Tag Archives: vegetarian

Lentil and Sweet Potato Soup

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One day I was in a terrible mood. I was tired, cranky, and I just felt like lying on the couch with a glass–make that two–of wine. My husband saw the need to step up to the plate, and offered to cook. The hitch: instead of the lentil soup I had planned on heading up, he would make French toast.

Now don’t get me wrong–I love it when a man serves me French toast. I slather it with peanut butter, drown it in syrup, and call it Bliss. But the thing is, I’d been thinking about this lentil soup all day, and dangit if I was going to disappoint my own taste buds.

By the time I had gotten my butt off the couch, my husband had chopped the onion and was peeling the sweet potatoes, bless his heart. I schlumped around a little with a knife and a big wooden spoon and . . . then there was soup.

A taste of the soup was all I needed to immediately feel elevated. It was worth every ounce of emotional energy it took for my buttocks to remove themselves from the cushiony surface of our couch and wiggle themselves into the kitchen.

Spicy, healthy (vegetarian!) and awesome, I spent the rest of the evening quite happy–happy I had been disciplined and done what I planned. And even happier after my husband said: “I can’t believe we can actually make something this good. Wait . . . how did we make it?”

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I love that guy. And I’m so grateful for his fortitude on evenings when I’m just an emotional pile of whatsit. For his sake, I’ll try to never be cranky again. Ever.

I think I have a fighting chance.

(hah)

Here’s my baby giving me the “please stop taking pictures so that I can eat my soup while it’s hot” face.

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Oh, and here’s my other baby.

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I love that little stinker.

Anyway, this is a great weeknight meal. It’s simple and hearty and flavorful and filling. It does have some kick to it, so if you’re not a lover of a little spice maybe you should migrate towards this Ham and Bean Soup instead–but for the rest of you: YUM. From Kelsey Banfield’s “The Naptime Chef,” I hope you dig it as much as I do.

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Ingredients

(Serves 4-5)

2 TBS olive oil
1 onion, chopped
2 TBS grated fresh ginger
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 tsp curry powder
1 tsp kosher salt
32 oz chicken stock
2 large sweet potatoes, peeled and cubed
1 14 oz can diced tomatoes
1 cup brown lentils, rinsed
Pepper and a pinch of sugar, to taste

  1. In a large pot, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the chopped onion and sauté for 5 minutes, until softened.
  2. Add the ginger, garlic, curry powder and salt; stir for about 2 minutes, until fragrant (and stir constantly so it doesn’t burn).
  3. Add the chicken stock, can of tomatoes, cubed sweet potatoes, and lentils. Bring it all to a boil and let it bubble away for1 minute.
  4. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer (uncovered) for about 40 minutes, until the potatoes are tender enough to pierce with a fork.
  5. Taste and adjust seasoning with salt, pepper and sugar as needed.
  6. Serve hot!

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Spinach Lasagna Rolls

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Oh you guys–this recipe is a winner. I haven’t been posting recipes as often as I’d like, but I’m making this happen because it’s so tasty and awesome and it was so much fun to make on a lazy Sunday afternoon.

I first encountered lasagna rolls on the internet. In fact, I saw them years ago and immediately wrote them off as too complicated and probably not delicious enough to be worth the (seeming) effort.

Then, in January I went to Arizona to visit my sister Erica and her babies, including the newly minted Joshua (born on New Years Day!).

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Arizona. It’s brown.

Someone brought us a meal the second evening I was there: lasagna rolls. They were so, so good that I immediately decided to make them upon my return home.

Then, the folks at Red Gold were kind enough to send me a promotional kit with the materials to make lasagna. I had everything I needed to make these little bundles of tomato and pasta love. It’s like the stars had aligned, or something.

So on a relaxing Sunday, I got out the step stool and put my baby to work.

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Mix this stuff! Roll that stuff! Bake that stuff!

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And what was I doing while my little one was slaving away? Well sitting on the couch eating bonbons, of course. Heh heh.

How’s the ricotta mixture shaping up over there Alice?

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Good?

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Wait Alice! Don’t eat it! There’s raw egg in there!

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Sorry kiddo. One day you’ll understand.

Phew–that was a close call. Okay, no more bonbons–gotta keep this baby on track.

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Anyway, I gleaned the recipe from Skinny Taste, and man is it good.

And about 2 rolls are just enough to fill the stomach of a hungry adult human.

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And it turns out it’s not so hard to make! Especially if you have a wee one to help with all the important parts–like banging the measuring cup on the counter and tasting the mozzarella.

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For the record, my husband said, “Wow, this is better than actual lasagna.” Then he looked up and said, “Don’t tell my Aunt Laura I said that.”

We can only hope that Aunt Laura doesn’t read this far down into the post. {cue evil laughter}

Ingredients

(Serves 4)

9 cooked lasagna noodles
10 oz frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained
15 oz ricotta cheese
½ cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 egg
Salt and pepper, to taste
32 oz spaghetti sauce
9 TBS grated mozzarella cheese

  1. Preheat the oven to 350 F.
  2. Spread out the cooked lasagna noodles on a large piece of wax paper and let them dry.
  3. Mix the spinach, ricotta, Parmesan, and egg with some salt and pepper.
  4. Spread about 1 cup of spaghetti sauce over the bottom of a 9×12 baking dish.
  5. Evenly spread 1/3 cup of the ricotta mixture down the whole length of each noodle. Like thees.

DSC_01966. Roll each noodle, and place them all seam-side down into the baking dish.

7. Ladle the rest of the spaghetti sauce over the noodles, and top each roll with 1 TBS mozzarella.

DSC_02238. Cover with foil and bake for 40 minutes.

Ta daa!

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Serve hot!

Alice and I hope you guys enjoy it.

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Yay for babies and food! Two of my favorite things in life.

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