaspoon italian seasoning
1 (14.5 ounce) can crushed tomatoes
2 cups dry lentils
8 cups water
2 cups spinach, rinsed and thinly sliced
salt to taste
ground black pepper to taste

Directions

There were crazy directions, but I just cut everything up and threw it in the crockpot for about 4 or 5 hours. It was delicous and healthy.


Eggplant Parmesan

2 eggplant, peeled and thinly sliced
2 eggs, beaten
3 cups Italian seasoned bread crumbs
4 cups spaghetti sauce, divided
1 (16 ounce) package mozzarella cheese, shredded and divided
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese, divided
1/2 teaspoon dried basil

Directions

1.Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2.Dip eggplant slices in egg, then in bread crumbs. Place in a single layer on a baking sheet. Bake in preheated oven for 5 minutes on each side.
3.In a 9x13 inch baking dish spread spaghetti sauce to cover the bottom. Place a layer of eggplant slices in the sauce. Sprinkle with mozzarella and Parmesan cheeses. Repeat with remaining ingredients, ending with the cheeses. Sprinkle basil on top.
4.Bake in preheated oven for 35 minutes, or until golden brown.

It was such a nice alternative to spaghetti without meat. Since that's what people who don't eat much meat can be reduced to.


Veggie Pot Pie

Ingredients

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 onion, chopped
8 ounces mushrooms
1 clove garlic, minced
2 large carrots, diced
3 new potatoes
2 stalks celery, sliced 1/4 inch wide
1 cup fresh green beans, trimmed and snapped into 1/2 inch pieces
2 cups vegetable broth
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
4 tablespoons cornstarch
1 tablespoons soy sauce
1 recipe pastry for double-crust pie ( I used this recipe, it's my favorite! I used it for all sorts of pies!)

Directions

1.Preheat oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C).
2.Heat oil in a large skillet or saucepan. Cook onions, mushrooms, and garlic in oil for 3 to 5 minutes, stirring frequently. Stir in carrots, potatoes, and celery. Stir green beans, and vegetable broth. Bring to a boil, then turn heat down to a simmer. Cook until vegetables are barely tender, about 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.
3.In a small bowl, mix the cornstarch, soy sauce, and 1/4 cup water until cornstarch is completely dissolved. Stir into vegetables, and cook until sauce thickens, about 3 minutes.
4.Roll out 1/2 of the dough to line an 11x7 inch baking dish. Pour the filling into the pastry lined dish. Roll out remaining dough, arrange over the filling, and seal and flute the edges.
5.Bake in preheated oven for 30 minutes, or until the crust is brown.

I can't say enough about this recipe, it was absolutely delicious!


Slow Cooker Tortilla Soup

Ingredients

1 pound shredded, cooked chicken ( We used the organic Kroger brand)
1 (15 ounce) can whole peeled tomatoes, mashed
1 (10 ounce) can enchilada sauce ( I made my own, I think it's wierd to buy enchilada sauce, perhaps b/c I'm half Mexican)
1 medium onion, chopped
1 (4 ounce) can chopped green chile peppers
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 cups water
1 (14.5 ounce) can chicken broth (I used veggie broth)
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 bay leaf
1 cup black beans in a can or already cooked
1 tablespoon chopped cilantro
7 corn tortillas
vegetable oil

Directions

1.Place chicken, tomatoes, enchilada sauce, onion, green chiles, and garlic into a slow cooker. Pour in water and chicken broth, and season with cumin, chili powder, salt, pepper, and bay leaf. Stir in beans and cilantro. Cover, and cook on Low setting for 6 to 8 hours or on High setting for 3 to 4 hours.
2.Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
3.Lightly brush both sides of tortillas with oil. Cut tortillas into strips, then spread on a baking sheet.
4.Bake in preheated oven until crisp, about 10 to 15 minutes. To serve, sprinkle tortilla strips over soup.

I added avocado to garnish on top. This was such a light healthy dinner.


There are just a few of the recent recipes I've been making that have quickly become favorites for both me and for Daniel. I'll try to add others as we make new things. :)

Thursday, January 6, 2011

Packin' Up.


Well, over the holiday's Daniel and I had a lot of firsts. Our first Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's with each other and our families. We really enjoyed every second of it. I wish I would have captured more pictures of our first holiday season together, but I was too busy loving every minute of it.


In the midst of the crazy holiday's Daniel and I packed up all of his things from Austin and moved him to Dallas.

Before I met Daniel I had been pondering my next move to be Austin once my lease was up in June. So naturally when we met it seemed perfect that he already lived there.

But as more time passed and we talked more about the things that were important to us, like our families and more time together, the plan changed.

Since we are both from Athens (although we didn't really know each other until September) and both of our families still live there, it just didn't make sense for us to be far away from our families. Austin would be almost 4 hours away and Dallas in less than 2.

Daniel began to really look into whether or not it would be possible for him to transfer to his company's office in Dallas or not in October sometime. After much anticipation his job said that they could transfer him by the first of the year.

He put his apartment on Craigslist and it was sublet in just a few short days.

So we packed up his things and moved him north last weekend. :)

We are very happy with our decision to get him up here sooner rather than later. Another 6 months of long distance could have been done but if we could help it why not do something about it.

So last night we cooked dinner...ON A WEDNESDAY NIGHT! And couldn't have felt more excited, blessed and ready for more weekday dinners :)