Italian Sausage and Lentil Soup

I was looking for a good Lentil soup recipe and came across this recipe on one of my favorite blog sites. I made it last night exactly as the recipe called. The only difference was adding an extra cup of water at the end because I wanted it a bit more soupy.

I cannot begin to tell you how AMAZING this soup tastes. It's up there with one of the best soups I've ever had (only my grandma's soups are higher ranked). I recommend to not change anything from the recipe above. The turkey italian sausage made it tastes great and much healthier, too.

 I loved it so much I did the math and figured up the nutrition facts for it. If you follow the recipe above, you will get about 10 servings total. Each serving is about 1 1/2 cups full. Here's the nutrition contents for each serving:

Calories: 202
Fat:           6g
Protein:   22g
Carbs:     32g
Fiber:      16g
Sugar:       6g

One serving alone meets well over 100% of your vitamin A and vitamin C daily needs.

I just may make a pot every week. I hope you enjoy it as much as I am!

Eggplant Parmesan

I modified a recipe I found online for this eggplant parmesan. I wanted to make it gluten-free so I changed up bread crumbs and crushed up Rice Chex cereal instead. Try the recipe below!

Ingredients (makes about 4 servings) -

• 1 large eggplant, sliced 1/2 inch thick
• 2 cups Rice Chex cereal, crunched up in fine crumbs
• 3 eggs, beaten
• 1 large can of pasta sauce, divided into thirds
• 2 cups mozzerella cheese 
• 1/2 cup parmesan cheese  plus 2 tablespoons
• 1/2 tsp oregano
• 1/2 tsp basil
• generous dash of pepper

Directions - 

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Spray two cookie sheets with cooking spray. In one bowl, mix together chex crumbs, oregano, basil, and Parmesan cheese. Beat eggs in a separate bowl. Take the eggplant slices and dip them in the egg (shaking off any excess egg) and then coat them each in the crumb mixture. Place the slices on the cookie sheets. 

Bake in the oven for 20 minutes. Turn each slice over and bake for another 20 minutes until golden brown. Remove from oven. 

Spray an 8x8 pan. Pour 1/3 of pasta sauce in the pan. Lay half the eggplant on top of the sauce. Pour 1/3 more sauce on top. Then sprinkle 1 cup mozzarella cheese. Repeat with eggplant, sauce, and cheese. Lastly, sprinkle the remaining 2 tbsp of Parmesan cheese on top of the dish. 

Bake in the oven for another 15 minutes until sauce and cheese are bubbly. Serve hot. 

Loaded baked potato

Need a quick and easy lunch? Steam a baked potato and top it with diced tomatoes, black olives, shredded chicken, and a bit of shredded cheese and sour cream. It's healthy and gluten-free, too!

Black Bean Salsa

I love digging through my fridge, pantry, and freezer and pulling out ingredients to make dishes like this. This salsa was simple and easy to throw together and extremely healthy for you, too. Here's how I made my dish -

Ingredients:
(makes 4-6 servings)

• 1 can of black beans, drained
• 1 bag of frozen corn, steamed (or you can use a can of corn, too) 
• 1 can of diced tomatoes and green chilies
• 1/2 yellow onion, diced
• 1 ripe avocado, diced
• handful of cilantro 
• generous squeeze of lemon juice

Directions: 

Combine all ingredients. Store in fridge for about an hour to chill. Serve with either tortilla chips or on corn tortillas for a meal in itself. 

Country Skillet

I've posted this before but not the actual recipe. My family loves loves loves it when I make this. It's healthy, filling, full of vegetables, and delicious! You can change it up by using shrimp or chicken instead of the sausage as well.

