Bacon Burgers with Cilantro Yogurt Sauce

In my house bacon is it's own food group. I live with three males and they can be sound asleep, but when I start frying bacon they suddenly appear out of thin air. The same goes for their enthusiasm for menu ideas. If I mention most recipes I get complete disregard or an occasional quick comment. However, if I casually mention that I'm making a recipe that involves bacon for dinner, suddenly they become very interested in everything I'm doing. Occasionally my oldest goes so far as to run around the house with a crazy voice shouting the word bacon over and over again. It's a little odd, but the boy knows what he likes and bacon is at the top of the list.

There is something very appealing about a delicious and juicy burger. My whole family loves them and I make some burger variation at least once or twice a month. Last week I made a new recipe for Bacon Burgers with Cilantro Yogurt Sauce. The recipe is as follows.

Adapted from the July 2014 issue of the Food and Wine Magazine. 

Bacon Burgers with Cilantro Yogurt Sauce

Recipe Type: Main

Summary:

A tender burger recipe using ground beef and minced bacon and served with a delicious yogurt sauce.

Preparation Time: 0h, 10m

Cooking Time: 0h, 8m

Total Time: 0h, 18m

Yield: Serves 8

Bacon Burgers with Cilantro Yogurt Sauce

Ingredients

• 1 cup plain Greek yogurt
• 1 cup chopped cilantro
• 1/4 cup minced fresh ginger
• 1/2 minced red onion
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 2 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 2 1/2 pounds ground chuck
• 1/2 pound bacon, minced *see note
• 6 scallions white and light green parts minced
• 1/3 cup chopped mint
• 3/4 cup grated Parmesan
• 1 tablespoon finely grated lemon zest
• 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne

Instructions

1. Puree the yogurt, jalapeños, cilantro, ginger, onion, sugar and 1 teaspoon of the salt in a food processor. 
2. In a separate bowl combine the ground beef, scallions, mint, Parmesan, lemon zest, lemon juice, pepper, cayenne, and remaining salt. 
3. Form into 8 burger patties. 
4. Either using a grill or a griddle, cook the burgers for 6-8 minutes or until 180 degrees. 
5. Serve the burgers on hamburger buns topped with tomatoes, onions, lettuce, ketchup, and/or Sriracha and the yogurt sauce spread on the bottom of the bun. 

*Note: In order for the bacon to be fully minced either use a food processor or cook the bacon until crisp, crumble, and then add to the recipe. Alternatively you can used real bacon bits. 

Be very careful that you fully mince the bacon. If the bites are too large the burgers will end up with large grease pockets. When properly minced the bacon keeps the burgers moist and is a great addition to the ground beef. 

Greek Yogurt Chocolate Chip Cookies

Gluten Free/Reduce Sugar Greek Yogurt Chocolate Chip Cookies 

My husband and I don't exchange Christmas gifts. That's right, none whatsoever. We do give lots of gifts to our kids and parents etc., but we decided a long time ago that neither one of is into giving each other gifts on Christmas. Instead we give gifts throughout the year. My husband will see a new red wine at the store and bring me a bottle home as a surprise. Our television will break and he will find a great sale and buy one for out living room. One year when we were first married I spend months collecting all the figures for a series of Gothic novels that he was collecting. It wasn't a birthday or Christmas, it was a just because gift. To add to the Christmas gift weirdness I also hate jewelry. While most women would be elated if they received diamonds, I would take them back. I hate diamonds, my husband had to convince me to wear a wedding and engagement ring, I can't stand them. My ideal piece of jewelry is a single strand of real pearls with a little black dress, timeless, beautiful and perfect. I also love kitchen utensils, exercise gear and power tools. My husband and I are perfect for each other because I don't think I would get along in any other marriage. He gets me, I get him and we enjoy being unusual together.

As most of you know I have a huge sweet tooth. I love pretty much anything with sugar and hate most salty snacks (which is funny since all three males in my house could eat salt right out of the shaker). I try to reduce the overall amount of sugar and fat in my family's diet, especially around the holidays since we tend to eat more treats than the rest of the year. Last week I tried a new recipe for Chocolate Chip Cookies made with Greek yogurt.

