Healthy Beaver Bag Blog

This recipe is adapted from https://cookieandkate.com/best-lentil-soup-recipe/

Ingredients:

• 2 Tablespoons Butter
• 1/2 medium yellow onion diced
• 1 carrot, peel and cut into half circles
• Just under 1 Tablespoon of spice blend (1/2 tsp garlic, 1/4 dried thyme, 1/2 tsp curry powder, 1 tsp cumin)
• 1 can (15oz size) diced tomatoes (we used no salt added but any type is fine)
• 1/2 cup brown lentils, spread on a plate to check for rocks or debris, rinse before use
• 2.5 cups water (add more water at the end to create thinned soup, or eat as thick stew)
• additional salt and pepper to taste (optional)
• Pinch of red pepper flakes (add more to increase heat)
• 1/2 cup fresh kale cut out the rough stems and cut into bite sized pieces
• 1  tablespoons lemon juice

Instructions:

1. Prep Lentils: Lentils: spread 1/2 cup lentil on a plate pick out debris and rocks if any, rinse.
2. Prep Veggie: Cut small 1/2 onion. Peel and wash carrot and cut into half circles. Wash Kale thoroughly, cut out stems and chop leaves into bite sized pieces.
3. Get lemon juice. Cut lemon in half. Wrap and save one half for something else in your refrigerator. Squeeze juice from the lemon into a cup. Set a aside.
4. Measure just less than one Tablespoon of the spice blend. If there is more, it can be added later if you would like it to be stronger flavor.
5. Open Tomato Can

Get cooking!

1. In a pot on the stove over medium heat. Melt butter. Add onion and carrot. Cook till translucent. Note: the butter will color the onion yellow so it might not look clear.
2. Add spice blend and pinch (or more) red pepper flakes. Let spices heat for just 30 seconds or so.
3. Add water, then tomatoes, lentils, heat till hot then cook for 25 minutes or until lentils are soft.
4. Add Kale and Lemon Juice, adjust salt level. Add a little more water to adjust to desired consistency. Cook for 5 minutes more, then serve.

Store any leftovers in the refrigerator.

Instructions:

1. Heat oven to 400F.
2. Place breadsticks together on an oven safe pan.
3. Using vegetable oil, peanut oil, olive oil, butter, or any cooking fat, brush the top of the breadsticks lightly. This will make them brown more. This step is optional.
4. Put about 1/4 cup of cheese for each 2 breadsticks across top of breadsticks.
5. Add a pinch or two of the paprika garlic blend across the cheese.
6. Bake in the oven about 5-8 minutes till cheese is just starting to brown and bubble.
7. Cool slighty before eating. Serve with pizza sauce or a dressing like ranch if you prefer.

learning about baking substitutions

Imagine you go to bake something and you find you are out of something. It isn’t a great time to go to the store and your neighbor isn’t home to ask.

This doesn’t have to mean abandoning the plan there are easy substitutions that can work for a lot of common ingredients.

Check out this list at AllRecipe.com https://www.allrecipes.com/article/common-ingredient-substitutions/

In today’s recipe we substitute banana for oil and mayonnaise for egg. The muffins are still tasty. Ingredients:

• Muffin mix
• 4 packets (about 3.5 Tablespoons) Mayonnaise
• Water
• 1/4 cup smashed banana
• Lemon (juice and zest from 1/2)
• 12 muffin cup liners

Directions:

• Pre heat the oven to 400 degrees
• Smash 1/4 cup banana till fairly smooth
• Add muffin mix into a mixing bowl
• Combine the water, mayonnaise, and banana into the mix
• Wash and zest the lemon with a zester/grater, or use a knife to cut off just the most exterior yellow layer, leaving the white pith intact. Chop the lemon peel very finely. Add to the mixture.
• Cut the lemon in half, and squeeze half a lemon into the mix (or to your liking, watch for seeds)
• Add the poppy seed packet in and mix well.
• Next scoop muffin mix into the paper muffin liners (mix should make 12)
• Bake in the oven for 17-19 min or until golden brown on top
• Let cool, and enjoy!

Once a family secret, this simple recipe displays the true beauty of brussels sprouts. Transform this winter vegetable into a nutritious and delicious dish that will warm up your winter!

Ingredients:

• 1lb Stalk Brussel Sprouts
• 1-1.5 cups halved grapes
• Salt and pepper
• (Add 2 tbsp of preferred oil)

Instructions:

• Preheat oven to 400 F
• Rinse brussel sprouts and grapes
• Cut brussel sprouts in half
• Cut grapes in half (can leave grapes whole if desired)
• Combine all ingredients in a bowl and toss or stir until well combined
• Dump and spread onto pan, making sure and place in oven
• Roast for 25-30 minutes, flip halfway through, stirring to mix juices, until brussels sprouts are soft and slightly browned! Leave longer for crispier brussels sprouts 🙂

Enjoy!

Steps with Pictures:

Rinse and halve brussel sprouts

Halve grapes

Mix in a bowl

Spread on a pan

Cook in oven at 400 degrees F until desired texture, leave longer for crispier!

From chewy spiced chickpeas in a rice bowl with veggies or a crunchy snack, canned chickpeas are versatile and affordable.

The recipe in this post is designed to show how you can get very different results using the same ingredient. Changing the cook time is the way to control the texture of the chickpea – 20 minutes results in a just slight color soft texture- to 50 minutes to get a dehydrated crunchy texture. For a sandwich or rice bowl I like the texture to be in the middle.

For authentic recipe techniques and spice blends I look to food bloggers sharing their wisdom. Richa, a food blogger from Bangalore India, shares well tested recipes her family loves. When roasting chickpeas she suggests adding spices in the last 10 minutes to develop a good crunch with a longer cook time while avoiding burning spices and losing flavor. You can see her recipe here:

. https://myfoodstory.com/crunchy-roasted-indian-masala-chickpeas-recipe/

Recipe: Simple Roasted Chickpeas – Choose your texture based on cook time.

Ingredients:

1 can chickpeas, 1 TBS Olive Oil, Salt and Pepper, curry powder to taste (curry powder may be hot or mild in your recipe kit)

1. Preheat oven to 400F.
2. Rinse and dry chickpeas. They roast best if they have most of the liquid dried off.
3. Mix chickpeas with 1 TBS oil and salt and pepper.
4. Spread on a sheet pan or in a glass dish.
5. Think about what texture you would like to achieve. If you plan to cook them for 35 minutes or less add the curry powder to the chickpeas and toss to coat. Put in the oven and set a timer. Give chickpeas a stir partway through. If you plan to cook them for longer than 35 minutes, set aside curry powder and 2 additional tsp olive oil. Cook chickpeas for 35 minutes stirring partway through. At 35 minutes, pull chickpeas from the oven, carefully add the oil and and curry powder. Return to the oven and cook till desired crunchiness is achieved an additional 10-15 minutes. Watch for them starting to smoke/get done faster, ovens vary.

Other suggested variations. If making a chewy chickpea, add sliced peppers and roast with the chickpeas. Serve with rice or on a sandwich : )

Ingredients

• 3 Strips of Bacon
• 1 Can of Green Beans
• Onion & Garlic Powder
• Pepper

Directions

• Cut 3 strips of uncooked bacon into 1″ strips
• Open can of green beans and drain into sink
• On medium heat, warm up pan and place bacon strips on pan
• Cook both sides until almost fully cooked
• Add in full can of green beans
• Put in garlic powder, onion powder, and pepper to taste
• On low heat, mix in well and cover with a lid for about 3-4 minuets stirring occasionally
• Serve and enjoy!