Baked Sweet Potato Fries

I am going to share with you one of my favorite and EASIEST recipes for the amount of deliciousness involved.  Sweet Potato Fries!  And these are baked so they are actually healthy.
(Note: Husbands & boyfriends LOVE these)

Here are your ingredients:

-Sweet Potatoes
-Olive Oil
-Garlic Powder
-Salt
-Pepper

Yup, that's it.  Now all you gotta do is peel & chop those babies up into whatever fry-shape pleases you (I like to make mine thick like steak fries).  Throw them in a bowl, toss with enough olive oil to lightly coat them, some salt, pepper & garlic powder to taste (I like a lot), and then lay them in a single layer on a baking sheet lined with parchment (you could probably skip this if you don't have any but I like it because it soaks up some of the oil and makes them crispier).  Bake at 450 for about 20 mins or until golden brown.  Let cool a little and enjoy!

Lori's Lentil Soup

I am dedicating this recipe to my beautiful friend Lori who is a brand new mama of the most adorable baby boy.  She loved the Kale & White Bean soup and requested I post a recipe for one featuring lentils.  So here it is!  A healthy soup, chock-full of veggies and goodness that makes great leftovers - perfect for a mama on-the-go.

You Will Need:

1 onion, chopped
1/4 cup olive oil
2 carrots, diced
2 stalks celery, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 bay leaf
1 teaspoon dried basil
1 (14.5 ounce) can of diced tomatoes
2 cups dry lentils
8 cups water (or any kind of broth)
1/2 cup spinach, rinsed and thinly sliced
2 tablespoons vinegar (balsamic tastes great!)
ground black pepper
salt

Directions: 

In a large soup pot, heat oil over medium heat.  Add onions, carrots and celery and sautée until onion is tender.  Stir in garlic, bay leaf, oregano, and basil.  Cook for 2 minutes.

*I should note that I am a garlic LOVER so I added 4 cloves instead of 2 and it was delicious.  I also felt like my carrots were a little on the small side so I added an extra one as well as an extra celery stalk.  That's the great thing about soups - you can pretty much throw in whatever you like!

Stir in lentils, and add water and tomatoes.  Bring to a boil.  Reduce heat and simmer for at least 1 hour. When ready to serve stir in spinach and cook until it wilts.  Stir in vinegar and season to taste with salt and pepper.

P.S.  I served mine with Trader Joe's Cornbread and it was AMAZING!

Kale & White Bean Soup

For today's post I thought I would share with you another great, simple recipe that I have been making a lot.  Who doesn't love a big warm bowl of soup as the weather turns colder?  This is one of my favorites because it's SOUP-er (hehe) easy to make, is insanely healthy, and uses that great wonder-vegetable we have been hearing so much about lately... KALE!

*Kale is widely considered to be among the world's most nutritious vegetables – it's high in beta carotene, vitamins K and C and is loaded with antioxidants.

I have been trying to find more ways to incorporate kale into my diet and this soup has a ton of it, is delicious, and always turns out great.  It's also quick to make for those nights when you don't have a lot of time but want to throw together something impressive and healthy.  And for those veggie-friends out there - it's vegan, too!  Enjoy!

Kale & White Bean Soup

You will need:

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 cup diced yellow onion
4 large garlic cloves, roughly chopped
1 (32-ounce) box low sodium vegetable broth
4 cups packed chopped kale (remove tough inner stems)
1 (14.5-ounce) can Italian-style diced tomatoes
1 (14.5-ounce) can no-salt-added cannellini beans, drained & rinsed
2-3 large carrots, peeled & sliced

**************************************

Directions:

In a large saucepan, heat the olive oil over medium heat.  Add your chopped onions & cook for about 3 minutes.  Then add your chopped garlic and cook for another 2 minutes (make sure you stir as garlic burns easily).  Now add the broth, kale, tomatoes & carrots and put the lid on.  Cook for 5 minutes or until kale is tender.  Add beans & heat thoroughly.  Serve & enjoy!