Confederate Memorial Spring Hill Cemetery Huntington, WV

I made a few modifications to the original recipe. First, I eat gluten free so I tried the cookies both as written and then a batch that I made with coconut flour. Honestly, the coconut flour cookies almost turned out better, my boys loved them. Second, I made one batch with the full amount of sugar and the second batch with half sugar and half sugar substitute. They baked up the same as the full sugar version and it was nice having a lower fat/lower sugar cookie to snack on with my coffee in the afternoon. The gluten free version took a little longer to brown, which is normal with gluten free baking.

Albert Jenkins Grave Spring Hill Cemetery Huntington, WV

These cookies turned out really tasty. I love that they have Greek yogurt which reduces the total amount of fat and adds protein. They worked perfectly being made gluten free and reduced sugar, which is nice since I have dietary restrictions (Celiac Disease). I would definitely make this cookies again in the future!

For the recipe go to Greek Yogurt Chocolate Chip Cookies. 

Greek Yogurt Chocolate Chip Cookies

Recipe Type: Dessert

Summary:

A recipe for chocolate chip cookies using Greek yogurt (no butter or oil). Light, fluffy and can be made gluten free!

Preparation Time: 0h, 5m

Cooking Time: 0h, 10m

Total Time: 0h, 15m

Need a Change to Your Breakfast Routine? Try a Recipe For Toasted Muesli

Toasted Muesli Over Greek Yogurt and  Fresh Berries

This has been a day of free in my household. I am cheap. Not in the bad I don't spend any money on things that are important, but in the if I can find free entertainment I jump at it way. My oldest is at my in-laws house for the week so my youngest is by himself and needing entertainment. I am a firm believer in taking full advantage of local events so our day was filled with free or budget friendly activities. We spent time at the play center at the mall (love that place), went shopping for cheap locally produced strawberries, played on a retired train and spent time at the library. Everything except the strawberries was free and my youngest loved it. We also took a nice leisurely drive and talked about the various landmarks in our area. Best of all I discovered that the movie theater is having free movie Tuesdays again this summer, making one more cheap kid activity. My cheapness also extends to food. I love finding recipes that can be stretched to last throughout the week. Last week I tried a new recipe for Toasted Muesli from Martha Stewart Living magazine.

This recipe has 7 ingredients. It takes a total of 45 minutes, 5 minutes of which is active and makes 8 servings. I only made a few changes to the original recipe. My husband ate all of the pumpkin seeds before I was able to make the recipe, so I substituted unsalted sunflower seeds. I have never been able to find large coconut flakes, so I used the shredded unsweetened coconut I already had in my pantry. My youngest and I enjoyed the muesli over Greek yogurt and fresh blueberries.

If you liked your muesli sweet you will need to increase the maple syrup. I like to be able to add a small amount of sweetener to my yogurt, so this muesli was plenty sweet when added to my yogurt along with sweetener and fresh berries. It also made a nice snack right out of the bag without being used as a topping or stir-in.

For the recipe go to Toasted Muesli.

Recipe for Flavorful Chicken Tikka Masala

Chicken Tikka Masala Over Rice

I love to shop local. There are so many great things about buying food that is made/grown close to where you live. I would love it if we had a big farm where I could raise and grow everything that I ever wanted, but until that day comes I grow what I can and buy the rest. I am a firm believer that buying local in not only great for supporting the local economy, but much better for the environment. This weekend I was able to find great heirloom popcorn at a shop in our area. It is run by volunteers and provides  fresh and packaged foods from local producers. My kids love going and seeing the new items that they have each week. There are some foods that I am unable to find locally, such as certain spices for ethnic dishes. For these items I either have friends send them to me or I order online. I grew up eating Indian food since my father worked with a number of nurses from south India and I love it. Last week I tried a new recipe for Chicken Tikka Masala from the April 2013 issue of Bon Appetit magazine.

This recipe has 18 ingredients. It takes 5 1/2 hours of total time, an hour of which is active and makes 6 servings. I did make a number of changes to the original recipe. I was unable to find chiles de arbol so I followed the recipe suggestion and used crushed red pepper. Cardamom pods are hard to find around here, so I left them out. For the marinading time I allowed the full 6 hours. My oven broiler has been broken for a while so I used my toaster broiler setting instead. The chicken did not blacken as well as it would have in the oven, but it still came out decent.

