Chicken Lentil and Quinoa soup

Sorry I don't have any pictures. We went to Florida for vacation for 2 weeks. When we returned we needed a healthy meal. This was the healthiest thing I could think of! I know this is't much of a blog post, but I really loved the way this soup turned out and wanted to make sure I could reproduce it.

Chicken Lentil and Quinoa soup

2 boxes low or unsalted chicken broth
1 jar spaghetti sauce. I used Safeway select basil garlic, but use any you prefer.
2 chicken leg quarters
1 cup lentils
1/2 cup quinoa
1 cup chopped celery, including tops
1 cup chopped carrots
1 cup cut fresh green beans
4 garlic cloves
1/2 tsp parsley
1 tsp Greek seasoning
1 tbsp pizza seasoning (or Italian if you don't have pizza seasoning)
1/2 cup Pinot Noir. It is important to taste the wine. If you wouldn't drink it, don't use it.
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
4 tbsp olive oil
coat chopped veggies and chicken in olive oil. Sprinkle with pizza and Greek seasoning
roast in 425* oven for 40 minutes. (check at 30 minutes) Chicken should reach 155* when checked with a meat thermometer. Veggies should be stirred every 15 minutes. They should have blackened edges. while meat/veggies roast, bring chicken stock to a boil. add lentils and quinoa. Add spaghetti sauce, simmer for 30 minutes.
when veggies and chicken are cooked, remove from oven. Add veggies to the soup and let chicken rest for 15 minutes. Once rested, shred chicken and add to soup. Add more broth to taste. serve with crusty bread.
serves 6 to 8

Lumpia

Lumpia

I LOVE Lumpia. They are Filipino egg rolls, only way better than egg rolls. It is a thinner wrapper, kinda like a spring roll wrapper. In fact, if you can't find lumpia wrappers, a spring roll wrapper is a great substitute. I learned to make this from my college boyfriends mom when I was about 22. I then forgot how to make them until I came across a recipe in my Filipino cook book recently. I make this a couple times a year, and freeze them in batches, that way we can have lumpia wheever we want it!

Toss some ground pork into a large bowl.

Grate a carrot.

Set aside.

Peel a shallot.

Do as fince a dice as you can. All your pieces should be pretty small.

Set the diced shallots aside. (I had to use my super cute little measuring cups, aren't they adorable?)

Chop the top and bottom from your onion.

Slice into this strips.

Then dice into teeny pieces.

Set aside.

1/2 cup soy sauce.

I used swan for this because that is what I had on hand, but any brand will do.

You wanna get the skins off the garlic cloves, so smash them with the flat side of your knife.

Now peel the skins off. Way easier than trying to peel them before you smoosh them.

Dice very small.

4 cloves of garlic

Seems like a lot, but it is just enough!

Again with the cute little measuring cups!

Dice up a bushel of green onions.

Set aside.

Dice up a small head of cabbage.

Drain a can of water chestnuts.

Slice.

And dice.

In no particular order, add the green onions.

Water chestnuts.

Grated carrots.

Shallots.

Garlic.

Onions.

Cabbage.

Frozen Peas

Soy sauce.

Mix it all together, thoroughly.

It smells awesome already.

Lumpia wrappers. I Always get the ones with the paper between each wrapper. the other kind are really hard to get apart. You will need about 60 wrappers.

You will need egg white to seal the lumpia closed.

1 tablespoon of filling is PLENTY. do not use more or your rolls will be too fat. Fat rolls do not cook all the way through. its bad, don't do it. (I did it once, it was very sad.)

(My camera was focused on the plastic instead of my hands,

so these fuzzy pictures are as good as it gets lol)

Spread the filling out in a line so it is about an inch from each end of the wrapper.

Fold these like a pre made burrito.

Fold the outer ends in.

Then fold the side nearest you all the way over.

Missing a picture here, but dip your fingers into the egg white, and run it along the edge of the wrapper where it meets the roll. This will seal it closed.

Then roll it into a tight roll.

