Loving: Lentils

The other day I was shopping at Trader Joe's and paused to look at the packaged cooked lentils. I have passed by this convenience item several times because I know I should just make them myself. I could practically hear my Depression-era grandmother's exasperated sigh at the laziness of such a thing, ("You can't find time to cook lentils? For heavens sake, Amanda!") But I really wanted to try these cooked lentils for a weeknight soup and I knew that cooking lentils after a long day of work and two hungry children nipping at my ankles was asking too much. I bought them thinking this was going to be a bust.

Holy Sweet Time Saver, Batman! I loved them and my kids ate them. I made my soup in 30 minutes last night and had plenty of leftovers to make a warm lentil salad with mustard vinaigrette to take with me to work. They were perfectly cooked with a slight bite to them. I am definitely buying those again. However, I still feel guilty about Trader Joe's frozen brown rice, but I'll get over it eventually.

Lentils are my new swoon.

Pity Party, Table for One

** Warning: Heavy whining ahead**

I could feel it sneaking up on me all week. A random series of sneezes, a morning cough that felt like I had been smoking and then the "sneeze that changed it all" came along. Boom! I was down for the count. Another sign that I am getting sick? I often pick clothes out of the closet that haven't been worn in a couple of years and end up feeling as awful as I look by the end of the day.

One thing you quickly realize once you become a parent is when you get sick you are on your own when it comes to care and gaining sympathy from your kids. The little kids still have their own little worlds to be tended to and you better not let that stuffy nose slow you down or they will let you know it.  Suck it up and have some Sudafed already!

My day off during the week is Friday and while I knew that I was down for the count, I went about my business but I seriously crumbled that night. I bought some frozen pizzas for dinner, threw those in the oven and went to bed. My kids thought they won the lottery. I had no will power at the grocery store. If they asked for it, I bought it. So they had frozen pizza, frosted cookies and creamsicles in the cart before we hit the check out aisle. I did say no to the Jell-O pudding cups, though! (I hate pudding) But I could see my son plotting my demise in the future because it was clear that Sick Mom = Food Bonanza.

I woke up on Saturday feeling even worse than the day before, I was all zoned out from repeated hits of Nyquil during the night and I knew that I was going to be of no good to my family. So between the chills, the sweats and the vapors I got them out of the house for the day so I could Just.Be.Sick.

I spent the day sleeping and drinking seltzer water. By the time evening rolled around, I was voraciously hungry and nothing seemed good to eat. Should I order War WonTon soup, heat up another frozen pizza or just eat frosted cookies? I was on my own for dinner since my son went to a sleepover at a friends house and the younger one was at a birthday party with her dad. What does a sick mom have for dinner?

Pity Party Tomato Soup, of course!


Pity Party Tomato Soup

Ingredients:
2 Tbls. Butter
1 Tbls. EVOO
1/2 onion chopped
2 Tbls. flour
2 Tbls. tomato paste
1/2 tsp. dried thyme or a few sprigs of fresh thyme if you have it
1 can of diced tomatoes
1 can of chicken broth
A few glugs of cream or half n half

Sautee the onion in the butter and EVOO for 5 minutes. Add the flour, tomato paste and thyme and let it cook for one minute. Then add the can of tomatoes (juice included) and can of broth and simmer for 15 minutes. Add a few glugs of cream and then puree the soup with an immersion blender. I feel better already just writing this down.

Cooking in My Sleep

I love it when I've shown the Dinner Gods a thing or two about efficiency. Lord knows I love a good Twofer, but this Crock Pot idea I had blew.my.mind. And when it comes to dinner, it's hard to blow anyone's mind around here.

I've complained before about using my Crock Pot while I am away at work, so feel free to read that rant some other time. But I really wanted to make a soup in the Crock Pot this week and I couldn't figure out how to avoid making mush while I was away from the house. Do I telecommute that day - seemed a little far fetched to accommodate a dinner wish. Maybe I could have my neighbor come by and turn on the Crock Pot for me...