Even though the time required to prepare this recipe is long, the outcome is worth the wait. The recipe turned out delicious and the step were relatively easy. This dish was particularly popular with my husband, who loves Indian food, but is never able to order it as often as he would prefer.

For the recipe go to Chicken Tikka Masala.

Recipe for Yogurt and Chia Seed Muffins

Yogurt and Chia Seed Gluten Free Muffins

We brought a Pomeranian Chihuahua mix into our house in December. I had grown up with toy poodles so I expected it to be an easy transition. Apparently our puppy had other ideas. Last week he ate my last pair of glasses. He had previously chewed apart two other pairs. So this morning I had to go to the eye doctor. After exams for both my husband and I, most of my day was gone. At least now I can actually see since I was also out of contacts. It's so much nicer to be able to see the television show that I am trying to watch. This weekend also marks the first part of my oldest son's summer vacation. Yesterday my two boys decided to mark the occasion by fighting the whole day and than telling each other that they would rather be only children. This is going to be a long summer. Since both of my sons are now home all day I have been baking and cooking more than usual. Last week I tried a new recipe for Yogurt and Chia Seed Muffins from the Detroit Free Press (via the Charleston Gazette-Mail April, 14 2013).

This recipe has 11 ingredients. It takes 35 minutes of total time, 10 minutes of which is active and makes 12 muffins. I did make a number of changes to the original recipe. First I eat gluten free so I used gluten free all-purpose baking mix. Since the baking mix that I use already has salt, I left the salt out of the recipe. The only yogurt that I had in my fridge was Greek style, so that is the variety I used. I chose to add the cinnamon sugar topping and I used foil baking cups to prevent the muffins from sticking. These muffins were still a little soft when they came out of the oven, but they firmed up as they cooled.

My kids really enjoyed this recipe. It is a great way to use chia seeds in a baking recipe. Chia seeds do not have flavor by themselves, so they are great to add to oatmeal, smoothies and baked goods. With 6 grams of protein per muffin they are a nice way to add extra nutrition to breakfast or a morning snack.

For the recipe go to Chia Seed Muffins.

Recipe for Grilled Chicken Salad with Tahini Yogurt Dressing and Fresh Mint

Grilled Chicken Salad with Tahini Yogurt Dressing and Fresh Mint

With the weather getting warm this week grilling season is definitely coming. My husband still has our charcoal grill in the basement with the promise that he will be fixing it up soon. Since it has sat downstairs for two years I am beginning to think that he is lacking motivation. Of course I could work on it, but my to do list is long enough that adding anything to it just wouldn't happen. Since my outdoor grill is out of commission I utilize my indoor electric grill or my stove top grill pan. Both are great options and I use them frequently. The beginning of summer in my household also means cold salads and sides. I love combining grilled meats and cold salads into one recipe. This week I tried a new recipe for Chicken Salad with Tahini Yogurt Dressing from the June 2013 issue of Food and Wine magazine.

This recipe has 14 ingredients. It takes 40 minutes of total time, 20 minutes of which is active and makes 6 servings. I did make a few changes to the original recipe. First I used 2% Greek yogurt instead of whole fat yogurt. As I talked about in the intro I used my indoor electric grill to make the grilled chicken thighs. I am not a fan of hot chicken salad, especially in the warmer months so I allowed the salad to sit in the fridge for 15 minutes before serving. This allowed the chicken to cool and made for a better flavor. Finally, I served the salad over white rice. It would also work well with flatbread.

Yogurt dressing is always popular in my household. We also are big fans of grilled chicken. However, this recipe only received an okay from my family. The thighs were almost too moist for the rest of the salad. There was a lot of flavor in the recipe, which I liked, but it didn't stand out from other chicken with yogurt sauce recipes. I would suggest increasing the amount of chipotle, adding a small amount of cumin and serving the salad with Naan or pita bread. Making it more like a wrap or sandwich would help the recipe be even better.

For the recipe go to Chicken Salad with Yogurt Tahini Dressing.

