Happy 2013!

Well… I have not been on here much lately… almost a year… whoops! But I am kicking off the new year with some new goals and I think this will be the best place to keep track of one of them! Here in our household, I have fallen into a cooking rut. No complaints from the hubby though…. he seriously could eat the same thing for dinner every night. But not I. So this year one of my goals for 2013 is trying a new recipe each week.

We kicked off the first week of the New Year with some Lentil and Black Bean Soup. We just got back from our Christmas visit and didn't have much in the fridge. I knew I had lentils and beans in the cupboard, so I just went for it.

You can check out the real recipe here. http://www.runnersworld.com/recipes/bowled-over  I made some substitutions since I didn't have everything.

This is what I did.

1 whole large onion chop and saute in a pot on medium heat until soft
Add:
2 minced garlic cloves 
1 teaspoon chili powder 
1 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon paprika
Then  saute 1 minute
 Add 4 cups water and 1 can of diced tomatoes and bring to a boil. 
Add 1 cup red lentils; cook until tender, about 25 minutes. 
Partially mash 1 can drained, rinsed canned black beans; add to soup with 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon black pepper. Cook five minutes. Garnish with cilantro. (This was fresh from our winter garden! So exciting!!!)

Here's the final product. Looks a little icky, but it was pretty delicious! I will be making this again (my modified version…. with the lime the second time since I didn't have one for the first go)