And then it hit me like a ton of bricks: Use the Crock Pot overnight while I slept! My husband was skeptical, but I knew it had to work. I went to bed at 10 PM, flicked it to the Low 8-hour setting, and woke up to a batch of delicious Split Pea Soup. I didn't even care that my toddler had woken up three times in a row that same night because I JUST MADE DINNER AND IT'S ONLY 6 AM, PEOPLE! 

Something as simple as using my Crock Pot while I slept gave me so much joy that when I woke up this morning I did a twirly dance in the kitchen before even having my first cup of coffee. It was only 6 AM and my night had already dramatically improved. I could sit with the kids on the couch and read books while the soup reheated on the stove. I could help with homework. But best of all, I could have a glass of wine and not run that proverbial marathon for one night this week.

I guess the only downside to cooking while sleeping is that your house will smell like whatever it is you have in your slow cooker and you have to do the prep work the night before. Not that I noticed. This morning we had a Split Pea Soup smell mingling with our morning breakfast. Maybe next week I'll have Carnitas co-habitating with my coffee. The possibilities are endless!

If this is the price I have to pay to not cook dinner after work on some nights, then sign me up.

((shaking fist angrily at the sky)) Take that Dinner Gods! You will not break me.


Whole Foods Simple Split Pea Soup (with modifications)

(16-oz) package dried green split peas, rinsed
1 ham hock
1 cup diced baby carrots
1 cup chopped yellow onion
2 ribs celery plus leaves, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 bay leaf
1 tsp fresh thyme
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
Salt and pepper to taste
3 cups water
3 cups chicken broth

Layer ingredients in slow cooker in the order given, adding the broth last. Do not stir ingredients. Cover and cook on high 4—5 hours or on low 8—10 hours until peas are very soft and ham falls off the bone. I bought a ham steak at the store, diced it and threw it into the soup while it reheated. It's a very thick soup, so add some water to it as it reheats. It will thin it out and prevent it from burning while you reheat it.

The 15 Minute Wonder Soup

My husband IMd me at 3:30 during the workday to say that he wanted to play tennis tonight. This notice came at a critical juncture for me in the day when I'm approaching fight or flight. I had a dinner plan for the week, but no way was I going to attempt chicken with a tomato marscapone sauce on SPOD (Single Parent on Duty) Night. I had to change my plan and quickly. I did a mental tally of the contents of my freezer: Frozen pizza, homemade tomato sauce and frozen cheese tortellini. Then I remembered that my five year old was coming down with a cold and it hit me - soup! I needed to make soup for my child, even though I don't have time to chop and dice and sautee. Impossible. Then I remembered 'Avgolemono' which is Greek for "Super Fast Soup."

I came into the door from work with two kids in tow at 6 pm. I set up the five year old at the table with his homework, got the toddler interested in some crayons and some paper (if she ate the crayons, I will never know) and got to work. I defrosted (nuked for 1 minute) some bread I had in the freezer (Costco bread freezes incredibly well), wrapped it in foil and stuck it in the toaster oven at 500 degrees. As it came time to incorporate the eggs into the broth, my toddler started to ram her baby stroller into my legs and my 5 year old is asking me difficult questions from his homework like "What comes after 23?" I pleasantly ask my daughter to stop hurting me and answer "24... I think?" and I whisk the soup into creamy submission and add some salt and pepper and taste it... sweet god,where has this soup been all my life? Delicious! I throw in some leftover chicken from the weekend, get the bread out of the toaster oven, slice it and throw it all on the table as my 5 year old finishes his homework. My son ate it, my toddler gulped it down and I had to resist eating my husband's portion.

I love nights like this where a plan comes together. I felt like MacGyver with my Time for Dinner cookbook! I made a healthy and nutritious meal out of what felt like nothing and I didn't even have to break open the frozen pizza box.

Back to our regularly scheduled menu tomorrow night, barring any last minute schedule changes.