35 Minute Stewed Chicken Breast, Red Bell Pepper and Chickpeas

Today was an experimental baking day. I ran out of eggs the other day and my oldest is always very hungry when he gets home from school. Knowing that I had to think of something fast I made vegan oatmeal cookies. I knew that they were good when my youngest tried to eat the batter before it went into the oven. Needless to say the cookies have all been eaten and I think that I may have convinced my husband that vegan cooking can be delicious when done properly. Of course after all of the cookies were eaten none of my family was hungry for dinner. I decided that since the cookies were almost all oatmeal and brown rice flour, it was pretty close to a healthy breakfast food and I didn't argue too much. Making healthier baked goods has been one of my goals for the last month. I have also been trying to incorporate more chicken into my family's diet. My husband prefers pork, so I have been trying to find chicken recipes with a lot of flavor in order to trick my husband into eating them. This week I tried a new recipe for Stewed Chicken and Chickpeas from the January/February 2013 issue of the Food Network Magazine.

This recipe has 12 ingredients. It takes a total of 35 minutes, 15 minutes of which is active and makes 4 servings. I did make a few modifications to this recipe. First I was unable to find 6 ounce breasts. The meat selection at our grocery store is always limited so I had to use slightly larger chicken breasts. I do think that the recipe would work better with the smaller breasts if you can find them. For the red pepper flakes I used a full teaspoon and I used 1/2 teaspoon of garam masala. I chose to leave off the fresh parsley since my local grocery store refuses to stock flat leaf and I just can't get a taste for curly parsley, the texture gets to me. Since I eat gluten free I left out the pita and served the dish over quinoa which I had cooked with butter and minced garlic. I followed the remainder of the recipe as written.

The red pepper and chickpeas are the star of this dish. The chicken cooked well and was tender, especially given that my family prefers chicken thighs. However, the best part of the dish was definitely the sauce. I thickened the sauce at the end with a small amount of cornstarch and it was great over the quinoa. Additionally, it re-heated very well the next day.

For the recipe go to Stewed Chicken and Chickpeas.

Moist Lemon Blueberry Pound Cake Made Using Yogurt

I have been eating spicy foods all day today. They seem to be the only things that I can taste due to the unfortunate luck of catching a cold yesterday. I am such a baby that I would almost rather go through another c-section recovery than have a bad cold. Part of it has to do with having pneumonia and being hospitalized last winter. Now every time I get a cold it feels as if someone is sitting literally on my chest. Before having pneumonia this never happened. I was warned that this would happen, but it still doesn't make the experience any more pleasant. So I have been taking zinc lozenges, drinking tea with honey and trying not to be too pathetic. My husband was super sweet and brought me home a bag of spicy chips, spicy peanuts and chocolate. I knew there was a reason I married that man, sometimes he is just plain awesome. Since I have been feeling under the weather I am glad that I baked a number of snacks earlier in the week. One of my favorite ingredients to bake with is blueberries, whether fresh or frozen they are delicious. This week I tried a new recipe from the February/March 2013 issue of Taste of Home Magazine for Lemon-Blueberry Pound Cake.

This recipe has 13 ingredients in the cake and 2 in the glaze. It takes an hour and 20 minutes of total time, 25 minutes of which is active and makes 12 servings. I did make a number of changes to the original recipe. First since I eat gluten free I used brown rice flour to replace the all-purpose flour. I have also been trying to cut down on the amount of granulated sugar that my family consumes so I substituted honey for the two cups of sugar. Since less honey is needed in recipes I reduced the total amount to 1 1/2 cups and used 6 ounces instead of 8 ounces of lemon yogurt. Finally, instead of butter I used canola oil and low-fat cream cheese instead of regular. I found that my baking time was slightly longer due to the changes, approximately 5 minutes total. While the frosting looked yummy, I left it off to reduce the amount of sugar. I followed the remainder of the recipe as written.

My two boys loved this pound cake. Even with all the substitutions the cake came out very well. It wasn't as sweet as the original recipe would have been, which I liked. Using two cups of sugar would make for a very sweet cake and I prefer a cake that is a little less sweet to serve to my kids, plus it was great with a cup of tea as a snack in the afternoon.

For the recipe go to Lemon Blueberry Pound Cake.

