Lentil Potato Soup

Still suffering from meat overload and having such success at a meatless dinner last night, tonight I decided on a Smokey Lentil and Potato Soup. With carrots, celery, potato, spinach, and lentils what could go wrong?

Modifications Made:
Originally designed for an Instant Pot or Pressure Cooker and not a fan of either, this soup was cooked like all soups or stews before: low and slow in a 6qt dutch oven. Other than two other substitutions (Hungarian Paprika for regular paprika and two cups of brown lentils in place of red and brown lentil mix), all other ingredients and their quantities were followed as written. With exception to spinach, once the onions were thoroughly sauteed, all ingredients were tossed in at once and cooked to perfection, just slightly al dente lentil. Spinach was added the last five minutes or so of cook time and the soup was allowed a 20 minute rest time before serving.

Scaled for Likability: Great
Don't really know where the "smokey" came from in the original recipe but the substitution of the Hungarian paprika was a great choice as it pared perfectly with the carrots, potatoes, and spinach. In dicing of the carrots, potatoes, and celery, pieces were of all sizes allowing some to breakdown completely creating a thick, flavorful base. My only two complaints was I forgot to buy crunchy artisan bread. A downfall to the recipe, sadly, was the 2 cup leftovers turned to mush and had to be tossed. I figured like all soups, the second day would be even better than the first and was shocked at the complete breakdown of the lentils. Bummer. Not being able to save leftovers is not a break factor for saving the recipe, it just ensures artisan bread must be served next time as the recipe will be cut in half to reduce any waste.

Papas a La Mexicana (Ranchera)

It is a crying shame that there are six hens and not a egg in sight. What am I supposed to do with homemade ranchero sauce? Thankfully with a few quick searches of the internet a recipe from my hometown newspaper was discovered: Papas Ranchera . Not once in the thirty years I lived in my hometown did I ever eat at a local food joint serving papas rancheras. No time like the present to remedy this cultural dish. Because this recipe is hidden behind a paywall (grrr...) I have included it here for you: Servings: 4-6 Ingredients: 1 pound potatoes, diced 1/4 cup vegetable oil 1/2 large onion 1 1/2 medium tomatoes 3 jalapenos 1/8 teaspoon garlic powder 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/2 cup juice from canned tomatoes Instructions: Fry potatoes in vegetable oil until lightly browned (about 4-6 minutes). Saute onions, tomatoes, jalapenos until soft. Add garlic powder and salt. Add tomato juice until vegetables are covered (may need to add water). Bring to a boil and then add po...

Better Than Campbell's Old Fashion Vegetable Soup

Went to the store with the hopes of gathering fresh produce for soup. With more than 45 people in line for two packages of any meat product and the produce section containing only avocado, orange, and most randomly, strawberries, I settled upon canned soup. Well not canned soup since that section was still void of food, too. Instead soup made from canned goods as the canned vegetable section had been mostly restocked. Soups like this 15 Minute Vegetable Soup are ideal in dire food situations such as current times. Modifications Made: Plain petite diced tomatoes omitted, frozen carrots instead of canned, green beans and corn undrained, peas omitted (gross, nasty little pods), one cup celery, three cups diced potatoes, one can tomato sauce, two beef and two pollo de tomate bouillon cubes, six cups water. Once onions were softened, carrots/celery/potatoes/juice of green beans and corn, sauce, bouillon cubes, water were added and allowed to simmer until carrots almos...

Sour Cream & Chive Scalloped Potatoes

Can't believe the Month of the Potato is over. There are so many more potato recipes saved. Guess I will have to work them into another month. Last week's scalloped potatoes were one of the best new recipes during the month of potatoes. With today being the last day in the Month of Potatoes, I decided to go out with a bang by cooking another batch of scalloped potatoes but this time sour cream and chive. The Best Scalloped Potatoes , or so they said. Modifications Made: Recipe was reduced by half. Mayo was omitted and one entire package of chives were chopped and added to sauce before pouring onto layers. Scaled for Likability: Good Betty Crocker Sour Cream and Chive Box Scalloped Potatoes were the standard for this recipe. These were a family favorite for years but have long since been discounted. Bummer. Trying to replicate this seemed easy enough. Alas, it was not. These had a nice texture but were too oily from the cheese ...

Eating Waffles

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