Category Archives: yum!

Healthy Sausage Lentil Soup – Yum!

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Healthy Sausage Lentil Soup

Made this soup for dinner last night and served it with some crusty sourdough bread.  It was delish!  Also, had leftover soup for lunch today and it was even better.  I made it with lean smoked turkey sausage – it was hearty enough for dinner and is only 4 points per cup on Weight Watchers (I know you probably don’t care but unfortunately I need to nowadays).

Give it a try!

Servings: 6 – PointsPlus=4 per 1 cup serving
Cook Time: prep: 25 min / cook: 40 min

Ingredients

  • 1 medium onion, chopped
  • 1 celery rib, chopped
  • 1/4 pound reduced-fat smoked sausage, halved and thinly sliced
  • 1 medium carrot, halved and thinly sliced
  • 2 garlic cloves, minced
  • 2 cans (14-1/2 ounces each) reduced-sodium chicken broth
  • 1/3 cup water
  • 1 cup dried lentils, rinsed
  • 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
  • 1/4 teaspoon pepper
  • 1 can (14-1/2 ounces) stewed tomatoes, cut up
  • 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
  • 1 cup chopped fresh spinach

Directions

  • In a large saucepan coated with cooking spray, cook and stir onion and celery over medium-high heat for 2 minutes. Add the sausage, carrot and garlic; cook 2-3 minutes longer or until onion is tender.
  • Stir in the broth, water, lentils, oregano, cumin and pepper. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 25-30 minutes or until lentils and vegetables are tender.
  • Stir in the tomatoes, Worcestershire sauce and spinach; cook until heated through and spinach is wilted.
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Pumpkin Cinnamon Roll Pancakes

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An exciting post for two reason: 1) These look great, right? I can’t wait to make them! 2) I figured out how to make a WordPress Blog post from my Springpad! (I know I’m a geek – but trust me, that is exciting!)

Pumpkin Cinnamon Roll Pancakes

Servings 8 large pancakes

Ingredients

  • 1/2 cup (1 stick) salted butter, melted
  • 3/4 cup brown sugar
  • 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
  • 4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) salted butter
  • 2 ounces cream cheese
  • 3/4 cup powdered sugar, sifted
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 1/2 cups 1% milk
  • 1 cup pure unsweetened pumpkin puree
  • 2 large eggs
  • 2 tablespoon canola or vegetable oil
  • 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 tablespoon baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon allspice
  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1 teaspoon ground ginger
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
  • 1/2/ teaspoon salt
  • 1 tablespoon packed light brown sugar

Directions

* In a small, microwave-safe bowl, heat butter for 40 to 60 seconds, just until butter is melted. Whisk in brown sugar and cinnamon and let the mixture sit on the counter to thicken while you work on the next steps.
* In a medium microwave-safe bowl, heat butter and cream cheese 30 to 60 seconds, just until butter has melted and cream cheese has softened. Whisk in powdered sugar and vanilla and combine until smooth. Pour the icing in a sandwich-size ziplock bag and set aside.
* In a large bowl, whisk together milk, pumpkin, eggs, oil, and vinegar. In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, pumpkin pie spice, salt and brown sugar. Add the dry ingredients to the pumpkin mixture and stir just until all is moistened.
* Whisk up the cinnamon mixture again if the butter has separated at all and pour into a sandwich-size ziplock bag. The mixture should have thickened to about the consistency of toothpaste (throw it in the refrigerator for a few minutes if you need to – the swirl won’t work if it is runny). Snip off a small piece of the corner of the bag and set aside carefully so nothing leaks out.
* Preheat a large skillet or griddle to medium. Use a ladle or an ice cream scoop to add the batter to the pan. Use the bottom of the scoop or ladle to spread out the batter into a nice, even circle. Reduce the heat to medium-low. Pick up your cinnamon filling baggie and squeeze the filling into the corner. Starting at the center of the pancake squeeze the cinnamon filling on top of the pancake batter in a swirl. Cook the pancakes 3 to 4 minutes, or until bubbles begin popping on top of the pancake and it is golden brown on the bottom.
* Slide a thin spatula underneath the pancake and gently but quickly flip it over. Cook an additional 2 to 3 minutes, until the other side is golden as well. When you flip the pancake onto a plate, you will see that the cinnamon filling has created a crater-swirl of cinnamon. Wipe out the pan with a paper towel, and repeat with the remaining pancake batter and cinnamon filling.
* Just before serving, cut the tip off of the bag with the cream cheese icing and drizzle it on top of the pancakes. Serve pancakes hot.
    • breakfast
    • pancakes
    • pumpkin
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