Ingredients:
(makes 4 servings)

• 6 small russet potatoes, washed and sliced (you can leave the peel on) 
• 1 yellow onion, peeled and sliced 
• 1 16oz bag of frozen corn
• 16oz fresh green beans, stems removed 
• 1 package of turkey sausage links, sliced into coin sizes 
• a generous dash of olive oil
• all purpose seasoning
• Ziploc steam bags (if you want to cook this meal quick) 

Directions:
Prepare all the ingredients as directed above. If using the steam bags, steam the potatoes and directed on the bags. Then steam the green beans and the corn in the steam bags (You can steam them on the stove if you don't have the bags. The bags just save time and make cooking go much quicker.)
Heat a wok on medium high with olive oil. Add the onions and the sausage links until they are browning. Add the potatoes, corn, and green beans to the wok. Add the seasoning and stir frequently to mix well and cook through (about 15 minutes). Serve immediately.

Mexican Bowl

This is a yummy lunch when you need a little Mexican carbohydrate fix. I make a big bowl of it and eat it throughout the week.

Ingredients:
(serves 4)

- 4 servings of brown rice, cooked as directed on package
- 1 pound of chicken breast, cooked in the crockpot and shredded
- 2 cans of black beans, drained
- 1 can of mild diced tomatoes and green chiles
- 1/2 jar of picante salsa

Directions:
Place chicken in crockpot and cook on high for 3-4 hours. Shred with a fork. (I usually cook 5 pounds of chicken breasts at once, shred it all, divide into baggies, and freeze for ready-made meals such as this one).
Cook the rice as directed on package. Mix in a large bowl rice, chicken, beans, diced tomatoes, and salsa. Best if it sets overnight to absorb the flavors. Add a dollop of sour cream and/or shredded cheese.

Homemade mac and cheese

My husband is a HUGE macaroni and cheese fan. I can't tell you how many boxes of that stuff we bought and ate through college and our first couple years of marriage. Then as I started being more health conscious I tried to make it more "healthy" by adding tuna or even broccoli to it. I thought I was doing a good job by adding things to do. Boy, was I wrong!

Have you ever looked at the back of one of those macaroni and cheese boxes? The list of additives and ingredients is soooo long. And I can't even pronounce most of the stuff. Then I graduated from the boxed macaroni and cheese and tried to make it with my own pasta and velveeta. That must be better for you, right? Wrong again!

I guess I was always scared to try to make mac and cheese from scratch. I didn't think it was going to be that easy. But it was! I used the macaroni and cheese recipe from 100 Days of Real Food, and let me tell you, it was REAL easy!

Now I get to give my family whole wheat pasta (that only has ONE ingredient on the box) with some added shredded cheese and milk. I know every ingredient in it and I can pronounce them all. Now that's a winner in my recipe box!

Hot Sauce Hamburgers

As promised, here is the recipe for an amazing hamburger that I know you will thoroughly enjoy. It has healthy elements from the oats and a little kick from the hot sauce. Hope you love them, too!

Ingredients:
2 lbs. lean ground beef (preferably locally raised)
1 cup oats
1/4 cup hot sauce
2 tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
2 eggs

Directions:
Preheat grill to medium heat. Mix together all ingredients until blended (try to not over-mix because the patties won't stick together very well). Scoop out mixture and form into 8 patties. Cook until desired thoroughness. Top with lots of veggies 100% whole wheat bread. Enjoy!

Whole wheat breaded chicken breast

The other night I was craving chicken. I wanted something that seemed like I was cheating on my food plan so I saw this recipe from my Deliciously Organic cookbook. It was just what I needed!

Ingredients:
4 chicken breast (either thin cut or pound a normal chicken breast with a meat tenderizer)
1 cup 100% whole wheat flour
2 eggs, beaten
2 tbsp REAL butter
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
salt and pepper

Directions:
Preheat the oven for 350 degrees. Heat the oil and butter in a skillet on medium high. Coat the chicken breasts in the flour. Then dip it in the eggs.Place in the skillet and cook for 3 minutes on each side.  Place chicken on a baking sheet and cook in the oven for another 7-10 minutes (ovens may vary).

Pair it with a mixed green salad, fresh veggies, and a light vinaigrette dressing.