New Year, New Dishes!

Well 2010 flew past!  The older I get the faster time goes. I don't really do resolution for New Year's.  It seems like anything I say I'm going to do doesn't happen.  I think there are more important motivations to be healthy than the date on the calendar! I will say that now the holidays have passed I will be changing my diet.  I have been going out to eat, going to family dinners, and having pot lucks at work and as a result I think I've been getting a lot of gluten contamination. Pepto is making an all to frequent appearance in my life and I have just been feeling achy, rundown, and blah.  There will be a lot more whole foods being eaten at home!  Frequent dining out is just getting to be too risky.  Sad but true.  So to make meals at home more exciting I got new dishes!

My mom has used Corelle dishes my whole life and they have been dropped a thousand times and never break.  My old dishes on the other hand have suffered many casualties.  One bowl, two salad plates, and a coffee mug.  Most of the survivors are chipped.  It was definately time for new ones so I went with the most break resistant I could find.  I did have to get square plates.  I love a square plate, not sure why.  Anyhow the box says they are stylish! ;P

For the first dinner on the new dishes we are having lentil soup.  I love lentils!  I made lentils as a side dish for some Tikka Masala the other night.  I made enough so we'd have leftovers for the soup.  Here is my recipe for lentils...this would be better with a different type of lentil, but my store only has brown so that is what I use. 

Lentils

1 tsp minced garlic

1 tsp minced ginger

2 cups of lentils

3 cups water

1 TB tumeric

2 tsp Better than Bouillon (chicken)

2 TB garam masala

 In pan heat garlic and ginger in a bit of nonstick cooking spray.  Add lentils, water, and tumeric bring to a boil.  Add bouillon.  Reduce to simmer at medium heat and cover.  Watch and add more water if lentils are looking too dry.  Cook about 20-30 minutes.  Add garam masala and heat about 5 minutes more.  Serve.  Use leftovers in soup.

Lentil Soup

2 cups leftover lentils from above

1 box of natural chicken broth

1 cup of cooked brown basmati rice

1/2 cup tomato sauce

1 cup of frozen or fresh spinach leaves

salt and pepper to taste

Add all ingredients to pot and simmer for about 20 minutes or until ready to serve.  The lentils are pretty heavily seasoned so you don't really need to add much to flavor the soup. 

I hope everyone is having a healthy and happy New Year!  I am going to try to blog more this year since I'm a bit of a blogging slacker.