Egyptian Lentil Soup

A simple, nutritional and flavorful soup.  Takes 15-20 minutes (or less) to prepare.

If I've bought fresh tomatoes that I know I won't use before going bad, I throw them in the freezer while still fresh.  When it comes time to make this soup, it's easy to pull one out of the freezer without having to make a trip to the grocery store.

2 cups dried, hulled split lentils (any color but -- I use green which is the easiest to find)
2 quarts chicken stock, (I use Swanson's low sodium)
1 medium onion, peeled and quartered
1 medium tomato, quartered
2 teaspoons garlic, coarsely chopped
2 teaspoons ground cumin
salt to taste
black pepper, freshly ground
lemon, cut into wedges

Wash the lentils in a large sieve or colander set under cold running water, until the water runs clear.

In a heavy 4 to 5 quart saucepan, bring the stock to a boil over high heat. Add the lentils, onion, tomato and garlic, reduce the heat to low, and simmer partially covered for 45 minutes, or until the lentils are tender.

Puree the soup until any leftover chunks of onion or tomato have been incorporated.  I use a stick-blender & puree it right in the pot -- leaving some of the lentils whole for texture. Stir in the cumin, salt and pepper, and taste for seasoning.
To serve, ladle the soup into bowls.  If desired, squeeze the juice of the wedge into the soup.

Elegant Orange Jello Salad

I suppose it speaks to my Midwestern roots that I love jello salads. This orange fluff salad was my mother's favorite -- she named it.  It's made with mandarin oranges, crushed pineapple, and cool whip. On the recipe card for this one, my mother had a note --  "a hit with everyone!" 

serves 8 to 10 

1 1/2 cups water
1 - small box of orange jello
1 - 12 oz. Cool Whip
1 large can (20 oz.) crushed pineapple, drained
2 - (15 oz.) cans of mandarin oranges, drained
1 cup sweet flaked coconut (optional)
1 cup mini marshmallows (optional)

Directions:

Start with 3/4 cups of hot water in a liquid measuring cup.  Add jello and stir until dissolved. Add enough ice cubes to make 1-1/2 cups.

The jello is still in liquid form but will start to thicken as the ice cools the mixture.

In a large mixing bowl, add the cool whip, then the jello mixture.  With a whisk, stir until combined.  Next, stir in the pineapple & coconut.
Finally, add the mandarin oranges & marshmallows folding in gently so as to not break up the oranges.

Chill for at least half an hour.

Creamy Chicken with Wild Rice Soup

This is our favorite cold weather soup.
The wild rice can be made before-hand.  Don't get a blend, get the 100% wild rice.
Make the whole bag of rice (it's small) then freeze the leftovers. One bag made 2 batches of soup and it is so easy to make with the pre-prepared rice. 

½ cup butter
1 finely chopped onion
1 cup frozen corn
1 cup carrots, diced
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
8 cups chicken broth (I use Swanson's low-sodium)
2 cups COOKED wild rice
1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cubed (I use the white meat from a Rotisserie chicken from the supermarket
½ teaspoon mustard powder
½ teaspoon dried parsley
½ teaspoon black pepper
1/2 cup slivered almonds
2 cups of milk (I have used 1 cup light cream/1 cup 1.5%, alternately I have used 2 cups whole milk) 
Melt butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Stir in the onion, corn, chicken and carrots and sauté for 5 minutes. Then add flour and stir well. Transfer mixture to large pot. Over medium heat, gradually pour in the chicken broth, stirring constantly until all has been added. Bring just to a boil and then reduce heat to low and let simmer.

Next, add the rice, mustard powder, parsley, ground black pepper and almonds. Allow to heat through and then pour in the half-and-half. Let simmer 1 to 1 ½ hours. Be careful not to let the soup come to a boil or it won't thicken properly - let it simmer on low heat, stirring occasionally.