Artichoke Chicken

What's that you say?  You're disappointed that I didn't have a snazzy name for this blog entry?  Listen...if you only knew the week I've had...

So, Artichoke Chicken it is.  And delicious it is.  And also, easy it is.  Make or make not, there is no try.

Melted Legumes - Red Lentil Pasta

Some people love shopping for clothing, and can spend hours staring at shoes and purses.  Me?  I'm like that shopping for food.  I'm pretty much a perimeter shopper at the grocery store, but if you find me in an aisle, it's probably the international foods aisle, searching for inspiration.  Red lentils are in that aisle, and they always catch my eye with their fiery orange color.  They are quick to cook, and easy to use in soups.  But, in a surprising twist, they also can make a delicious, velvety pasta sauce.

This recipe is meatless, and can easily be vegan, if you use vegetable broth.  It's hearty and satisfying, and most likely different than any pasta sauce you've tried.  If you wanted to meat it up a bit, it would go well with either chicken or maybe Italian sausage either cooked into it or on the side.

So, first, chop up an onion and a few cloves of garlic.  Saute them in a medium to large pot with a little olive oil.  Measure out 3/4 cup of red lentils.  Take a cup each of water and broth.  I used chicken, but vegetable broth works well too, and like I said before, keeps it vegan.  Combine that all in the pot and bring it to a boil.  You might want to add in some spice, if you'd like.  Red pepper flakes are good with this, but this time I went a little crazy and used curry powder for the heat.  As each member of my family walked in the door when I was cooking this, every single one of them asked, "What smells so good?".  Love it!

The Best Things You Probably Aren't Eating Yet: Artichokes

Okay, so maybe the title is a little off this time around.  You probably are eating artichokes.  Most likely in some delicious creamy dip form.  But I'm talking about picking up a whole artichoke and cooking and eating it.  I'm guessing that only a handful out there do that.  Maybe I'm wrong on this one, but nearly every time I'm at the store and someone sees me putting a bunch of artichokes into my cart, I am asked, "But what do you DO with them?", or, "Yes, but do the kids eat them?".  We love them.  Well, except for the young picky one, but he'll get there soon enough.  In the meantime, more for the rest of us!