Roasted Tomato and Lentil Salad

I may have to change the name of this blog soon to The Girl Who Always Ate Lentils. I think it would get a lot of traffic. At least from me.  (oh wait... ) 

They are just so delicious, and so easy to prepare and so cheap and so darn good for you. That's it! They are Everything!!

Just because it is summer doesn't mean that I have stopped roasting all kinds of delicious veggies. These are some roasted tomatoes, which don't take long to roast at all - and they are so yummy. 

You can eat this, hot, cold or room temp.  I make it on the weekends and then eat it all week for lunch because you guys... I need adult food in the summer time. It is what keeps me mostly sane. 

Let's Get Popping! Some of the Best Ways to Flavor Your Favorite Whole Grain

One of my most favorite things to snack on in the whole world is popcorn. Since I love to share with you my healthy favorite things, I am going to share with you some of the most delicious ways to top this amazing whole grain.

A whopping 3 cups of air-popped popcorn is a mighty filling whole-grain snack yet only has 92 calories, plus 19 g carbs, 3 g protein, and 4 g fiber.

For the best and most even flavor distribution put half your popcorn in a bowl then sprinkle half your toppings / seasonings and then the second half of your popcorn and then top with the rest of your toppings / seasonings. I like to then put a piece of plastic wrap over the top of the bowl and shake shake shake. 

Here are some other ways that I like to top my popcorn. 

Sweet - 

Chocolate Chips ( or any flavor chips for that matter). I like the mini ones. This can get messy, but boy is it ever delicious. 

Cinnamon Sugar - used melted butter or coconut oil and then sprinkle with a cinnamon sugar mix. (most of us have one). Try pumpkin pie spice or chai spice as well and sugar and powdered ginger or nutmeg. My mouth is watering just typing this. 

Maple Butter - Mix together 1 tsp of melted butter and 1 tsp maple syrup and drizzle it over your popcorn. It is a good thing this one goes so fast, because it can get soggy. 

Marshmallow - Instead of using your regular crispy rice cereal use popcorn to make these easy treats. 

Mexican Hot Chocolate -  Toss with 1/4 teaspoon each cocoa powder and cinnamon. 

Fruit Salad- Toss with 2 tablespoons each dried cranberries, dried tart cherries, and raisins.

Pumpkin Pie -  Toss with 1 tablespoon sugar, 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon, 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger, and 1/8 teaspoon each allspice, ground cloves, and nutmeg

Caramel -  In a small saucepan, simmer 1 1/2 teaspoons olive or coconut oil and 1 1/2 tablespoons pure maple syrup. Drizzle over popcorn and toss.

Chocolate Peanut - Toss popcorn with 1 tablespoon dark chocolate chips and 1 tablespoon peanuts.

Swiss Mix - Toss with 1/4 cup mini marshmallows and 1 tablespoon hot chocolate mix.

Spiced Nut - Toss with 1 teaspoon cinnamon, 1/8 teaspoon cloves, and 1 tablespoon each sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, and raw unsalted slivered almonds

Agave Crunch -  Drizzle with 1 tablespoon agave nectar and toss with 2 tablespoons granola and 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

Savory - 

Barbecue Popcorn - with brown sugar and paprika this recipe is sure to please at your house. 

Garlic Oil and Pecorino cheese - You can use any specialty cheese with this recipe. I find it just fine to omit the salt that the recipe calls for. 

Italian Seasoning - (oregano, fennel, red pepper flakes, marjoram, and basil) with olive oil.  This one tastes like Pizza Popcorn!

Parmesan Parsley - Toss with 3 tablespoons freshly grated Parmesan cheese and 1 teaspoon finely minced fresh parsley.

