Sweet & Savory Tuesday ~~ Lentil Soup w/Parmesan Bread

When the calendar turns to Autumn, it's time to pull out the soup recipes!  Here's one of our family favorites for your enjoyment.

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 lb. ground beef, browned in skillet
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1 pint jar diced tomatoes or 1 - 8 oz. can tomato sauce
• 1/2 - 1 cup salsa
• 3 - 4 carrots, sliced or cubed
• 3 - 4 Idaho potatoes, cubed
• 1 - 2 cups lentils, rinsed in colander
• 3 quarts of water - give or take - depending upon how thin or thick you like your soups.  I like them with a lot of broth and my ever lovin' prefers them much thicker, so I strive to find a happy medium.
• 1 - 2 Tbsp. Chili Powder
• 2 tsp. Cumin
• Salt & pepper, optional

DIRECTIONS:

Place all ingredients in soup pan or stock pot on stove and cook 2 - 3 hours or until lentils are tender  ~~~ or ~~~

Place all ingredients in crock pot and cook on high setting for approximately 6 hours.

**** NOTE:  Some people opt to prepare this recipe omitting the ground beef.  It's delicious either way!


PARMESAN BREAD INGREDIENTS:

• 1 1/2 cups Bisquick Baking Mix
• 1 Tbsp. sugar
• 1 Tbsp. dehydrated minced onion
• 1 egg
• 1/4 cup milk
• 1/4 cup apple juice
• 1/2 tsp. leaf oregano 
• 1/4 cup Parmesan Cheese

DIRECTIONS:

• Heat oven to 400 degrees.
• Mix all ingredients except Parmesan cheese to a soft dough.
• Spread dough in a greased round layer pan, 8.5 x 11 inches.
• Sprinkle with Parmesan Cheese.
• Bake 20-25 minutes. 
• Cut into wedges.  
• Serve warm.

Here's to Healthy Eating & Happy Dining!

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Sweet & Savory Tuesday ~~ Zesty Cod Fillets

INGREDIENTS: 

• 3 Tbsp. olive oil
• 3 Tbsp. diced garlic
• 2 - 6 oz. cod fillets
• 1 tsp. cumin
• 1 tsp. chili powder
• 2 Tbsp. freshly squeezed lime juice
• 1/2 tsp. freshly ground pepper
• salt, optional

DIRECTIONS:

• Saute garlic in olive oil.
• Sprinkle fillets with salt and pepper.
• Cook 2-3 minutes over medium heat.
• Pour one Tbsp. of the lime juice over fillets.
• Mix cumin and chili powder together and sprinkle 1/2 of mixture over fillets.
• Cook 3-4 minutes over medium heat.
• Flip fillets to other side and pour remaining lime juice over fillets.
• Sprinkle remaining cumin and chili powder mixture on top of fillets.
• Cook 2-3 minutes or until cod fillets flake easily.
• Serve over rice and with garnishes of your choice.  I used sliced tomatoes, red bell pepper slices, and sliced hard boil eggs dusted with hot Hungarian paprika.

Sometimes it's a great adventure and lots of fun to experiment with new spice combinations when preparing your entree, especially fish!

Happy dining, and if you happen to try this recipe, please comment on my blog page and let me know how you liked it or what garnishes you used to complete your entree. Thank you.

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Sweet & Savory Thursday - Sheila's Super Bowl Wings

No Super Bowl Spread (not the football game point spread) is complete without some scrumptious chicken wings which seem to disappear faster than chips, dips, or a platter of freshly baked chocolate chip cookies!

Without exaggeration, my husband and I polished off the above platter of wings in about ten minutes flat when watching a prior Super Bowl, so trust me when I tell you that these are beyond finger lickin’ good!

Since the Super Bowl game is not played until the afternoon, you will have plenty of time to prepare the marinade and marry it up with the plain chicken wings in your refrigerator for about 3 hours prior to cooking them.

Sheila's Super Bowl Chicken Wings

The following recipe is for a 3 lb bag of plain chicken wings:

• 6  Tbsp. olive oil
• 2  Tsp. chili powder
• 1  Tbsp. hot sauce (I prefer Cajun Sunshine brand)
• ¼ - ½  Tsp. cayenne pepper (depending upon how hot you like your wings!)
• 2  Tbsp. honey
• 4  Tbsp. fresh lime juice  (save zest from limes to sprinkle onto cooked wings, if desired)
• 8  cloves of minced garlic
• 2  Tsp. kosher salt, optional
• 3/4  cup flour
• 3  cups plain panko bread crumbs

Directions:

Mix together in a bowl:  only 5 tbsp. of the olive oil, only 1 tsp. of the chili powder, hot sauce, cayenne pepper, honey, lime juice, garlic, and only 1 tsp. of the salt.

Place chicken wings in a glass container and cover with the well mixed marinade.  Cover pan with lid or plastic food wrap. Refrigerate for at least 3 hours.

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil, place a cooling rack on top of baking sheet, and spray with cooking spray.

Optional method – use a meatball cooking pan.

In a separate bowl, combine the flour, bread crumbs, and remaining salt and chili powder.

Coat the chicken wings completely in the mixture and place on top of cooling rack or meatball cooking rack.

Drizzle remaining olive oil over top of wings.

Bake wings for 20 minutes.  Turn and bake for another 15 minutes or until wings are cooked completely and turn golden brown.

Place on serving platter and sprinkle with lime zest if desired.

***** As I have experimented with this recipe in the past, I came to the conclusion that if I did not sprinkle the cooked wings with lime zest or drizzle additional lime juice over them, I could taste the garlic and cayenne flavors.  Too much lime can overpower the taste of everything which is not a problem if you are a big lime fan.

Enjoy!  J

If you do happen to prepare this recipe for your Super Bowl Sunday, I would love to hear back from you as to any suggestions that you might have.

Happy Reading, Cooking & Eating!

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