Lentil Soup x2

Lentil Soup is a very easy and tasty dish to make. I made it two different ways and will have both represented here. Originally I made a simplified version only consisting of Lentils and Onions. The second version has more in it. I will explain Version 1 first and follow it with Version 2.

Ingredients:
Version 1:
1 White Onion
1 cup Red/Orange Lentils
1 cup Green Lentils
Italian Seasoning
Celery Salt
Perfect Pinch Cajun
Garlic Salt
6 cups Water
1/4 stick Sun Dried Tomato Basil Butter

I began by getting my spices together.

I then got out my White Onion and proceeded to dice it up.

Oh my, found some tasty Butter to caramelize the Onion in.

Now put Onions in with the melting Butter.

Once Onions are caramelized, add in 2 cups of Lentils.

Pour in your water.

Let it cook, stirring once in awhile, until done. The Lentils will be like little sponges and soak up almost all of the water.

I served this on Wild Rice with some shredded Cheese on top. Enjoy.

Version 2:
1 White Onion
1 cup Red/Orange Lentils
1 cup Green Lentils
Italian Seasoning
Celery Salt
Perfect Pinch Cajun
Garlic Salt
Ground Black Pepper
6 Celery stalks
8 Sm Carrots
1/4 stick Butter
6 cups Water

Alright, this recipe mainly follows Version 1 with a few changes.

First off, like no pictures. Sorry but it's sort of redundant. You begin by dicing up your Onions, Carrots, and Celery stalks.

Then you caramelize the Onions in regular Butter.

Add in the diced up Carrots and Celery when the caramelization begins. Stir together thoroughly.

Add in Lentils once Carrots soften up a bit.

Add in Water at same time. Stir.

Once Lentils are soft enough to eat, turn off heat and serve. Enjoy.

Cajun Styled Steak

I call this a Cajun Steak. I know there are a lot of people out there, most likely every chef known to humankind, that will disagree with my name for this steak. I call it that because I used a Cajun spice with this recipe. I ended up using a bit too much that caused it to be almost overpowering...although adding Mesquite seasoning to it might have emphasized the spicy flavor.

Ingredients:
1 lb NY Strip Steak
1 cup Vegetable Oil
0.75 cup White Vinegar
Garlic Salt
Celery Salt
Perfect Pinch - Cajun
Mesquite Seasoning
Italian Seasoning

First off begin by gathering all your spices.

Now I chose two of them to be more present than the rest. I'd say for I used twice as much of these two as the other spices used.

Place the spices in a Ziploc bag and pour in your Vegetable Oil and White Vinegar. You can use any kind of Vinegar instead of White Vinegar, but that is what I generally use for marinades. Seal bag and mix thoroughly so the spices don't clump up too much.

Now get your steak. It looks so pretty.

Put steak in bag and seal it closed. I pushed the air out and rolled the bag up around the steak so the marinade covered every part of it.

Now you can use a grill or a skillet. I chose a cast iron skillet since I do not own a grill. Living in an apartment does not provide a lot of use for a grill these days. Make sure your skillet is ready to go and turn the heat to MEDIUM. Once it begins to get warm to the touch...well hot to the touch, put the steak on.

I choose to flip it every few minutes for an even cook through. You can flip it every 5 minutes if you want, it's up to you.

I served it with it with some delicious Quinoa I made in my Rice Cooker, topped with Scallions. Enjoy.

Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup

Today I was feeling a little under the weather and thought how I would feel better. Then I remembered the cure all for all ailments, Chicken Noodle Soup. I had some Chicken in the fridge that I had to use for something soon, so I threw it in the freezer and went to the store. I needed more materials. This recipe is the delicious result.

Ingredients:
3 Chicken Breasts, diced
1 bag Whole Wheat Egg Noodle Pasta
4 Carrots, diced
1 White Onion, finely diced
4 Celery stalks, halved and sliced
1/2 stick Butter
Caesar Salad Dressing
Italian Herb Mix
Ground Black Pepper
32 oz Vegetable Broth
32 oz Chicken Broth
1 cup Water (optional)

So, I began at the store for this recipe. I knew I wanted to make Chicken Noodle Soup and all I had for it was the Chicken and Carrots. So I picked up some White Onions, Celery, and the 2 Broths.

I put the Chicken in the freezer first because when it's partially frozen it is a lot easier to cut into small pieces.

I then added some Caesar Salad Dressing to it and set it aside since it comes into play much later on.

Now dice up your Carrots, White Onion, and Celery stalks.

