Green Salad with Grapes

This is the salad we serve with our lentil and sausage soup. It is super yummy and easy to adjust to fit your tastes. My favorite recipes are the ones we make to fit our taste! The original recipe is from here.

Ingredients:
3 tbsp red wine vinegar
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
2 tsp dijon mustard
1 pinch sugar
1/3 cup olive oil
8 cups torn mixed salad greens (we use 1/2 romaine 1/2 red leaf)
1 cup flat leaf or Italian parsley, rinsed and spun dry (optional)
1 1/2 cups red seedless grapes, halved
1/4 cup shelled roasted sunflower seeds or sliced almonds
1 apple, peeled and sliced
Parmesan cheese to top

1. In a small bowl whisk together vinegar, salt, pepper, dijon, and sugar.
2. Add the oil and whisk until emulsified (or put in dressing container with sealable pour spout and shake).
3. Combine lettuce, parsley and grapes.
4. Sprinkle with sunflower seeds or almonds, apple, and parmesan. Add dressing to taste. Serve immediately.

Lentil and Sausage Soup

So this recipe is in one of my cookbooks (BHG 14th Edition), and is one of the few I like exactly as is... with one slight "adjustment."

Ingredients:
28 oz chicken broth (reduced sodium)
1 1/2 cups water
1 cup brown lentils, rinsed and drained
1 cup sliced celery (2 stalks)
1 cup sliced carrot (2 medium)
1/2 cup chopped onion (1 medium)
1 tsp snipped fresh thyme or 1/2 tsp dried thyme, crushed
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
2 cloves garlic, minced
6 oz cooked smoked sausage links, quartered lengthwise and sliced*

In a large saucepan combine broth, water, lentils, celery, carrot, onion, dried thyme (if using), cayenne pepper, and garlic. Bring to boiling; reduce heat. Simmer, covered, for 20 - 25 minutes or until vegetables and lentils are tender.** Stir in sausage and, if using, fresh thyme. Heat through.

We eat this with a yummy green salad with grapes (recipe still to come).

*Make sure to get a mild flavor of sausage; to bold an it will over power the remaining flavors.
**Try not to over cook. If you let it boil a little too long the soup will become a bit mushy.

Bacon and Avocado Grilled Cheese

My first recipe might as well be a recent success. It was delicious! I found the recipe via Pinterest, but the original recipe comes from this blog. For those of you who have yet to experience pinterest, I highly recommend checking it out!

Anyway, this take on grilled cheese is phenomenal! So simple, yet so yummy. Only five ingredients and if you slim on the bacon and cheese it is pretty healthy :)


Ingredients:
Sourdough bread
Bacon
Avocado
Apple slices
Pepperjack cheese


Make sandwich.
Cook.
Eat.


We have a George Foreman Grill which worked wonderfully, but I also used the oven (broil) which got one side crispy so maybe flip the sandwich half way through.  And really you can cook it however you prefer!

With the sandwich we ate a fresh fruit salad. I ate mine plain tonight, but yogurt is also a yummy addition.

This is a great recipe and it is easy to make exactly the way you like. Add as much or little of each ingredient. Oh and did I mention? My toddler likes it! Enjoy!