Shish Taouk (Spiced Chicken Kebabs with Garlic Yogurt Sauce)

As I sit here writing this I am debating whether or not I am motivated to bake cookies. It has been a long day and I'm exhausted, but I also have a horrible sweet tooth. I would love it if I could eat all the snacks at the grocery store, but since I can't eat gluten it severely limits my snacking options. There are many days like today when I would love a snack, but lack the motivation to actually make anything. It doesn't help that my 6-year-old informed me today that he was tired of gluten free snacks. I agree with him that many gluten free snacks just taste like a not exactly right counterpart to the more delicious gluten equivalent. However, in order to combat the difficulties that gluten free living can bring about (one of the worst is eating out, I love steak, but when it is always the only thing I can eat it gets a little old), I make sure that the meals that I cook are satisfying and filling. Last week I tried a new recipe for Spiced Chicken Kebabs with Garlic Yogurt Sauce from issue Number 153 of Saveur magazine.

This recipe has 12 ingredients. It takes 2 and a half hours of total time, 30 minutes of which is active and makes 4 servings. As you can see from the photo I made a number of modifications to this recipe. First I didn't want to buy new skewers to grill the kebabs. I know that sounds odd, but I try to save money wherever I can and so I chose to change the recipe. Instead of cutting the chicken thighs I kept them whole and then when they were finished grilling I sliced them into pieces. Additionally, I used an indoor grill on the sear cycle to mimic a charcoal grill without freezing outside during the winter. I made one other major modification. I strongly believe in using the ingredients that I can find locally. I'm not against ordering things on the Internet, but I also try to be as frugal as possible. With this in mind instead of searching online and paying a large amount to purchase Aleppo Pepper I searched and found that I could substitute 4 parts paprika to one part cayenne. I did the math to make the proper adjustments and used the substituted spices. I followed the remainder of the recipe as written.

Even with all my modifications this recipe turned out very well. The flavor of the chicken was delicious and the yogurt sauce was slightly spicy with a great cooling flavor from the mint. I wasn't sure if it would work out since I didn't make the chicken as kebabs, but I was very happy with the end result. The yogurt sauce was also delicious with the leftover roasted chicken I had from another recipe and it is something that I will play around with as a sauce in future recipes.

For the recipe go to Shish Taouk.

Blueberry Coffee Cake

 I have been a little lax on my cooking everything from scratch goal in the last couple of months. The holidays happened and my motivation seemed to go out the window. Now with the year changing and my cupboards full of food I am making a concerted effort to make as many things as I can with the ingredients I already have. Normally I am great about this goal, but with a 4 and 6-year-old, my days are exhausting and honestly I just haven't had the energy. However, I also know that budgeting and cooking as many things as I can are major ways that I am able to be a stay at home mom. I love staying at home with my kids, so it's back to the kitchen I go this week. So today I spent the day making homemade turkey sausage, grilled chicken, and snacks for lunches for the next couple of weeks. Yesterday for New Years I made a great breakfast and dinner for very little money. For breakfast I tried a new recipe for Blueberry Coffee Cake from the January 2013 issue of Southern Living magazine.

This recipe has 13 ingredients. It takes a total of 1 hour, 20 minutes of which is active and makes 10 servings. Since I now eat gluten free I substituted gluten free all-purpose flour for the wheat all-purpose flour used in the recipe. Since I didn't have turbinado sugar, I substituted regular granulated sugar and it worked fine. My total baking time was slightly longer than the recipe, approximately 35 minutes total. I followed the remainder of the recipe as written.

If you like not overly sweet coffee cake than this recipe is perfect. It is light on the sugar, which my family liked, but is still full of fruit. I really enjoy blueberry coffee cake and this recipe was easy to make gluten free, which I appreciated. It doesn't bake-up very high, it is more of a dense cake, than a high and light coffee cake. Either way it was great with a cup of coffee in the morning.

For the recipe go to Blueberry Coffee Cake. 

