Thursday, January 2, 2014

Lentil-Sausage Soup (ie: "Sick Soup")

Source: me

Ingredients:
1 tbsp olive oil
4 large carrots, peeled and chopped
1 large onion, diced
4-6 stalks celery
2 tsp minced garlic
1/2-1 lb. Sage ground sausage (optional)
6 cups beef broth
2 medium zucchini, diced
1 large sweet potato, peeled and diced
1 large can diced tomatoes
1 1/2 c. lentils
2-3 tsp italian seasoning

Directions:
1. Saute carrots, onion, celery, sausage  and garlic in oil until sausage is browned. Drain, if needed.
2. Add remaining ingredients. Simmer for 30 minutes or until lentils and sweet potatoes are soft.

Notes: Our family caught a wicked cold/flu bug this week and spent all day in bed today. With my limited energy, I wasn't interested in making a fancy dinner, I just wanted something soothing and nutritious. I tossed this with low expectations (for flavor, but high expectations for nutrition), but the final product was so delicious that I had to record and share it immediately. Mom's whole wheat stir-and-roll baking powder biscuits were the perfect side dish.

Wednesday, January 1, 2014

Eggnog Cranberry Muffins

Source: Recipegirl

Ingredients:
for the muffins:
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 Tablespoon baking powder
1 cup granulated white sugar
2 large eggs
3/4 cup eggnog
1/3 cup melted butter
1 teaspoon almond extract (I didn't have any almond extract so I used vanilla instead)
1 cup coarsely chopped frozen cranberries
2 Tablespoons granulated white sugar

for the streusel topping:
1/2 cup granulated white sugar
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup butter, slightly softened
1/2 cup chopped pecans, optional (I had them, so I used them, and they were yummo)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 400°F. Spray 14 to 16 muffin cups (I got 20 muffins out of this recipe) with nonstick spray.

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour and baking powder; set aside.

In a large bowl, mix eggs, sugar, eggnog, butter and almond extract. Mix in dry ingredients just until combined. Toss cranberries with 2 Tablespoons sugar and then stir into batter (whoops - I forgot to do the toss in sugar step - the cranberries may be a bit more tart than they would have, but they're still delish).

Prepare streusel topping: Combine topping ingredients using a pastry cutter (or two knives) until crumbly (I just used my fingers).

Fill prepared muffin cups two-thirds full. Top with streusel topping. Bake 18 to 22 minutes (mine only took 15 minutes), or until muffins test done with a toothpick inserted in the center coming out clean.

Notes:
This is one of the recipes I pinned recently when I was on an eggnog muffin recipe kick.  I already tried the Eggnog Coffee Cake Muffins which were awesome, but I still had some eggnog left in the fridge and some frozen cranberries (I just bought a couple bags of fresh cranberries when they were on sale and tossed them in the freezer for days like this) in the freezer and they were calling my name.  These turned out great!  I think I like them better than the coffee cake version, and I liked those ones a lot.  These have a very light eggnog flavor and the cranberries are a fun, tart (but not too tart) little burst of flavor.  Love them!