Garbanzo Bean Salad

I am not sure if anyone is like me, but a few times a year I go vegetarian for a few weeks to reboot my system.  My digestive system is finicky and after winter especially it feels really blah...so I start fresh by eating nothing but veggies for a few weeks.  No dairy, no meat, no eggs.  I have my pitfalls, but I feel SO much better when I am done.  So, I am on one of those kicks right now and I just developed the recipe below.  Even if you are not into a total vegetarian dinner, this would be a great *spring* sidedish.

Garbanzo Bean Salad:
2 cans of Garbanzo Beans - drained and rinsed well
3 green onions chopped
2 medium tomatoes - squeeze the seeds out and chop
1.5 T about of fresh chopped parsley
grate one clove of garlic
grate 1/4" to 1/2" of ginger depending on how much you like the flavor
juice one lemon
1 T of olive oil
Salt and Pepper and Toss

I served over a bed of spinach, red leaf lettuce and radicchio.  The colors were very pretty and the flavor was incredibly bright.  It would be a great garnish/side dish for some grilled chicken or skewers I thought as well.

If you ate .75 C you would be getting close to 10 grams of protein, zero fat, and about 240 calories - the recipe would obviously be easy to cut in half, but I wanted some leftovers for the week.

Easy Lentil Soup

This is a great soup recipe and very easy.  I make it in the winters when I want something warm, but I have realized it is also a great spring soup because of the fresh veggies and yummy lentils.

Ingredients:

• 2 tablespoons olive oil, plus extra for drizzling
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 2 carrots, peeled and chopped
• 2 celery stalks, chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, chopped
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1 (14 1/2-ounce) can diced tomatoes
• 1 pound lentils (approximately 1 1/4 cups) - I use the ready made lentils from Trader Joes.  They are delicious and come in a steam pack ready to go.  They are in the case with the fresh veggies.  Just ask someone that works there - they are Trader Joes Brand Steamed Lentils.
• 11 cups low-salt chicken broth
• 4 to 6 fresh thyme sprigs (if desired, if not you can use some leaves from the celery chopped up)
• 1 cup dried Ditalini Pasta (Barilla Brand)
• 1 cup shredded Parmesan

Heat the oil in a heavy large pot over medium heat. Add the onion, carrots, and celery. Add the garlic, salt, and pepper and saute until all the vegetables are tender, about 5 to 8 minutes. Add the tomatoes with their juices. Simmer until the juices evaporate a little and the tomatoes break down, stirring occasionally, about 5-8 minutes. Add the lentils and mix to coat. Add the broth and stir. Add the thyme sprigs (I did not use thyme for the first time tonight and I thought it was still very good.  Instead I chopped up some of the celery leaves to bring in a fresh taste). Bring to a boil over high heat. Cover and simmer over low heat until the lentils are almost tender, about 30 minutes.

Stir in the pasta. Simmer until the pasta is tender but still firm to the bite, about 10 minutes. Season with salt and pepper, to taste.

Ladle the soup into bowls. Sprinkle with the Parmesan, drizzle with olive oil, and serve.

Easy Cheesy-Burger Muffins

Ok, I know it sounds weird. And to be honest, it sort of was.. but in a surprisingly good way! Cheeseburger Muffins.. who would think of that? Well, given Brad's love of enclosing any and all things inside of any form of refrigerated Pillsbury roll, I saw this recipe and thought I'd give it a try. I think they would be cute in mini muffin form, too.. for superbowl parties and things of that nature.

And Amanda.. I'd stop reading now if I were you. I don't want you to gag and lose it all over your computer at the amount of ketchup that goes into these. ;)

- 1 lb. ground beef
- 1/2 c. ketchup
- 1/3 c. dill pickle relish
- 2 T. yellow mustard
- 4 oz. cream cheese (I actually just bought one of the minis, which is 3 oz and it was just fine)
- 2 t. onion powder
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1 can Grands homestyle butter biscuits
- 1 egg
- 1 t. water
- sesame seeds

Preheat your oven to 350. In a skillet over medium heat, brown your meat until cooked, then drain. Add onion powder, salt and pepper until incorporated into meat. Stir in ketchup, mustard, relish, and cream cheese. Cook for 5 minutes until creamy, then reduce the heat to low.

Separate the biscuits (you will only need 6 of the 8). Take the biscuits and cut them in half horizontally (to make 2 circles instead of one, not two circle halves). Take 6 of your halves and roll them out to be about 4 inches, then press these halves into a jumbo muffin tin. Divide the beef mixture evenly between the 6 muffin cups. Take the other 6 biscuit halves, press slightly with your palm to be large enough to cover the top of the muffin cups and beef mixture. Press the edges together with the bottom half of biscuit to seal.

Beat egg and water together, then brush on top of biscuit tops. Sprinkle with sesame seeds. Bake 15 to 20 minutes, or until golden brown. Let stand for about 5 minutes before eating.

** we also thought this would make an easy alternative to Sloppy Joes. Skip the biscuit part and just throw the beef mixture onto hamburger buns for an even quicker, easier dinner!