Giggles

I want a baby Panda.

Daily Fluff

Bath tub = fort



Lentil Soup

One of the most exciting things about fall and winter for me is SOUP.  I love it, and you really can't eat it in the summer.  Unless you like sweating while eating.  So come fall weather, I set aside some of my weekend to make a batch of soup, any soup really.  And I stick most of it in the freezer so on some cold night where Stud and I are way too lazy to cook or leave the house, we have some delicious soup in the freezer.  I think I might actually take it too far....I refuse to let Stud eat more than the allotted amount for dinner.  The rest is for the freezer!  It must go in the freezer!  He thinks I'm crazy but I love having a well stocked freezer.  And it's why a stand alone freezer was one of the first things I bought when we moved in. 

So Freezer Stock 2010 began last weekend with a big batch of lentil soup made from Ina Garten's recipe found in her Barefoot in Paris cookbook!  And this is probably one of my favorite soups out there and is really very simple to make for the flavors that result.  Shocker - when I was younger, I didn't think I liked soup.  I didn't think I liked anything.  Reality is, I love soup and the heartier, the better.  So lentil soup with it's sausages and beans warms your belly over the cold winter and the recipe says you should serve it with red wine, so there you go.  No wonder it's my favorite. 

Lentil Soup

1 lb Italian sausage (I use 1/2 mild and 1/2 hot)

1 lb french green lentils

1/4 c. olive oil

4 c. diced yellow onions (about 3 large onions)

4 c. chopped leeks, white and light green parts (about 2 leeks)

2 cloves of garlic, minced

1 T. kosher salt

1 1/2 t. ground black pepper

1 T. minced fresh thyme leaves

1 t. ground cumin

3 c. diced celery (about 8 stalks)

3 c. diced carrots (about 4-6 carrots)

3 quarts chicken stock

1/4 c. tomato paste

Parmesan rind, if you have one (they are free at Lotsa Pasta!)

Put the lentils in a medium sized bowl and cover with boiling water.  Let sit for 15 minutes and drain.  In a large stockpot (I used my 9 1/2 quart, it makes a lot!), heat the olive oil and saute  the onions, leeks, garlic, salt, pepper, thyme, and cumin for about 20 minutes.  The veggies need to be translucent.  Add the celery and carrots and cook for another 10 minutes.  Then add the chicken stock, tomato paste, lentils, and Parmesan rind.  I like to add the sausage at this point as well because I like everything to cook together and to get the sausage flavor throughout the soup.  I cook them in the oven first, and then slice them into rounds and add to the soup.  Once you've added everything, cover and bring to a boil.  Once the soup boils, lower the heat to a simmer and let it cook uncovered for an hour.  The soup will reduce and darken quite a bit.  After an hour, fish out the Parmesan rind and serve with a splash of red wine and freshly grated Parmesan cheese.  The splash of red wine is essential.  It adds so much flavor, and then have a glass as well!  I told you I loved this recipe.

This soup is so simple.  Once all the chopping is finished, it just sits there for an hour with the occasional stir and then you're finished and you have a delicious dinner.  And if you have a sous chef that loves to chop and stir, it makes it even easier.  And now, I have three quarts of lentil soup in my freezer and some for dinner as well.  Freezer Stock 2010 is off to a good start!

OCPD

Exhibit A

Stud has diagnosed me with Obsessive Compulsive Personality Disorder, which apparently is just short of me going too far and being full blown OCD.  Before we put any of our honeymoon and wedding pictures in albums, I chronologically organized all of them - I think that's totally normal and hours very well spent.

But sometimes, I think I might be OCD.  I blame my parents and no worries, they know this already.  My dad has to have things clean.  This manifests in me in my kitchen and bathroom, so a good thing.  Counter tops and the sink must be clean.  And thank goodness for separate sinks in the bathroom - Stud manages to get toothpaste everywhere, and his sink is covered in that white soapiness and mine, well it gets a wipe down every time I use it.  I'm a huge fan of Lysol wipes. 

And then my mom.  List maker extraordinaire and master planner.  Oh man did I inherit this trait.  I depend on lists and my planner.  It was my list making compulsion that led Stud to my diagnosis of OCP.  Please see exhibit A, my grocery list for this weekend (good food to come!), which looks shockingly similar to the lists my mom makes.  Meals are planned, stores listed with items I need from each store along with quantities.  And the items are arranged in the path I take through the store, so I simply go down my list!  It prevents me from missing anything and keeps me from buying, oh three boxes of Dove ice cream bars.  In my mind, lists make my life easier!  I also have a list of things to do this weekend, this fall, this year; a list of wedding presents, their senders, addresses, if they attended the wedding, and if I have sent their thank you note; a list of recipes to try, when I want to try them, and grouped by meal.  At any moment, I can usually pull 2-5 lists from my purse.  Sometimes it can get out of control...but I love my lists.  What can I say.

Daily Fluff

You know, just building a nest in the bathroom.  The tile floor is way too cold and this rug is perfect.

Turkey Bugers

Stud and I rarely eat regular burgers anymore - they are always bison or my new experiment, turkey burgers.  Hey, it's healthier...right??  These have a smattering of ingredients in them, and the main thing I have learned, is that they need moisture.  I have seen some recipes call for ricotta cheese, but most call for vegetable or canola oil which is what I use because I always have some in the pantry.  And I cooked them in my new cast iron skillet!  Yum yum. 

Turkey Burgers

1 lb. ground turkey

1 shallot, finely diced

3 T. fresh parsley, chopped

Salt

Pepper

4 T. canola oil

2 T. Dijon mustard

1/4 c. bread crumbs

1 egg

Worcestershire sauce

Combine everything but the Worcestershire sauce in a bowl and form into patties.  Using your thumb, make an indent in the middle of the patty for the Worcestershire sauce and pour it in.  It will get absorbed as they cook.  If you plan on cooking them in a cast iron skillet, line it first with a thin layer of oil and let it heat up before you put the burgers in - that way you get a good sear on the outside.  I think we cooked them for about 5-7 minutes a side so they were completely done in the middle, about 160 degrees.  Serve with pickles if you are, like me, newly obsessed with pickles.  They go really really well with these burgers!

This recipe might of gotten a little too close to meatloaf for me, something which I avoid like the plague.  I think I had it forced too many times as a child.  My mom had this theory that if she made me eat something three times then I would like it.  She should have never verbalized that to me, I knew her plans and continued to refuse to eat things.  I told you I was picky.  Anyways, I might omit the egg and breadcrumbs next time and see how they hold together.  Or maybe make them spicy with cumin and chili powder.  That's what I like about turkey burgers.  You're supposed to doctor them up whereas with regular burgers, I like them plain and simple.  With cheese.  And pickles.

Mike Best's

To any readers that live in the Louisville area - here is a coupon for 51% off Mike Best's Meat Market.  And I will be using it to get all sausages needed for upcoming soups - Ministrone, Gumbo, Lentil, etc....  And they have the best Chorizo!

Mike Best's Groupon