Truffles - Drizzle with 1 teaspoon truffle oil and 1 teaspoon olive oil and toss

Sesame - Drizzle with 1 teaspoon sesame oil and toss with 1 1/2 tablespoons gomasio (toasted sesame seeds and nori seaweed. Can’t find it in your grocery? Use 1 1/2 tablespoons sesame seeds)

Orange Rosemary - Toss with 1/2 teaspoon rosemary, 1/8 teaspoon orange zest, and 1 dash garlic powder

Vegan Cheese - Drizzle with 1 teaspoon coconut oil and toss with 1 1/2 tablespoons nutritional yeast

Lemon Pepper - Toss with 1/4 teaspoon black peppercorn and 1/8 teaspoon lemon zest

You just use almost any prepared seasoning that you have Old Bay with Lemon Pepper and butter is to die for, as well as Caribbean Jerk Seasoning. For all of us ranch fans out there, we can use a packet of Ranch Dressing mix. 

Spicy - 
Spicy Paprika - Toss with 3/4 teaspoon chili powder and 1/4 teaspoon paprika. 

Thai - Toss with 1 teaspoon each curry powder and dried basil, 1/8 teaspoon cayenne, and zest of 1 lime.

Chipotle Chocolate -  Toss with 1/2 teaspoon cocoa powder and 1/8 teaspoon chipotle seasoning.


Cajun -  In small saucepan, heat 1 teaspoon canola oil over medium heat. Stir in 1/4 teaspoon each cumin, garlic powder, dried basil, dried thyme, and paprika; 1/8 teaspoon black pepper; and 1 dash cayenne pepper. Reduce heat to low and cook for 1 minute. Drizzle over popcorn and toss.


Chili Lime -  Drizzle with 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil and a few shakes of Tabasco. Toss with 1 teaspoon each freshly squeezed lime juice and lime zest, 1/4 teaspoon cumin, and 1/8 teaspoon each chili powder and chili flakes

Wasabi -Toss with 1 1/2 teaspoons wasabi powder, 1 teaspoon sugar, 1/8 teaspoon cayenne, and 1 finely crumbled sheet nori.

Sweet Chili - Combine 1 1/2 teaspoons honey and 1 dash each garlic powder, chili powder, and cayenne pepper. Microwave mixture on high for 15 seconds. Drizzle over popcorn and toss with 2 tablespoons freshly grated Parmesan cheese

How can you not love a snack that you can make so many different ways and still be healthy eating it. If you can, use a mister for your butter or olive oil. (or cut it out all together). What a great way to get your daily whole grains! 

Caprese Pasta Salad

I remember the first time I discovered Caprese Salad. I felt so sophisticated and glamorous. It seemed like a fancy thing to be eating, glorious in its simplicity. I still can't get enough of the stuff, I just love it. 

And so when it gets to be tomato season and the fresh basil is plentiful, I could eat it everyday. 

But eating it everyday, means that I'm still hungry. Let's be honest, when I make it, I use a pretty heavy hand with the tomatoes and skimp on the cheese. That means, I'm just mostly eating tomatoes. And after an hour or two... I'm hungry again. 

This summer, I am solving that problem with pasta and making my beloved Caprese Salad a meal. 

It's genius! The balsamic vinegar and olive oil are the perfect simple dressing for a pasta salad. And the flavors of the fresh tomatoes along with pungent basil make the perfect compliment to plain old pasta. 

This keeps amazing in the fridge. I have been eating it all week at lunch and for snacks. (Yes! I really do eat that much of it!) The last day, I added a bit more balsamic and oil because the pasta had absorbed so much, but it was still just as tasty. 

Carrot Banana Bread

I made this bread first thing in the morning, because I knew that I really wanted to get to it, and I also know that I have a tendency to put things off and they never get done. 

So right after I cleaned up breakfast, I started grating carrots and mashing bananas. 

When I picked Ezra up from school and we were driving home, I said, "I made your favorite thing in the whole world today" 

Banana Bread?!

no wait, Carrot Cake?!? 

Yes, I said. and explained that I had made a test of making carrot banana bread, and he declared that sounded like the best thing he has ever wanted to eat in his life.   Now, he's only 9, but he was pretty close to be right. 

