For the first few weeks of January, I don’t have my meal plan which means I need to bring my lunch.  As much as I HATE and DREAD enjoy this, it does give me the benefit of being able to try a few new recipes.  One I tried was the Lentil and Black Bean Soup from the December 2011 issue of Runners World. 

According to Runners World…

This vegan stew is thick and superfilling thanks to the beans and lentils. Both are good sources of protein and fiber-rich carbs. "The body absorbs these nutrients slowly, keeping energy and hunger levels on an even keel," says sports nutritionist Monique Ryan, R.D. One cup of lentils contains almost all of your daily need for folate, a B vitamin that’s key for the formation of energy-supplying red blood cells. Chili powder, cumin, and paprika punch up the flavor while providing a dose of anti-inflammatory antioxidants.  Source

I loved this soup.  It was relatively simple and most of the time was just watching the pot cook.  Quite honestly, the lime juice made this soup.

It was extremely hearty and one day I even served it with some Wholly Guacamole.  This soup reheats well and I bet would be fine in the freezer – I will probably make another batch of this soup for the freezer and also to use some more of the red lentils I bought.

Perfect for those cold winter days!

While reading blogs a little ago, I found a recipe for Pepperoni Pizza Puffs on Stephanie’s blog.  Seeing as pizza is one of my favorite food groups, I thought I would try the recipe swapping out mushrooms for the pepperoni – mushrooms are one of my favorite pizza toppings and slightly more vegetarian friendly than pepperoni. 

Sadly, I think this is a recipe that needs the pepperoni.  They were bland and kinda boring – I even added a few shakes of garlic powder to the batter before dividing into the muffin tins to try to make up for the lack of spices from the pepperoni.

I topped our pizza puffs with a little bit of pizza sauce which I hoped would give it a little bit more flavor but sadly it didn’t. 

These would be great for an afternoon snack or served as an appetizer as Stephanie did for the meat-lovers in your life. 

Last weekend I was talking with my best friend Mallory from Grad School.  We were reminiscing about old times and we talked about our favorite restaurant – the Grit.  I have been meaning to get the Grit Cookbook for a while and finally added it to my amazon shopping cart.  In the mean time, I started craving their grilled cheese. 

From the menu:

Grilled Cheese Smelt   $5.95
Your choice of fresh spinach or sliced tomato melted with cheddar cheese and honey mustard dressing on our homemade whole wheat bread. Athens’ biggest and best grilled cheese sandwich.

It was the best grilled cheese. 

On the internet I found a recipe for their legendary honey mustard dressing and made it on Sunday.

This honey mustard is amazing – I halved the recipe because I didn’t need that much for a grilled cheese.

I also used homemade whole wheat bread.

If you are looking for either 1) a way to change up a plain old grilled cheese or 2) a new honey mustard dressing – I highly recommend this.

I miss the Grit. 

Do you have a favorite restaurant that you miss?

While flipping through the September issue of Cooking Light magazine, I found a recipe for Caesar Salad Bagels.  Thinking this was so basic, I questioned why there was even a recipe.  Then, of course, I decided to try it. 

Being allergic to Everything Bagels, I used plain whole-wheat bagel thins – what I had in the fridge.  I also did not feel like slicing the onion – for a small bagel.  Too much work.

Nothing special.  Matt tasted only the cheese – I tasted only the lettuce.  He said he would try this again with a thicker or flavored bagel – I bet this would taste better with an onion bagel. 

I will say, this was certainly fast.  Nothing special, but if you need dinner quickly, this works.  Next time I would almost try to blend some white beans with the caeser dressing to give this a little more protein – or perhaps add some chicken to make this more of a meal. 

Still, I can’t believe there was a recipe for this in a magazine. 

While browsing the supermarket last weekend, I decided to pick up some Whole Wheat Tortellini in order to make a pasta salad for a few lunches this week. 

I asked Matt to create the pasta salad while I was baking on Sunday and this is what he created:

Ingredients:

• Couple handfuls of spinach – roughly chopped/ripped
• Pint of cherry tomatoes, halved
• 1 red pepper, chopped
• Scallions, chopped
• Feta cheese
• Package of tortellini

Dressing:

• juice of 1 lemon
• 1 tbsp champagne vinegar
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• Sprinkle of salt

Directions:

Cook pasta according to directions.   After done cooking, rinse under cold water to cool.  Add tortellini and all other salad ingredients.  Mix dressing ingredients together and add to salad.  Toss well.

This was an amazing pasta salad.  I loved the combination of flavors and this meal was perfect for my dinners before class this week.  If we make this again, I would consider adding some cannellini beans. 

What are your favorite pasta salad ingredients?

Both Matt and I struggled to get out of bed this morning – probably because we both have to go to work on this gorgeous, spring day. 

I went for a short run this morning (although all of my runs recently have been short) – I ran 2.23 miles in 24 minutes.  Today’s run (week 6, day 1 of the couch to 5k) was a five mile run followed by 3 minutes of walking, 8 minute run and three minutes of walking and ending with a 5 minute run.  Before heading out I had a medjool date – and I think I fell in love.  So sweet and delicious.  I had a great run which I’m crediting to the date. 

After my run, I scrubbed our bathroom – Matt has to clean the kitchen tonight – and then enjoyed some brunch. 