See how easy that was?  The great thing about soups is that they're also great for using up whatever leftover vegetables you have in your fridge.  For instance, last time I made this I had some green onions that were getting wilty so I chopped them up & in they went!

Also worth mentioning, if you live near a Trader Joe's they now sell pre-washed, pre-trimmed bags of kale for $1.99!  Such a great deal and it makes things super easy.  (*I noticed that some of the pieces of kale still had pretty thick stems attached so I went through and tore off the big ones before I threw them in the pot.  Not sure if this was necessary but I wanted to make sure all of the ones that ended up in my soup were nice and soft).

Also the recipe says to cook for 5 minutes but if you have other things to do (preferably in the kitchen as you should never leave anything on the stove unattended) you can totally put your burner on low & leave this soup simmering for as long as you want! Last time I made a delicious homemade pizza to go alongside it and the soup just simmered away as I chopped & assembled.  All in all a great, healthy, delicious meal that you will definitely make again.


xo!

Most Delicious Lasagna Recipe

With the weekend shortly upon us I figured it was the perfect time for my very first recipe post.  And what better way to celebrate than with one of my most favorite things to make and eat; LASAGNA! Mmm, the cheesy, saucy, noodle-y goodness... I created this recipe by combining various lasagna recipes & making them my own. And if you want to make a vegetarian version, just substitute the meat for either veggie ground or some tasty eggplant. Enjoy! (And then enjoy again because the leftovers taste even better).

My Most Delicious Lasagna

You will need:

1x glass lasagna dish (9"x13")

1x box of lasagna noodles (I used Barilla)

about 1lb. lean ground beef (or ground turkey)

an onion
1x 15oz (425 g.) container of ricotta cheese

a carrot

a zucchini

a broccoli crown

garlic

Bag of fresh spinach

2x jars of marinara/spaghetti sauce (whatever kind you like)

Mozzarella cheese (I used a whole 8oz. bag - aka 2 cups)

Some sharp cheddar if you like (I like old fort because it's tastier).

-basil, oregano, salt, pepper, olive oil

(a layer of fresh basil would be awesome!)

********************************************

Heat oven to 350.

Boil a giant pot of salted water and cook lasagna noodles (I used 10), following instructions on box. When done, lay them flat & let cool (I add a bit of olive oil to the strainer so they don't stick).

Chop up broccoli top, carrot & the zucchini (I used half) and sautée in pan with some olive oil until not-so-crunchy. Then turn off heat.

Finely chop half an onion (or use the whole thing if it's not massive - whatever you choose) and throw it in a pan with the ground beef & cook.

In a bowl, dump the whole container of ricotta cheese and add whatever spices you like (I like fresh garlic, some basil & oregano & a little salt & pepper). Then add the cooked veggies (wait until they're not steaming hot if you can) and mix it up.

Once the beef is cooked, add a jar of spaghetti sauce & simmer for about 5 minutes (or longer, doesn't matter).

Spray your glass lasagna pan with some cooking spray/olive oil and then cover the bottom with a thin layer of marinara sauce. Then lay down the first 4 noodles, overlapping the edges slightly. Then spread on a nice layer of the ricotta cheese/veg mixture. Then take your fresh (uncooked) spinach and add a layer (this will cook in the oven). Then add a layer of the beef.

Then layer on 3 more noodles and then layer on whatever you have left (mine ended up being a combination of a sparse layer of cheese mix & rest of beef. I think I also added a few spoonfuls of marinara sauce & a sprinkle of cheese - whatever you like). Then layer 3 more noodles.

On top add a thin layer of marinara sauce & then pile on the grated mozzarella to cover the top. Use however much you like. I also added some grated cheddar for flavor and then sprinkled it all with some pepper and oregano.

Cover with foil (make sure it's not resting on the cheese like mine was) and cook for 35 minutes. Then remove the foil & cook for another 10. Let sit on counter for 10 minutes & enjoy!

P.S. I had wanted to add a layer of fresh basil to the 2nd (sparse) layer but the store was out of it. It was delicious anyway but I think this would make it even more delicious. Mmm!