To frost.... or not to frost..... ?  

That is completely up to you. I happened to have some frosting in my fridge (yes! I am that kind of person) But it was a delicious quick bread on its own.  This also would make fantastic muffins and would be great with added nuts of raisins.  

Sweet Potato and Spinach Hash

I found this recipe on the USDA recipe site and it was listed under breakfast, but I haven't once made it for an actual breakfast. I always make it for dinner. 

I made the hash and then top it with handfuls of fresh spinach and once the spinach has wilted, I plate it up. They I fry everyone up an egg and top the hash with the egg. 

I recently discovered that the recipe is made completely perfect by topping the whole thing off with some Tabasco or other vinegar based hot sauce. The vinegar mixes so perfectly with the creaminess of the egg and you'll be thanking me forever for telling you to put it on. 

Chicken Pot Pie Noodles - One Pot Recipe

This is my family's new favorite recipe. I was very hesitant to make it, because I am nervous about everything being in one pot.  It seems risky to me. 

But I used my biggest dutch oven, so I had plenty of pot space, I would recommend that you use a big pot, so you have lots of space for all your veggies and noodles to not get too crowded. 

If you really miss the pot pie crust, go ahead and top the finish dish with some bread crumbs or some crushed crackers.  If you really wanted to go all out - you could bake a prepared pie crust and crumble that on top. 

I am sure this would taste amazing with mushrooms added, as well as broccoli or spinach. 

You could even add some peppers and a little bit of cumin. 

Tamale Pie

Yup, It's the Homemade Enchilada sauce making another appearance! 

This recipe makes 1 casserole, but I felt that the amounts of ingredients were a bit odd, so I doubled the recipe and made one for the freezer and one for dinner.  Most likely, at my house, the ingredients that were left in the fridge would have gone bad. 

I didn't double the required amount of ground beef though, and I added green peppers as an added veggie. 

I also added a can of black beans - which made it even more perfect. Go Ahead and experiment with the recipe. Make it your own! 

Create!! 

Here is my baked cornbread crust, you can see in the back, I used a rectangle glass dish to make my second casserole. 

Added corn, green peppers, and black beans. Lots of yummy goodness. 

 

 

Homemade Enchilada Sauce

Perhaps someday I will stop being surprised when making things at home makes them 1000 times more delicious.   Maybe not, I don't know. 

In my life before Food $ense, I bought everything pre-made. *And then I usually hated it. The white sauce in this frozen pasta dinner was too bland, this meal had too many soggy frozen red peppers, this one was made from just gross chicken parts and not meat - I am guessing you know the drill. 

But once I was brave enough to start cooking for myself and my family and experimenting with things that I knew we liked - I loved the things I was making. Because I was making things I knew we loved. We might eat tacos too many times a week or in too many different ways for another family, but for us, we just can't get enough. 

That's the great beauty of cooking for yourself and your family. You get things exactly how you like them. Exactly! And who doesn't love that.

Easy Bean Enchiladas

Up until I made this recipe, Enchiladas were a special occasion food for my family. I almost always made chicken ones and they were really a lot of work.  I had to cook the chicken before, make the filling and then roll all the enchiladas and once that happened, I still had to bake the whole thing. My family loves them, but I would make pans of them for holidays and birthdays and that was about it. 

But I realized once when we were out to dinner at a little mom and pop Mexican food place that we go to in town that all my family orders are cheese enchiladas with beans and rice.  (And They Love IT!) So I needed a quick dinner last week and I decided to make enchiladas. I had picked up a package of corn tortillas for a really great price and the rest is history. 

I forgot however that I had used every single can of enchilada sauce in my house on Christmas day to make enchiladas and so I had to make my own. 

It turned out So Great, that I had made it again and sworn to myself that never again will I buy a can of enchilada sauce. (it really is That good - and not hard to make at all).  I will post the recipe for you on Friday.  But for now, here are the easiest enchiladas in the world.