Alpine Muesli

As I've stated in a few of my previous posts I am determined to be better about eating breakfast. My son starts school in two weeks and with the start of school my eating habits go quickly down-hill. I am great about making my two sons eat a healthy breakfast, I just don't follow my own advice. Honestly, I have never been great about eating breakfast. Growing up my dad worked nights and my mom left for work before I went to school. So when it was time for me to eat breakfast my dad was getting ready to bed for the day and I would literally eat peanut butter out of the jar. My mom tried really hard to get me to eat, she even left pre-made breakfasts for me. It never worked. I preferred the peanut butter on a spoon. If given the choice now and if my metabolism was the same as when I was younger I would still be eating jars of peanut butter a week. I love peanut butter. I know better now, but it is still a daily struggle with myself. Last week I tried a new recipe for Alpine Muesli from Martha Stewart Living magazine, which I was hoping would help to encourage me to eat breakfast.

This recipe has 11 ingredients. It takes 3 hours and 50 minutes of total time, 20 minutes of which is active and makes 8 servings. I had no problems finding any of the ingredients for this recipe at my local grocery store and I made no modifications to the ingredients. For the chopped fruit I used plums and for the sliced fruit topping I used strawberries. I had planned on also using raspberries, however, my two children ate almost all of the fruit out of the fridge before I had the change to make this recipe. Luckily I had just enough fruit. I followed the remainder of the recipe as written.

As written this recipe needs some work. First, I was not a fan of the fresh orange juice. My two boys refused to eat their servings due to the overly citrus taste. If I was to make this again I would make the following changes. I am not a huge fan of citrus, but if you like the taste of fresh oranges, then I would use vanilla almond milk instead of cows milk. The low-fat cows milk and the orange juice did not work well together. Almond milk would solve this problem. Personally, I think the recipe would be better without the orange juice entirely. I liked the whole recipe, except the citrus taste. So leave out the citrus and add a little more honey and this recipe will be a great way to start the day.

For the recipe go to Alpine Muesli.

Chicken Shawarma

My two kids and I love sandwiches. I make homemade bread weekly and every week my kids and I fight over sandwich ingredients. We all have a major peanut butter craving and I am not afraid to say that peanut butter is probably one of my favorite foods. I have tried giving it up over the years, but I always go back. My peanut butter obsession seems to go back to when I was little and we had very little money. We had to stand in the line at the church food line and the best part of the experience was the peanut butter. It came in huge jars and I loved it. I would literally eat it out of the jar with a spoon, sometimes actually squirting honey into the jar to combine and eat. Now that I'm older, while I still love peanut butter I have forced myself to branch out and try new sandwich combinations. One of my favorite sandwich fillings is grilled chicken, so I was very excited when I saw a recipe for Chicken Shawarma in the March/April issue of Eating Well magazine.

This recipe has 13 ingredients. It takes a total of 45 minutes, all of which is active and makes 4 servings. I had no problems finding any of the ingredients and made no ingredient modifications. I chose to use whole wheat pita bread, I try to use whole wheat whenever possible. I found a beautiful tomato at the farmer's market which worked perfectly for this recipe. Since I used an indoor grill my total grilling time was closer to 4 minutes per side. I weighed out my chicken breast to ensure proper amounts, I encourage anyone that doesn't have a food scale to buy one. They really are worth the money and can make a huge difference in recipes! Normally I would have used fresh lemon juice, but I completely forgot to buy lemons, so I used bottled instead. I followed the remainder of the recipe as written.

My three-year-old loved these sandwiches. I wasn't sure if he would eat the sauce or turn up his nose, but he ate his whole serving. At first I thought that the chicken was too salty, but once the sauce was added to the sandwich the taste was perfect. The recipe states that it makes four servings, but my family eats a lot of meat so this dish made more like 3 servings. I would suggest doubling the recipe if you have a meat eating family like I do or if you want leftovers. Overall, a popular new sandwich recipe in my house.

For the recipe go to Chicken Shawarma.

Lentil Soup with Peas and Ham

My husband and two boys have an obsession with meat. I have talked many times about the endless amounts of bacon and bacon flavored products that they seem to be able to consume. Luckily, I have slowly begun to have them realize that there are other foods in the universe which can be healthy and delicious. Beans and lentils have been a pleasant surprise. I thought that when I started adding more beans and lentils into our diets that I would be meet with a lot of resistance and complaining. Instead I was pleased when my oldest son explained to me that he loved beans and ever since gets excited when he learns that beans will be included with dinner. My husband was a little more resistant, but after his stomach accustomed to the increase in legumes, he now likes them to the point that he prefers my lentil burgers to many meat equivalents. Of course he still adds bacon to his veggie burgers, but he's a work in progress. Soup is a major way that I have learned to add more legumes into my family's diet. Both of my sons absolutely love soup and lentil soup is one of my favorite soup varieties. Therefore, I was excited when the May issue of the Food Network Magazine had a recipe for Lentil Soup with Peas and Ham, which looked delicious and full of protein.

