Experimental Kale and Lentil Dish

Kale, sweet potatoes, and lentils are really good for you. (Or so the internet tells me.)These foods contain large amounts of fiber and vitamins and are supposedly super filling. I had all these ingredients in my refrigerator and wasn't quite sure what I would do with it so I decided to wing it and make a tangy, sweet but a little salty dish. Vegetable broth can be used instead of chicken broth to make this dish vegetarian-friendly. Be forewarned that the amounts of spices are approximated since I decided to add more spices after taste testing and adjusted the amounts to my best guess of what actually went into the dish. My best advice is to just have the ingredients list and add the listed amount and then add more of whatever ingredient you feel is needed until the dish tastes right to you.

Experimental Kale and Lentil Dish

Ingredients

• 1/2 med red onion, minced
• 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 2 cloves garlic, pressed or minced
• approx. 4 oz baby bella mushrooms, quartered or eighthed depending on the size
• 1 sweet potato, peeled and diced into 1 inch cubes
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp ground ginger
• 1/4 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp cumin
• 2 tsp balsamic vinegar
• about 8 oz. cooked lentils
• 1/2 cup vegetable or chicken broth
• 6 cups chopped kale

Procedure

1. In a small pot, boil water and cook the lentils according to the instructions on the package.
2. In a large pot, cook the onion and garlic in the olive oil. Stir occasionally, then add the sweet potato and mushrooms.
3. Add in the salt, ground ginger, cinnamon, cumin, and balsamic vinegar to the large pot.Stir occasionally. Cook until sweet potato pieces have begun to soften.
4. To the large pot, add the cooked lentils, chicken broth, and chopped kale. Mix well. Cook until kale has wilted. 

Spinach and Mushroom with Yogurt Alfredo

Last week I went to the store and bought a giant tub of Greek yogurt. I figured it's a healthy breakfast item and I am trying to eat more healthy. However, the tub advertised that it's "great for cooking" so I decided to try and make an Alfredo sauce with it. Note to self: next time make sure you buy plain Greek yogurt instead of vanilla flavored. It turned out sweeter than expected, but definitely edible. This is the result.

The smell of mushrooms, onions, and spinach cooking together  made me really hungry.

Looks like regular alfredo to me

Finished product in the pan.

Ingredients

• 1/8 medium onion thinly sliced
• 4 oz baby bella/cremini mushroom thinly sliced
• fresh spinach (as much or as little as you like)
• 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 3 tbsp shredded parmesean cheese
• 3 tbsp fat free Greek yogurt
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 1/2 tsp dried basil
• 1/2 tsp dried oregano
• salt and pepper to taste

Procedure

1. Cook the onion in a large non stick pan with the olive oil.
2. Add the mushrooms to the pan when the onion has begin to turn clear/see through. Cook until mushrooms have started to shrink and loose some water. Stir occasionally.
3. Wilt the spinach in the pan. Add the garlic powder, basil, oregano, salt and pepper to the pan. Mix /stir occasionally.
4. Add the cheese and yogurt when the spinach has completely wilted. Mix well
5. Serve mixed with pasta or over pasta.

Shepherd's pie

Who doesn't love a good, well-rounded dish like shepherd's pie? Technically ground lamb should be used but I used ground beef. I've heard it called "cattle herd's pie" if ground beef was used. Anyway, I love mashed potatoes and the added bonus of veggies and beef make this meal a one dish dinner. Typically Worcestershire sauce is used, but I never have it around so I just tried to substitute it with a mixture of soy sauce and balsamic vinegar.

Who doesn't love frying up onion and garlic in a pan?

Mmmmmmm mashed potatoes

Ground beef and veggies added to the onion and garlic

Foundation of ground beef and veggies topped off with mashed potatoes

Shepherd's pie served up with a sprinkle of shredded cheese on top

Shepherd's Pie

Ingredients

• 1 lb ground beef
• ~ 8 oz frozen mixed vegetables (make sure mix has carrots and peas in it)
• 1/4 cup soy sauce
• 1/4 tsp of dried rosemary
• 2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
• garlic salt to taste
• pepper to taste
• 4 large red potatoes peeled and cut into 1.5 inch cubes
• 3 tbsp butter
• 1/4 cup milk
• 1/4 of a large onion, diced
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

Procedure

1. Cook the garlic and onion in the olive oil in a large pan. Preheat oven to 400F
2. While garlic and onion is cooking, boil potatoes in a large pot of water. When potatoes are mashable, drain water and mash potatoes. Season potatoes with butter, garlic salt, and pepper. Add milk to make the potatoes creamier.
3. When the garlic and onion start to turn golden, add the frozen veggies to the pan. When most of the frozen veggies seemed defrosted add soy sauce, vinegar, rosemary and ground beef. Add some pepper to taste. 
4. Cook ground beef until the beef is no longer red.
5. Pour the ground beef and vegetable mixture into a 9x9 inch baking dish. Then smoother over the mashed potatoes on top of the beef and vegetable mixture.
6. Bake the shepherd's pie at 400F for about 20 min or until mashed potato layer becomes slightly golden brown and crusty.

Vegetable Panang Curry

This recipe always reminds me of my close friend who showed me how to make this curry. You can always tell how hot a curry is by the color and I will never forget that.Whenever she made it, I couldn't stand the heat but the curry was also bright red-pink. So, I have adapted her recipe and the curry I make is a respectable pinky-orange color.

Not so secret ingredient

Delicious curry cooking in the pot

My dinner!

Ingredients

• Half a medium onion, diced
• one 16 oz bag of frozen vegetable blend (I used Japanese blend)
• 3 medium potatoes peeled and cut into eighths
• 2 carrots, diced into approx 1 inch cubes (only add this if your bag of vegetables don't include carrots)
• 2 tbsp sugar
• 1 can of coconut milk
• 2 tbsp Panang curry paste

Procedure

1. Boil the potatoes in a pot of water into cooked but still a bit hard. Drain and set aside.
2. Meanwhile, pan fry the onion in some oil in a separate large pot on medium heat.
3. Once the diced onion is a little golden, add the carrots.
4. Defrost the frozen veggies in the microwave according to the instructions on the package.
5. When veggies are defrosted, add to the large pot with the carrots and onions. Also add the cooked potatoes.
6. Stir in the curry paste and the sugar into the large pot with the vegetables. Mix well until curry paste is evenly distributed.
7. Finally, add can of coconut milk then cover the pot and let the curry come to a boil. Then let the curry simmer for about 10 minutes.
8. Serve with rice.