I usually make all the lumpia at once, place them on a cookie sheet, and freeze them flat. once they are frozen I bag them up into bags of about 10 each, and throw those in the freezer. That way I can make Lumpia whenever I feel like it, but not have to make a ton at once!

place the lumpia in about 375 degree oil.

Cook until nice and brown on one side.

With tongs, flip the lumpia over.

Serve with sweet chili sauce.

Drooling now....

So yummy.

Lumpia Ingredients:

60 lumpia wrappers
oil for frying
1 1/2 pounds ground pork
1/2 cup soy sauce
1/2 large yellow onion(or 1 small onion) diced small
1 shallot diced small
4 garlic cloves diced small
2 carrots grated
1 can water chestnuts, drained and diced small
1 small cabbage shredded and diced
1 cup frozen peas

2 egg whites

Add all ingredients except wrappers and egg white to a bowl and mix thoroughly. Spoon about 1 tablespoon filling onto each wrapper. Roll into an egg roll shape. Once rolled, fry in about 375 degree oil until golden brown. Serve with sweet chili sauce or sweet and sour sauce. Enjoy!

Bacon Cheese dip

Bacon Cheese Dip

I got this recipe from my Best Friend Angie. I have changed it a little (like I always do), but it is essentially her dip. This is so super rich and cheesy and bacony. Everything is better with bacon right? It's way easy. I made this for my birthday, and have had quite a few requests for this recipe! Feel free to change it up, and let me know how it goes!

I actually preferred the trader Joe's 3 cheese Italian mix, its less oily that this one was. Just pretend that is Trader Joe's cheese. Or if you prefer to grate a bunch of cheeses, this has Parmesan, provolone and I think mozzarella in it. Feel free to use whatever cheese strikes your fancy.

 

Chop up your bacon into about 1/2 inch pieces.

I used the whole package. This is not health food.

Dice 1/2 a yellow onion

Throw the bacon into a sizzling hot saute pan.

Let that render down.

While the bacon is cooking, dice up your green onions.

I love green onions...

Once your bacon is crisp...

Use a slotted spoon to pull it out of the grease. Drain as much of the grease as you can. I would even suggest putting it on a paper towel to drain before doing the next step.

After your bacon has drained for a bit on the paper towel, throw it into a bowl.

( I am trying to help you avoid the greasy mistake I made!)

Toss the diced onions into the bacon grease.

Let those cook until translucent and they have caramelized some.

(the little brown edges are so tasty)

then scoop those out.

(let those rest on a paper towel for a bit as well. You don't wanna be like me and toss the whole greasy mess in the bowl)

Add the drained onions to the bowl.

3/4 cups of mayo.

Green onions

Green chili's

The can said these were hot, but it lied. You can use as hot or as mild as you like. me and duck like a little heat in our cheesy bacon dip!

Mix together.

Until combined.

Add the cheese.

Mix completely.

Pour into an 8x8 baking dish.

Bake at 350 degrees.

Until it's all bubbly and oozy and yummy!

Serve with sourdough bread, or my favorite, tortilla chips!

Give it to your husband while its still bubbly,

then look all innocent when he burns his mouth...

Seriously there is so many ways you could change this up. Add cream cheese, red bell pepper, Cheddar cheese. I don't know what else. This is always a hit around here!

Ingredients:

1 package bacon

3/4 cups mayonnaise

1/2 large yellow onion (about 1/2 a cup when diced)

1 bunch green onions (about 1/3 of a cup when diced)

1 can green chili's

2 cups 3 cheese blend cheese (I like Trader Joe's)

Chop bacon into about 1/2 inch pieces. Render that down until crispy. remove from pan. Drain. add diced onions to hot bacon grease. Saute until translucent and caramelized. Remove from pan to drain. Add drained bacon and onions to a bowl. Add diced green onion, mayonnaise and cheese. mix well. put in an 8 x 8 baking dish. cook at 350* for 40 minutes. serve with tortilla chips or sourdough bread, It is very good served in a bread bowl!

Enjoy!