May 9: French Lentil Rice Soup

Today I made the Greek Rice from April 16, not the French Lentil Rice Soup. You can go check out my meal here. I might make this recipe next year.

ETA: 5/9/14

I made this lentil soup for supper tonight. I started it pretty early, before 8:00 so it would be ready by 4:00. Here are the ingredients:

In the Crock Pot I put 6 c. of chicken broth, a cup of lentils, 2 peeled & chopped carrots, 2 chopped stalks celery, a chopped small onion, 2 tbsp. minced garlic, 3 tbsp. rice, a tsp. of dried thyme, 1/2 tsp. salt, and 1/8 tsp. white pepper:

I let it cook on low for 8 hours:

I scooped out 1 1/2 cups of the soup and pureed it with my immersion blender, then stirred it back in to the soup:

I served it with a tbsp. of cream and some chopped parsley:

This soup is very good. I like how the blended soup thickens it up, but still keeps the chunks. I also like how the cream makes it taste. It's not better than my go-to lentil soup recipe, but it's a contender!

May 8: Asian Short Ribs

I have not made this recipe due to being behind and being on a diet. I'm going to Florida in June, and I'd love to get down to my goal weight by then!

ETA: 5/8/14

I made this recipe for dinner tonight. It had to cook 7-8 hours, so I started it at about 8 this morning so it would be ready for dinner at 4. First, here are the ingredients:

In the crock pot I mixed up 1/2 c. beef broth, 1/4 c. soy sauce, 1/4 c. sherry, 1 tbsp. honey, 1 tsp. ground ginger, and 2 tsp. minced garlic:

I seasoned 3 lbs. boneless beef short ribs with salt and pepper, then coated them in the sauce:

Then I cooked them on low for 8 hours. I served them with leftover Paella and grape tomatoes:

These short ribs were very tasty, but also very fatty. I think it would have been helpful to let the fat harden and scrape it off the top before eating. I will try that with the leftovers tomorrow.

May 7: Fresh Berry Compote

I am a little behind, so I have not made this compote.

ETA: 5/8/14

I made this compote yesterday and we ate it for dessert for lunch. First I gathered up the ingredients:

I put 2 cups of blueberries in the crock pot and let them cook on high for 45 minutes to soften them:

To the blueberries I added 4 cups of sliced strawberries, 1/2 cup of sugar, 2 tbsp of orange juice, a cinnamon stick, and a tbsp of lemon juice (the recipe calls for 4 lemon peel slices, but I didn't have a chance to buy a lemon, so I used the juice instead):

I served it warm for lunch, then refrigerated it and had it chilled for an afternoon snack:

This compote is very tasty and just the right sweetness. I was grateful that the strawberries and blueberries were on sale this week, too! I really enjoyed the freshness of this treat.

May 6: Saffron-Scented Shrimp Paella

I haven't tried this recipe yet. I have been on the 3-day military diet for 1 1/2 weeks (you do 3 days on, 4 days off). I might made some more recipes on my off days, but I plan on sticking to this diet for the month of May or until I reach my goal.

ETA: 5/6/14

Last night I went on a walk, and I didn't have any energy left over for cooking, so we ordered pizza. Tonight I felt better, so I made today's recipe. I will make yesterday's recipe tomorrow because tomorrow's recipe is just fruit compote. I'm looking forward to it.

Anyway, my crock pot was still soaking from the Whoa Breakfast oatmeal, so I cooked this whole recipe in the skillet. Here are the ingredients:

In a very large skillet I cooked 2 chopped onions, 4 cloves of sliced garlic, and some salt in 2 tbsp olive oil for 5 minutes. Then I added some chopped roasted red pepper, a chopped tomato, and a bay leaf ( I should have added a pinch of saffron, but I didn't have any):

I added a cup of wine and reduced it by half. Then I poured in 2 quarts of chicken broth and brought it to a boil:

I added (almost) 4 cups of rice and let it cook for about 20 minutes. Meanwhile I seasoned a pound of jumbo shrimp with a tbsp. of olive oil, salt, and white pepper:

When the rice was almost done, I put the shrimp on the rice and cooked it until pink, about 7 minutes:

I served the rice with the shrimp on top:

Everyone really liked this one. The problem was that it made way too much rice. Next time I might cut the amount of rice in half - two cups instead of four. If shrimp weren't so expensive, I might double the amount of shrimp too. My doctor says I need to eat more protein and fewer carbs. That's just such an expensive way to eat!

May 5: Whoa Breakfast

I have not made this oatmeal. I am on the 3-day military diet, and I have lost 10 pounds so far! I might try this next year.

ETA: 5/6/14

I made this oatmeal for breakfast yesterday. I started it at about 11:00 the night before - right before I went to bed. Here are the ingredients. I didn't have any almonds (the recipe called for 1/4 cup) so I just left those out.

In the crock pot I put 1 1/2 cups of oats, 3 cups of water, 2 cups of chopped apples, and 1/2 tsp of cinnamon.

I cooked it on low for 8 hours (overnight).

This oatmeal was not bad after I put some butter and milk and sweetener in it.

I normally don't like my oatmeal quite this mushy, but it had some chewy chunks in it, so I liked it. Next time I'll have to try it with the almonds. Oh, and it did develop a burnt ring around the edges which was too hard to eat and very hard to clean out. I'll have to line it with foil next time.

