Lentil Soup with Ham and Greens

Alright! I succeeded in not posting at all in October! Obviously I was busy...

I have been feeling bad again recently. My head hurts most of the day. My blood sugar messes up easily. I'm frustrated because I don't know what's wrong. I have random annoying mood swings, too.

We finally had a cold front last week and I made several soups. Here's one I made. I really love lentils because they're amazingly good for you. Full of filling fiber, yum! I adapted this recipe from Cooking Light. See original here--http://find.myrecipes.com/recipes/recipefinder.dyn?action=displayRecipe&recipe_id=698672

Lentil Soup with Ham and Greens

Ingredients
1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
1 cup chopped onion
3 garlic cloves, minced
5 cups less-sodium chicken broth (can use fat-free)
1 1/2 cup dried lentils
1/2 cup chopped carrot
1/2 cup chopped celery (2 sticks)
2 bay leaves
3 cups chopped fresh spinach
1 1/2 cup chopped smoked ham
1 (14.5-ounce) can diced tomatoes
1 teaspoon dried basil
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme

Preparation
Heat oil in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add onion and garlic; sauté 5 minutes. Add broth, lentils, carrot, and bay leaves; bring to a boil. Partially cover, reduce heat, and simmer 20 minutes. Add spinach and ham; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; stir in tomatoes, basil, and thyme; simmer 10 minutes. Discard bay leaves. Serves 6.

Nutritional Value per serving: 183 Cal, 5.5g Fat, 1.3g Sat Fat, 1089mg Sod, 25.5g Carb, 4.3g Sugar, 11g Fiber, 17.4g Protein

~Enjoy!

Egg Muffins

I’m usually not brave enough to invent new recipes. I don’t feel that I have a complete grasp of foods and the science of cooking yet. I still consider myself a student, even though I am my own teacher. However, I take pride in these egg muffins I created! I’ve noticed that recipes for egg muffins, or mini-quiches, are becoming popular because they’re considered a good “to-go” food or one that can be frozen and re-heated later. While they are, and can be, that doesn’t mean you should rush to eat these. Please try the recipe as-is first, but then I highly encourage you to put your own twist on these. Just start with the base—an egg—and add whatever else you want to! What I like about these is they’re low in calories and fat, but certainly not in taste! If you’re looking to make the calories even less, they work well with egg whites only or with fake eggs, but they won’t look nearly as pretty or as big.

Ingredients:
2 eggs
1 tbl crumbled feta cheese (I usually use reduced fat, but regular works fine, too)
1 tbl frozen corn
1 tbl corn and black bean salsa (I think this really adds to the flavor of the muffins because of the spices in the salsa. I use Ariba’s, but you can use whatever salsa you have on hand. If your salsa doesn't have any spices added, you might want to add a little onion and garlic powder)
1 piece cooked turkey bacon, crumbled (I use Butterball brand, because it crumbles easily)Optional: 1 mushroom, diced

Preheat the oven to 350° and grease muffin tins. Cook bacon until crisp. Whisk eggs and then add all the other ingredients. Stir and pour into muffin tins. Bake 24 minutes or until set.

Makes 2 servings.
Nutritional Value per serving: 105 Cal, 6.5g Fat, 2.5g Sat. Fat, 226mg Sod, 2g Carbs, 0g Sug, .5g Fiber, 7,7g Protein

Who doesn't love food that doesn't require a fork?


Yesterday I went to Macy's and got two table sets of Fiesta Ware--an orange and red (my favorite color!) They have these really awesome limited edition bowls, too, but they were only in purple and evergreen (not the colors my kitchen will be). What else is on my cooking wish list? A new spatula, a hand immersion blender mixer thing, and silicon muffin pans (because I hear whatever you cook doesn't stick as much to them). However, my last day at work is next Saturday, so I'll be income-less. And without an income, how can I outcome?

~Enjoy!

Broiled Parmesan Tilapia

I'm house sitting for some friends this weekend. No, it's not one of those nice houses that you can run up down the stairs in or invite your friends over to watch a movie on a big screen TV in or splash around in a huge pool complete with a water slide. No, this house is old, for sale, and occupied by a mean, annoying cat, two old dogs, one's blind and deaf and the other one is scared all the time and has hip problems, and on occasion, me! Basically, I haven't gotten much sleep this weekend, which is prohibiting my ability to study for school. I also haven't done much cooking, which is dampening my spirits. I was so depressed Friday night, my first night at the house, that I ate a ton of chocolate chips that were kept in the refrigerator . Then I got over my sadness when I realized I was in a house by myself. That's just awesome. Since mom and I were being busy and lazy this weekend, we just did some tilapia with slaw and other veggies one night. This tilapia is fast and easy and the recipe is pretty much made up. I love recipes like this--just do whatever!