A Thomas’s Whole Wheat bagel with two pieces of swiss cheese, lettuce, tomato, cucumber and pickle slices.  Heavenly. 

Plus a side of green bean fries – which weren’t my best. 

I think every sandwich should have pickles on it – just sayin. 

Off to work. 

Yesterday at work I was craving some Pasta Fagioli soup – I love pasta fagoli.  This craving was probably brought on with the information that we would have no heat today; I wanted a hot bowl of soup to bring to work for lunch.  Looking up recipes, I found one on the Vegetarian Times website (which I got a subscription to for Christmas and am eagerly awaiting my first issue to arrive via snail mail).

Here is the recipe:

Pasta e Fagioli Soup

• 1 Tbs. olive oil
• 1 medium-size fennel bulb, finely chopped (about 1 cup)
• 1 medium-size onion, chopped (about 1 cup)
• 2/3 cup chopped celery
• 2 cloves garlic, minced (2 tsp.)
• 1 tsp. dried oregano
• 1/4 tsp. red pepper flakes
• 1 28-oz. can diced tomatoes
• 1 15-oz. can white beans, drained and rinsed
• 4 cups low-sodium vegetable broth
• 1 tsp. salt
• 8 oz. whole-wheat ditalini or orzo pasta (I used ww elbows)
• 3 Tbs. chopped fresh parsley

DIRECTIONS

1. Heat oil in large pot over medium-high heat. Add fennel, onion and celery, and sauté 7 minutes, or until vegetables are softened. Add garlic, oregano and pepper flakes, and cook 1 minute more. Stir in tomatoes and beans, and simmer 10 minutes over medium-low heat.
2. Add broth, salt and 2 1/2 cups water, and cook 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in pasta, and cook 10 minutes more, or until pasta is tender.
3. Sprinkle with parsley, and season with salt and pepper.

First this recipe makes a tremendous amount of soup…

Second, look how delicious and hearty it is

It has an amazing flavor.  I have never cooked with fennel before and was afraid it would be a little too licorice-y for me but you could barely taste it.  Cooking the pasta in the soup made it so much less liquidy and much more thick.  For the amount of time I put into this pot of soup, I have got a tremendous amount of leftovers.

I will have lunch for the rest of the week…good thing it is going to be cold out.

If you are looking for a warm soup on a cold day – here is great recipe to add to your list!

I arrived back from NJ late Tuesday night.  Matt and I took two cars this trip because he and his brothers were taking their dad to a hockey game last night.  Well our plans changed….multiple times. 

On Christmas eve, the check engine light on my car went on.  Lovely.  Interestingly, this was after Matt had driven his broken car to New Jersey just a few days earlier.  Matt’s car is now fine but mine needed a new brake pump which should have arrived at the mechanic today.  We are hoping the car is fixed this afternoon so he can drive back tomorrow. 

When I was trying to leave on Tuesday, we then realized that the driver’s seat in Matt’s car was broken – it wouldn’t lock.  So I drove back on Tuesday with a pillow behind me so I could see out the windshield.  When it rains it pours right? 

I was very anxious to leave on Tuesday because I wasn’t feeling so well.  I hate being sick – especially when I can’t sleep in my own bed and relax on my couch.  I made home just on time because yesterday I woke up feeling horrible.  After sleeping most of the day, I have just a cold now. 

Not eating much yesterday, I am starving today.  I decided to make one of my favorite soups – you only need two ingredients – plus any toppings you may enjoy.

I love Amy’s Refried Beans – plus they are vegetarian.  I bought Green Mountain Salsa for the first time on Tuesday – because I was impressed with the ingredients.

It is a great salsa and may become my new favorite variety. 

Ok to make the soup, empty the can of refried beans into a pot – begin to heat up on medium heat.  Add a few spoonful’s of salsa and a splash of water to thin it out.  Continue to heat until desired temperature. 

I topped my soup with a little shredded cheese and had some tortilla chips on the side for dipping.

Delicious and very filling. 

I think an afternoon nap is in my future – I want to get rid of this cold ASAP.

Today for lunch I made one of my favorite pasta dishes…Penne Vodka a la Annie. Using just a few simple ingredients…

You made a creamy pasta dish full of veggies (tomatoes and peas) in no time at all. 

Simply follow the instructions on the box of macaroni and cheese and in the last 3 minutes of cooking time, add your desired amount of frozen peas.  Drain pasta and peas and add back to pan.  Stir in cheese mixture (cheese packet and milk) and 2 Laughing Cow cheeses.  Add in diced tomatoes (drained) and stir.  Penne Vodka in a minute.

The pasta is so creamy – plus by adding all those toppings, you get 3-4 meals out of a box.  I have more then plenty leftovers for lunch tomorrow.

Matt and I had our dentist appointment today and we both checked out cavity free. 

To reward ourselves for good dental hygiene, a trip to Papa Joe’s Wrap Shack rounded out our trip to Rhode Island. 

This is one of my favorite sandwiches/wraps of all time – I wish I had gone there more when I lived in Rhode Island.  A plain wrap with fried calamari, mixed greens, shredded mozzarella cheese and homemade roasted garlic mayo.  I asked our waitress “what is your secret?”  She replied, “they are made with love.  Well that and the homemade garlic mayo.”  Yes they are made with love.  Yes they are.  

I’m having dinner with my friend Jeanine tonight – haven’t seen her in a few months so I am looking forward to catching up.