May 4: Grandma Ruth's Minestrone

I did not make this recipe. I'm a little behind, and I gained a lot of weight this year, so I am doing the 3-day military diet for a few weeks.

ETA: 5/4/14

I made this recipe for dinner tonight. I put it in right before we left for church this morning. The recipe says to put a pound of ground beef in the Crock Pot with a cup of dried red beans. I did that, but didn't have time to take a photo of it. I cooked it on high for 2 hours.

When I got home from church, I gathered up these ingredients:

In with the beef and beans I put a package of frozen mixed vegetables, 2 cans of tomato sauce, a can of drained diced tomatoes, a package of shredded cabbage, a chopped onion, a cup of chopped celery, 1/2 cup of chopped parsley, a tablespoon each of dried basil and Italian seasoning, and a tsp. each of salt and pepper. I continued to cook it on low for about 6 hours.

Then I added a cup of elbow macaroni,

and cooked it for another hour:

In the middle of cooking, I added about a half a quart of chicken broth, because it looked like it was going to dry out. It ended up looking like this when it was all done:

This recipe was weird. I think that something was left out of it. The picture shows that it should be soup, but there was no liquid added to the recipe. It even called for the diced tomatoes to be drained. I wondered if the cabbage or some of the vegetables would create some liquid, but it didn't. I knew the beans wouldn't get cooked without it, which is why I added the chicken broth. Maybe next time I would add a quart of water at the beginning or something. The other weird thing is that the recipe calls for cooked macaroni, and then to cook it for a whole hour more. I think that must have been a typo. I added the macaroni uncooked, and it turned out perfectly cooked. The flavor of this minestrone was okay, but it's not the best recipe I've ever made. I might skip this one next time.

May 3: Heidi's Chicken Supreme

I am on a diet, so I have not made this recipe. Maybe I will make it next year.

ETA: 5/3/14

I made this recipe for dinner tonight, but I forgot to put it in the Crock Pot this morning. So I made it in the oven. These are the ingredients:

I mixed up a can of cream of chicken soup with a package of onion soup mix:

 After spraying a pan with cooking spray, I put in the chicken, put the soup mixture on top, then sprinkled on a half cup of bacon bits:

I cooked it in the oven at 350 degrees for about 45 minutes, then added a 16 oz carton of sour cream and mixed it up:

I cooked it for about 15 more minutes:

I served it with rice and broccoli with carrots:

This was a very tasty recipe, but it was not very healthy. It's one of those recipes that you could make once a year and it would be okay, but not that great for a regular weeknight meal. DH really liked it.

May 2: Chinese Chicken Stew

I have not made this recipe. I might make it next year.

ETA: 5/2/14

I made this recipe for dinner tonight. I started at about noon. Here are the ingredients:

I seasoned a pound of boneless, skinless chicken thighs in a teaspoon of Chinese 5 spice powder and 1/4 teaspoon of red pepper flakes:

Then I chopped the chicken and cooked it with a chopped onion in peanut oil for 5 minutes:

I added 2 cups of sliced mushrooms and 2 cloves of minced garlic:

After a couple minutes I transferred that mixture to the Crock Pot and added a can of chicken broth and a chopped bell pepper:

I cooked it on low for 3 1/2 hours, then added a tablespoon cornstarch mixed with 1/4 cup of the chicken broth, a tablespoon of sesame oil and 2 sliced green onions. Then it cooked for about a half hour more:

I served the stew with white rice:

This stew was pretty good. I think next time I would leave out the red pepper flakes so the kids don't have such a hard time eating it. DH liked it, so that's good. Only Reuben didn't like it. We had a lot of rice left over, so I made rice pudding for the kids for dessert. That's always a nice treat for them.

May 1: Pumpkin Soup with Crumbled Bacon and Toasted Pumpkin Seeds

I bought the ingredients for this soup, but haven't made it yet because of my diet. Hopefully I can make it later this week.

ETA: 4/28/14

I did make this soup last year. Here are the ingredients:

Here they are again with my daughter:

I cooked up 4 slices of bacon:

I sautéed the chopped onions in the bacon fat:

I added salt, chipotle powder and pepper to the onions, then added them to the Crock Pot. I whisked in pumpkin, chicken broth and apple cider, and cooked it on high for 4 hours.

I stirred in the cream and strained the soup into bowls. I garnished it with toasted pumpkin seeds, crumbled bacon, and sour cream:

The soup was good, but a little rich. I think next time I would serve it as an appetizer to a large crowd instead of dinner for 4.

April 30: Cannellini Minestrone Soup

I decided not to make this recipe this year. I am dieting. I'll let you know how that goes a little later.

ETA: 4/28/14

For some reason, I did end up making this recipe last year. I found these pictures:

I put all the ingredients except pasta in the crockpot - 4 cups chicken broth, 1 can diced tomatoes, 1 can tomato-vegetable juice, 2 cups escarole, 1 cup chopped green onions, 1 cup chopped carrots, 1 cup chopped celery, 1 cup chopped potatoes, a can of cannellini beans, 2 tablespoons chopped chives, 1 tablespoon chopped parsley, salt and pepper:

I cooked it on low for 6 to 8 hours, added 2 ounces ditalini pasta, and cooked for 20 minutes more:

I served it when the pasta was tender:

This soup was good, full of flavor, and chock full of vegetables. I would make it again.