Ingredients:

1 tbl + 1 teaspoon low-fat mayonnaise, or 1 teaspoon per fillet

1-2 tbl melter butter

1 tbl lemon juice

1/4 teaspoon dried basil

Few grinds of pepper

1/4 teaspoon onion powder

1/4 teaspoon garlic powder

1/4 teaspoon-1/2 teaspoon sea salt

1/4 teaspoon paprika

1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1 pound or 4 tilapia fillets

Preheat the oven broiler. Move your flat rack to the top. Grease a boiling pan or line a baking pan with aluminum foil and then spray. Mix all the ingredients together except the fish. Put fillets on pan, broil 3 minutes. Flip and cook for 2 minutes. Flip one last time, topping with sauce mixture, and broil 2 minutes or until the topping is browned and the fish is done.

Be careful when cooking this if it's your first time using the broiler. That hot oven is tricky sometimes and burns the fish, even if you think you've done everything the same!

Serves 4

Nutritional Value per serving: 210 Cal, 11g Fat, 5.8g Sat Fat, 512mg Sod, 0g Carb, 0g Sugar, 0g Fiber, 31.7g Protein

~Enjoy!

White beans with tuna

Is it a salad, a spread, or just mush? Do whatever you want with it! This is a mixture that even my dad enjoys either on bread or as a dip with pita chips. The ingredient list isn't very precise, even I think I make it differently every time (sorry!).

Ingredients:

2 packets of Splenda (about a teaspoon)

1 teaspoon dried cilantro

About a 1/2 teaspoon lemon and lime juice--to taste

1 6oz can tuna in water

1 15.8 oz can white beans (About 1 1/2 cups)

Drain the tuna. Rinse off the beans in a coriander. Mix the first three ingredients in a small bowl and then add the tuna and beans. Mash everything together--the beans create a creaminess to the mush! Enjoy on bread, with pita chips, or just eat it with a spoon like I did for lunch today.

Serves 2 (Or one, if you're really hungry)

Nutritional Value per serving: 195 Cal, .6g Fat, 0g SFat, 735.5mg Sod, 25.5g Carb, 0g Sug, 9g Fiber, 25g Protein

I wish my picture showed the greeness of the cilantro...oh well,

~Enjoy!

Cheeseburger Quiche (No wheat)

You may be wondering why there is a pie crust on this cheeseburger quiche pictured...it's because I made one version for the family in a pie crust. The only difference is the one with the pie crust is saltier. If you want to make it in a pie crust, bake the crust for 8 minutes at 475° before following the rest of the recipe. You may also need to cook it a few minutes longer.

Ingredients:

1 cup reduced fat cheddar cheese--shredded

3 eggs

1/4 cup ketchup

1/2 pound lean ground beef

1/4 cup chopped onion

1 clove minced garlic

1/2 cup fat free milk

2 beef bouillon cubes

Preheat oven to 350°. Brown beef and drain off fat. (Do this either with a spoon or place in a coriander). Stir in onion, garlic, and bouillon; cook and stir until onion is tender and bouillon dissolves. In a medium bowl, beat eggs, milk, and ketchup. Stir in meat mixture and cheese. Pour into a sprayed 8 inch pie/quiche dish. Bake 25 minutes or until set. Let stand a few minutes before slicing.

Serves 4

Nutritional value per serving: 285 Cal, 16.8g Fat, 7.6 Sat Fat, 904mg Sod, 6g Carb, 4.5g Sug, 0 Fiber, 23.5g Protein

~Enjoy!

Coleslaw

I love coleslaw. There's something about mayonnaise and crunchy cabbage that delights my mouth. As a Texan, I've experienced many types of coleslaw. "Regular" is usually made with mayonnaise and "German" is usually made with a sugar/vinegar dressing. Fresh coleslaw is, of course, the best. Something about coleslaw swimming in mayonnaise grosses me out a little!! My dilemma with coleslaw was how to make it healthy--mayonnaise isn't that great for you, after all. I found a recipe on Kalyn's Kitchen (http://kalynskitchen.blogspot.com/) (a blog that I love, by the way) which I adapted a little to my preferences. My mom now says I've spoiled her with good coleslaw and never buys the package that has a dressing in it (which contains high-fructose-corn-syrup!)

Ingredients:

1 package of tri-colored coleslaw (about 8 cups)

1/4 cup of low fat mayonnaise

1/4 cup of fat-free milk (or low-fat)

1 teaspoon onion powder

1/2 teaspoon salt (I use sea salt)

1/2 teaspoon celery seed

1-2 tablespoons vinegar

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1 1/2 tablespoons of Splenda (about 8 small packets, or sweeten to taste)

Simply whisk together all the ingredients and then add the coleslaw mix! I prefer this fresh but you could always refrigerate it for awhile before serving. My favorite thing to do with the leftovers the next day is take a big leaf of lettuce, layer turkey and cheese, and top with the coleslaw. Roll it all up and eat like a wrap--but without the bread!

Makes 6 servings

Nutritional value per serving: 57.5 Cal, 3.33g Fat, .33g S.Fat, 252.7mg Sod, 7g Carb, <5g>

~Enjoy!