This recipe has 13 ingredients. It takes 40 minutes of total time, 30 minutes of which is active and makes 4 servings. Luckily I already had red lentils from a previous recipe. For whatever reason the only store in my area that feels the need to have any type of lentils other than brown is the Lebanese market near my house. That market is great and I have found many hard to find items, plus it's always great to support neighborhood stores! For the onion I used a vidalia sweet onion. I love vidalia onions and I was excited to see that the first shipment was available at my local grocery store. They are great to cook with when they are in season. I was very pleased to find that all the cooking times in this recipe were very accurate. Oftentimes I find that recipes can be off by a very large margin, but I followed this recipe as written and had no problems.

My family really enjoyed this soup. The only thing that I would change would be the peas. I have never actually seen fresh peas in my area, so I had to use frozen. I'm not a big fan of frozen peas, especially in cooking and this soup would be great without them. With the peas the soup almost felt off, so I would suggest omitting them completely. The dill taste is delicious and creates a nice fresh taste to the soup. The best part is that the recipe has 28 grams of protein and only 7 grams of fat per serving. A great way to provide a low-fat flavorful soup recipe to your diet.

For the recipe go to Lentil Soup with Peas and Ham.

Parents Chipotle Sweet-Potato Pigskins

I'm not a huge fan of regular baked potatoes. When everyone else at a restaurant is ordering a baked potato I am eating a salad. Growing up my mom never really made potato dishes. It was my dad who would wake up early on Sunday mornings and prepare a huge breakfast with a large helping of fried potatoes. I still love those fried potatoes whenever I go home. While I might not love regular baked potatoes, I do love sweet potatoes. I could devour pretty much any dish or recipe utilizing sweet potatoes. The February issue of Parents Magazine had a recipe for Chipotle Sweet-Potato Pigskins which promised to be low in fat and have a smoky heat from the chipotles.

This recipe has six ingredients. It takes 1 hour and 40 minutes of total time, 20 minutes of which is active, and makes 8 servings. There are very few ingredients in this recipe and I had no problems finding any of them at my local grocery store. Make sure to pick small to medium sweet potatoes in order for them to fully cook in the amount of time suggested. If your sweet potatoes are on the larger side it could take up to a half hour longer than the suggested time. Additionally, be careful when you are scooping out the sweet potatoes to not scrap all the way through the skin or they won't hold up to be re-stuffed. For the potatoes for my two kids I   left off the onions and Greek yogurt since they can be hit or miss on what they will eat. I followed the remainder of the recipe as written. 

The chipotles in this recipe create a delicious smokey flavor, with a little bit of heat. Sweet Potatoes are a great source of vitamin C, which is great for this time of year when everyone seems to be fighting off some sort of cold or sickness. My husband loved that these sweet potatoes had a different type of taste than your run of the mill variety from steak houses. Overall, an easy recipe with great flavor.

For the recipe go to Chipotle Sweet-Potato Pigskins.

Martha Stewart Living Parsnip-Rosemary Muffins

I love baking and cooking with fresh herbs. The smell of freshly snipped herbs is wonderful and creates great flavor in recipes. I would love to have the space to have a garden outside or cats that didn't eat anything green in the house (trust me I have tried too many times to count). As it is I normally have to go to at least two grocery stores to find all the fresh herbs that I want every week. Luckily I love the taste enough that it's worth the hassle. My two boys are just beginning to appreciate the subtle flavors fresh herbs provide and I have been experimenting with a number of new recipes. Recently, Martha Stewart Living had a recipe for Parsnip-Rosemary Muffins, which looked unusual and utilized fresh rosemary.

