Lentil Soup

This lentil soup has been a go to fall and winter recipe for us for years. It's easy enough to make on a weeknight, makes plenty of leftovers, and is satisfying without being fattening. And it's affordable! It's a real winner winner not chicken dinner.  

4 strips of bacon

3 medium carrots

1 yellow onion

1 1/2 cup dry lentils

2 tsp dried Tyme 

Salt/pepper 

2 cans chicken broth 

1/2 cup water 

3 garlic cloves 

2 tablespoons tomato paste 

1 tsp red wine vinegar

Chop your bacon into lentil sized peices. In a heavy soup pan crisp your bacon on medium heat. (Non crisp peices will be gross in the soup later, so be patient). Then chop your onion and carrots into lentil sized peices and add them into the pot. Cook until onions are clear. Add salt and pepper. Then add minced garlic and tomato paste and cook for another minute. Then add your lentils, cans of stock, Tyme, and salt and pepper again. 

Bring to a boil then reduce to a simmer and cook covered for 45 minutes. If you cook out all the stock you can add 1/2 cup of water later on. Add your vinegar at the end. Salt and pepper again as needed. You can top with Parmesan shavings if you want, but it really doesn't need it. Enjoy!

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

I recently made these chocolate chip pumpkin cookies from Sally's Baking Addiction. http://sallysbakingaddiction.com/2013/09/04/pumpkin-chocolate-chip-cookies/  I fed them to my friends and they ranted and raved. My husband said they were the best pumpkin cookies he's ever eaten. High praise. I wasn't madly in love, but I did eat the entire batch in one day. So I guess I am being forced to save my version of this recipe for use next fall. (As you can see my cookies look nothing like Sally's. I didn't flatten mine as she suggested.)  

Mix together:

-1/2 cup MELTED butter (melted es muy importante) 

-1/4 cup packed brown sugar

-1/2 cup white sugar

-1 generous tsp vanilla

-7 tablespoons pumpkin purée 

Mix until smooth.

Then add on top of the pumpkin mixture without stiring yet:

-1.5 cups of flour 

-1/4 tsp baking soda

-1/4 tsp baking powder 

-1/2 tsp salt 

-1/4 tsp freshly grated nutmeg 

-1/4 tsp cloves 

-1 tsp cinnamon 

-1 cup chocolate chips 

Once everything is sitting in a big pile on your pumpkin mixture, fluff all the dry ingredients to disperse them. Then mix them into the pumpkin mixture. Do not over mix. 

Because of the melted butter you MUST chill the dough for 30 minutes before baking. 

Bake at 350 for 8-9 minutes. Makes about 2 dozen cookies. 

Tico Black Beans

During our many visits to Costa Rica, one of my favorite things to eat was what they called a "tico breakfast". A tico is someone who is native to Costa Rica, so their tico breakfast is what all the natives preferred to have each morning. 

I've been on the hunt for a healthier breakfast routine for awhile. Something low in fat, full of protein, that won't have me hungry before lunch time. A tico breakfast is black beans mixed with white  rice to make a dirty rice, served with tortillas and a fried egg. Yum. 

Below is a combination of like 3 of my favorite black bean recipes. Perfect for my tico breakfast. 

2 cans black beans

1 bell pepper chopped

1 SMALL onion

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 bay leaves

2 garlic cloves

2 tsp dried cilantro

1/4 tsp red pepper

1/2 tsp dried oregano

1 tsp cumin 

1 tsp sugar

2 tsp white wine vinegar 

Salt 

Pepper

Heat olive oil in large skillet. Chop your onion and bell pepper and add to skillet. Once the onions are translucent add your garlic (minced). Then add your beans and all your spices. Bring to a boil, then simmer for 20 minutes. Use a potato masher to break up the beans just a bit. Let beans simmer until they reach desired thickness. Salt and pepper to taste. Would be great topped with a Latin queso fresco. 

Yum! Pura Vida!