Alright, put a stockpot on the stove. Throw or lightly toss your Butter in there.

Once the Butter is mostly melted, throw in your diced White Onion, Celery stalks, and Carrots. Stir and add a few pinches of an Italian Herb Mix with a single pinch of Ground Black Pepper.

Let cook for about 6 minutes or until the Carrots are somewhat softened and Onions have caramelized.

Then you find the 2 Broths.

Pour them in. Stir.

Add Noodles.

Stir and then put a saucepan on a different burner with heat on medium. Put the Chicken and Dressing on in.

Make sure to keep stirring them around in the pan so they do not burn to it at all.

Now add in 1 cup of Water to the stockpot if you think the liquid level is low. I did and it turned out amazing.

Alright, once the Chicken is done cooking you strain out the excess Dressing and put the Chicken into the stockpot. Stir it in well.

Once the Carrots are soft enough it is done. For the entire recipe, I want to say this took me like 30 to 45 minutes total. I am sure if I let it cook longer it would taste a bit different, however as is it is a very rich soup. Enjoy!

The Chef's Beef Stew

I love Beef Stew. I don't know any other way of putting it that even comes close to my obsession with this delectable dish. Everyone should make their own version of it. I have several versions of it, and so far this is my favorite version. It is subject to review and change, so suggestions are welcome. I'm sorry it took so long to get on here in it's truest form.

Ingredients:
1 lb Beef Stew Meat
1 cup Pearl Barley
6 stalks Celery, sliced
Carrots, diced
Russet Potatoes, diced
1 bottle Cabernet Sauvignon
1 qt Beef Stock
Garlic Salt
Lawry's Seasoned Salt
Smoked Sweet Paprika
Sea Salt
Fennel Powder
Fenugreek Powder
Ground Turmeric
Ground Black Pepper
Ground Aleppo Pepper
Dill

I began by gathering the main ingredients. I diced the Potatoes, Carrots, and Celery up. You can decide how much you want to use, although the rough ratio seen here is what I find to be a good mix.

I plug in my slow cooker and set the heat to HIGH. I dust the bottom with Lawry's Seasoned Salt first followed by the Garlic Salt.

In goes the Beef Stew Meat.

On top of the meat I added some spices because I like the meat part of this dish to be extra seasoned. It's optional since you can just add spices to the top of everything and it will still be pretty good. I just go the extra mile. I used the Smoked Sweet Paprika, Fennel Powder, Fenugreek Powder, and Ground Aleppo Peppers.

On top of that went the diced Carrots. They tend to take longer to cook so in the middle I think is a good place for them to absorb the liquid and heat involved here.

On top of that the diced Potatoes. Pay no attention to the Brandy in the corner of the picture, it was out for something that did not make the Blog. Maybe once I perfect that recipe, you all will get to see what it is!

Then the sliced Celery.

On top of the Celery I added about 2 pinches of Dill. Then the Pearl Barley went into the slow cooker. I listed it as 1 cup, however it is probably closer to 1.5 cups. I love barley.

Now that I have everything in the slow cooker, it's the main serving of spices. Ground Turmeric, Garlic Salt, Smoked Sweet Paprika, Fennel Powder, Ground Black Pepper, Sea Salt, and Ground Aleppo Peppers rounded this mix out.

Now locate your wine. Spare no expense...I spared $3.00 USD. I know, I have expensive tastes in wine.

I put in the entire bottle. I noticed it wasn't high enough, so I added in about half of the Beef Stock container I had. It was one of those pre-made containers that has about 2 quarts in it. There was some left over, so I rounded my usage to 1 quart.

When pouring in the Cabernet Sauvignon, make sure to pour it directly onto the spices you have on top of everything. If you don't, you run the risk of the spices cooking directly into just a portion of your dish. This causes some parts to be really spicy and flavorful while the rest tastes like nothing at all/red wine.

I left the heat on HIGH for the duration of this recipe since I am very impatient. If you have the time, like 10 hours, then bring it to a boil, stir, and put on LOW for the duration. It will cause the meat to be more tender, oh well. This picture is about 1 hour in.

2 hours later the color drastically changes to a muddy brown. It smells amazing and permeates everything in it's vicinity.

About 2 hours after that making it a total of around 5 hours, this is what it should look like.

Make sure to taste test each part to make sure everything is cooked properly. I checked everything about 4 times each. Yes, I'm a little piggy but I had to make sure.

If it isn't done, then just let it cook longer until it is. Mine was done so I plated it quite readily. Enjoy!