This recipe has 10 ingredients. It takes 1 hour and 25 minutes and makes 14 muffins. I had no problems finding any of the ingredients at my local grocery store. I used whole milk Greek yogurt instead of the plain low-fat yogurt suggested by the recipe. I already had the Greek yogurt in my fridge (I eat it every morning) and I didn't want to spent money on additional yogurt that wasn't needed. I peeled my parsnips before grating them into the recipe. The recipe didn't recommend this step, but I prefer root vegetables grated. I followed the remainder of the recipe as written.

I liked the unusual flavor of these muffins. They made a great dinner side for the meat dish that I prepared alongside and had a delicious flavor from the fresh chopped rosemary. My two sons ate numerous muffins without realizing that they weren't the usual sweet muffins that they normally eat. Overall, a nice combination of flavors that would go well with a variety of main dishes.

For the recipe go to Parsnip-Rosemary Muffins.

Recipe.com Dilled Pot Roast

I have a slight obsession with my slow-cooker. I love everything about it, the fact that it saves me time, that it can transform bad cuts of meat into a delicious meal and most importantly that it is very easy! Growing up my mom never really used her slow-cooker except for the once or twice a year she would cook a meal using it and then put it away until the following year. When I got married I quickly learned from my mother-in-law that the slow-cooker was awesome. It took a little trail and error of adding to much or not enough liquid to perfect my slow-cooker technique, but after a couple of years I started branching out and trying any recipe I could find using the crockpot. One of my favorite slow-cooker dishes is pot roast and I was excited when I ran across a recipe for Dilled Pot Roast on Recipe.com using fresh dill.

This recipe has 9 ingredients. It takes 20 minutes of prep and 6 hours of cooking time on high, and makes 6-8 servings. All the ingredients are basic and I had no problems finding any of them at my local grocery store. I cooked my roast on high due to the fact that I started it too late to cook on low. Normally I like to cook on low in my slow-cooker, I think the flavor is more favorable. I chose to Greek yogurt instead of plain yogurt, I prefer the flavor and thickness. Finally, I used kosher salt instead of regular salt, I find the flavor preferable in cooking and baking. I followed the remainder of the recipe as written.

I love the amount of time and effort that cooking in my slow-cooker provides. This recipe was no exception, the meat turned out moist and delicious. I chose to serve the roast over noodles as suggested, but honestly the taste of the roast was good enough to be served alone. The fresh dill really made this dish and created a great flavor for the roast. Overall, an easy and delicious slow-cooker recipe.

For the recipe go to Dilled Pot Roast.

Everyday Food Chicken Koftas with Cucumbers and Yogurt

If left on their own the three men in my house, would more than likely eat pork at every meal. Yesterday my two youngest children successfully finished off an entire packaged of apple wood smoked bacon (don't worry it was cooked!). While, I appreciate pork as much as the next person, I also want my family to eat a well rounded diet, with a larger portion of white meat. Each week I try to make one vegetarian, one chicken, and one fish recipe, to both expose my children to new tastes and to make sure we all live a long healthy life. The one form of chicken meat that I have a harder time appreciating is ground chicken. Oftentimes, I find the meat to be dry due to its lack of fat. Therefore, I am always looking for new recipes involving chicken meat, and I was intrigued when the June issue of Everyday Food magazine had a recipe for Chicken Koftas with Cucumbers and Yogurt.

This recipe has 11 ingredients and I was easily able to find everything at my local grocery store. I normally grind my own chicken fresh, but for this recipe I used frozen ground chicken that I had made at an earlier date. My total prep and cooking time was approximately 30 minutes. I followed the recipe as stated, with the exception of adding 1/2 teaspoon of cumin as suggested, I made no other modifications.

Since I cook and bake so frequently, I am bound to run into recipes that are less than stellar. This recipe ended up being one of those occasions. My husband and I were not fans of the chicken being formed into patties. The chicken was dry, I would have preferred it crumbled and my husband thought it would benefit from the patties being as thin as a fast food burger. There was too little sauce for the amount of meat and I was not a fan of the mint being loose instead of incorporated into the sauce. I think that this dish would have benefited from the addition of more spice to the chicken patties. I love finding healthier ways to make common dishes, but this is one recipe that I will stick to the traditional lamb version, the taste is so much better!

For the recipe go to Everyday Food Chicken Koftas with Cucumbers and Yogurt.