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.

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 for flavored tomatoes, frozen carrots instead of canned, green beans and corn undrained, peas omitted (gross, nasty little pods), one can tomato sauce, two low sodium chicken and two pollo de tomate bouillon cubes, six cups water. Once onions were softened, carrots, juice of green beans and corn, sauce, bouillon cubes, water were added and allowed to simmer until carrots almost tender. Green beans and corn tossed in, heat t

Way Too Rich, Extra Heavy Cheesecake

Pictures are deceptive. What this picture of this recipe does not show is how old and faded the print out paper is, how many stains are smudged across various spots, and the numerous notes written in the top right corner with the first one dating back to college days in 2001. Yikes, twenty years ago makes this paper print out old, no wait, that makes me old. Eek. Sadly, my current living quarters do not allow for cooking of this cheesecake. In fact the last time this recipe has been made have been close to six or seven years. That is just too long. Too long. Luckily, we are spending Spring Break at family with a real oven. A family who will help eat this oh so rich, very decadent, supremely yummy cheesecake. Modifications Made: There are four keys to a successful cheesecake. ONE: all ingredients must be room temperature. If your house is ice chest cold, then warm the ingredients on the stovetop. TWO: do not over mix. Excessive mixing creates air pockets resulting in split mi

The Great Freeze 2021 Vegetable Broth

Good grief, this cold snap. Every year I wish and wish for cold weather so this table can eat soups without melting. Well this year winter came and came with a vengeance. Two days below freezing with no water, no power, no internet/cell service. It's the dark ages. If you need more info just search for Texas Grid Failure 2021 . Yes, this tragic affair has its own wiki page. Good grief. Did you know that if temperatures drop below freezing for too long, refrigerators will not keep your cold stuff from freezing? Well, they don't. And with 17℉ temps, this tables fridge contents froze. What to do with a fridge full of frozen fresh veggies? Veggie stock. No recipe was used, it was just all the veggies in the fridge (white and yellow onions, garlic, jalapeno, green onions, three roma tomatoes, celery, two russet potatoes, seven carrots, and a red and green bell pepper) salt and pepper, and enough water to just touch the top layer of veggies. I did not want the veggies floa

Eating Waffles

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