Back to School Dinner- lentil soup with turkey

The kids start the new school year tomorrow, and I don't know who's more excited!

The weather is definitely feeling fall-like so I decided to make lentil soup.

It's an easy soup to make, but takes at least a couple hours to cook. This soup can certainly be made vegetarian by omitting the smoked turkey wings. We use our Vidalia Chop Wizard to cut all of the vegetables. It takes no time and cuts everything so evenly, the kids love to help chop too.

1 whole onion diced
2 cubes frozen garlic
2 tbs. olive oil
1 C. shredded or finely diced carrots
1 C. finely diced celery
1 finely diced potato
2 smoked (or regular) turkey wings
1C. finely diced mushrooms
10 oz. petit diced canned tomatoes
1 1/2 C. uncooked lentils
7 c. chicken stock
2 bay leaves
1 Tbs. kosher salt
1 Tbs. celery salt (or the smoked fleur de sel from Whole Foods)
1 Tsp. ground black pepper
1 Parmesan rind

In a large soup pot on high heat, add onion, garlic and olive oil. Saute for 1 minute until garlic begins to melt. Add carrots, celery and potato and stir to combine. Add the turkey wings, mushrooms and tomatoes with their juices and stir again to combine. Next add in lentils, chicken stock, bay leaves, salt and black pepper. Stock should cover all of the ingredients. Add more or less stock as needed.

Cover and let cook for 1 hour on medium heat. The soup should be softly boiling. After 1 hour, add in Parmesan rind and cook for at least 1 more hour, stirring occasionally.

Before serving, remove turkey meat from the bones and add back into the soup. Be sure to remove the bay leaves before serving.

We all enjoyed the soup with a few slices of fresh baguette and a plate of sliced melon.

Give it a try, you wont' be disappointed!

Greek Chicken and olive tapenade pizzas

As the long days of summer dwindle to an end, we are spending these last few days having friends over for leisurely dinners.

Tonight I grilled some boneless, skinless chicken thighs that I marinated for a few hours in the juice from 1 lemon, 3 Tbs. of olive oil, a large pinch of kosher salt and pepper and 1 tsp. of dried oregano. I grilled it on a very hot grill for 4 minutes per side, then removed from the heat, wrapped in aluminum foil and continued cooking in a 450 degree oven for another 5 minutes. This always produces very tender and juicy chicken.

We had some steamed broccoli, and a fresh spinach salad with feta cheese, dried cherries and cherry tomatoes from the garden.

I also made a tiny pizza using olive tapenade (Trader Joe's makes a great one), a few spoonfuls of tomato sauce, a few more teaspoons of the feta cheese and a sprinkling of Parmesan cheese.

These baked in the oven at 450 for 8 minutes while the chicken cooked. I sliced the pizza into little bite-sized pieces.

The dinner was easy, healthy and a great way to enjoy the last days of summer with friends.

Asian grilled pork tenderloin sandwiches

We ate dinner at a friend's house the other night and she made us the most delicious sandwich for dinner. I asked her for the recipe and after a little tweeking wanted to share this recipe. The bread is warm an crusty, the pork is very flavorful and the cabbage salad is crunchy and tangy, the perfect combination for a meal.

Marinade for pork:
1 C. hoisin sauce
1 Tbs. sambal olek (this is spicy, so go easy if it's for the kids)
2 cubes frozen garlic
2 cubes frozen ginger
1/2 C. red wine
1 C. sliced scallions
2 1-lb. pork tenderloins
2 tbs. peanut oil
salt and pepper to taste

Combine all ingredients in a Ziploc bag and marinade at least 3 hours or overnight.

To cook: Heat grill to high heat. Remove tenderloins from marinade and grill for 6 minutes per side.

While the pork grills, assemble napa cabbage salad:

2 Tbs. nam pla (fish sauce)
1/4 C. rice wine vinegar
1/4 C. of each: chopped basil, cilantro and mint leaves
1 Tbs. sugar
1 Tbs. soy sauce
2 C. shredded napa slaw (in a pinch, romaine lettuce can be used too)
1 C. shredded carrots

Combine first 5 ingredients. Mix cabbage and carrots together, and dress salad before serving.

Once pork is grilled, remove from heat and tent with foil on a plate for 5 minutes before slicing. Warm crusty rolls in the oven for 3 minutes and slice open. Thinly slice tenderloin and add few slices to one half of the roll, add a heaping spoonful of napa cabbage salad to the other side of the roll, close and enjoy!

Teriyaki grilled top round London broil

There was a special at my favorite super market this week for a type of steak I've never eaten before. I decided to buy first and ask questions later. The cut was a top round London broil; when I returned home and Googled this cut of meat, I was nervous because recipes were calling it a tough cut. I finally found a way to cook it and more importantly slice it that would ensure a nice meal.

I marinated the steak in a bottle of Hoison Garlic Soy Vay sauce for a couple of hours in a Ziplock bag. When we were ready to eat, I let the steaks sit out for about 20 minutes while I heated the grill to high. I also preheated the oven to 450, and lined a cookie sheet with aluminum foil. I grilled each steak for about 5 minutes per side then removed the steaks, placed them on the cookie sheet, covered the steaks with aluminum foil and cooked in the oven for another 5 minutes.

Here's the important part, uncover the steaks and let them rest for a few minutes. Thinly slice the steaks on the diagonal, (otherwise you'll have a tough steak!) which means to cut it in the opposite direction of the way the lines on the steak run.

The steak was tender and very, very flavorful.

Don't be afraid to try new cuts of steak, it's a great way to expand your repertoire.