Buttery Lentils with Shallots

Lentils are one of my pantry staples. When I have a lentil dish on my meal plan, I like to make it towards the beginning of the week, often times doubling the recipe, so that I have plenty of leftovers for weekday lunches. Cold, hot, in a salad or as a salad, we love lentils in this house!

These Buttery Lentils with Shallots come from the December, 2014 issue of Cooking Light. The ingredients are simple, but the flavors are big. One Tablespoon of butter goes a long way in this dish and adds a slight creaminess. I doubled the recipe and ate the leftover lentils on top of kale salad for the rest of the week!

Buttery Lentils with Shallots
recipe from Cooking Light, December 2014

2/3 cup dried green lentils
1 Tbsp. butter
1/2 cup chopped shallots
2 Tbsp. chopped flat leaf parsley
1 tsp. chopped fresh thyme
1/4 tsp. kosher salt
1/4 tsp. pepper 

Place the lentils in a medium saucepan. Cover with water to about three inches above lentils. Bring to a boil. Once the lentils are boiling, reduce heat and simmer for about 20 minutes, or until lentils are soft and cooked. Drain.

Melt butter in a large saute pan over medium heat. Add the shallots and saute for about two minutes, until fragrant and translucent. Add lentils, parsley, thyme, salt and pepper to the pan and toss. 

Mozzarella Stuffed Turkey Meatballs

Winter has definitely made it's way into Charlotte. Christmas may be long gone, but Jack Frost is certainly nipping at everyone's noses. On a chilly night, something warm and comforting always sounds best for dinner, but, when you're in holiday detox mode, it always requires a bit more creativity to make sure you keep it healthy at the same time. 

I always love taking our favorite comfort meals and giving them a healthier spin. It's such a misconception that eating healthy isn't as delicious, but I think that is completely untrue! The fresher the ingredients, the tastier the food and the less items that come in a package, the better they are for you!

These meatballs are full of flavor and stuffed in the center is a tiny little surprise- a ball of fresh mozzarella! I have used ground chicken breast as well and they have been equally as good. They are extra delicious served with fresh pasta, but most of the time, we eat these over zucchini noodles or just by themselves with a simple salad on the side. 

Mozzarella Stuffed Turkey Meatballs
recipe adapted via 

1 lb. ground turkey breast
1/2 cup grated parmesan 
1 egg
3/4 tsp. salt
3/4 tsp. freshly cracked pepper
1/2 tsp. dried oregano
1/2 tsp. dried parsley
1/2 tsp. red pepper flakes
Bocconcini mozzarella balls
1/2 cup olive oil
Marinara Sauce
Handful fresh basil leaves, cut into chiffonade

In a large bowl, combine turkey parmesan, egg and spices. Combine everything with your hands until the ingredients are evenly mixed. 

Form the turkey mixture into golf ball sized meatballs. Insert a small bocconcini ball into each meatball, making sure the meatball is reformed around the mozzarella. The cheese should be completely hidden.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Heat the olive oil in a large, heavy bottom skillet (I use my French oven) over medium heat. Once the oil is hot, add the meatballs (you may need to do this in two batches). Turn them as they cook so that they all brown evenly. 

Once all meatballs are browned, add the marinara sauce to the skillet and transfer the meatballs to the skillet as well. Transfer the skillet to the oven and continue to cook the meatballs for 10-15 minutes, or until cooked through. 

Remove the skillet from the oven and garnish with basil and the extra bocconcini.

In January, We Diet

I have never been a fan of the word diet and prefer to call it a "healthy lifestyle", but once January hits, I'm always ready for a fresh restart on healthy eating. After over a month of holiday celebrations, parties, extra treats and one too many stops into Starbucks because lattes taste better in red cups, I love the newness of the new year to get right back on track. 

If you're looking for inspiration in the kitchen, Amazon is offering 40 Paleo cookbooks (Kindle edition) for FREE! In addition, there are many other titles available for $0.99. I am not sure how long this promotion lasts, so take advantage of it now. You can find these downloads HERE.

If you are looking for new blogs to add to your reading list, here are some of my favorite spots for healthy eats:

Hungry Meets Healthy

Skinny Taste

PaleOMG

Whole Fork

Key Ingredients

Against All Grain

And lastly, I'm always pinning new recipes during my nightly Pinterest binge! Follow me HERE.

Cheers to peace, love and more healthy eating in the new year!

Cranberry + Cinnamon Brie en Croute

This has been the holiday season of baked brie! I made this for Thanksgiving, two Christmas parties and on Christmas day. It has become a cocktail hour favorite for our family holidays because it is just so unbelievably GOOD. A simple wheel or wedge of brie gets dressed up with sweet, sugary cranberries and wrapped up in puff pastry. I have made this with both a wheel and a wedge and I have to say, I prefer the end result of the wedge- it's much meltier. 

Cranberries, brown sugar and cinnamon are my fillers of choice, but you can branch out in any direction you like! Fig preserves would be delicious and I have also had this with an apricot and walnut topper, too. I served my baked brie with french bread crostini and honeycrisp apple slices. The apple slices were the best!

If you are looking for something to add to your New Year's celebrations tonight or tomorrow, I promise this will be a favorite. 

Happy New Year's Eve to all!

Cranberry + Cinnamon Brie en Croute

1 wedge of brie

1 sheet puff pastry

1/2 cup dried cranberries

1 Tbsp. butter, melted

1/4 cup brown sugar

1 Tbsp. cinnamon

1 egg, lightly beaten

Defrost puff pastry for 15-20 minutes and unfold. 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

On a baking sheet, lay puff pastry flat. Place brie on top of puff pastry. 

In a small bowl, mix cranberries, butter, brown sugar and cinnamon. Spoon cranberry mixture on top of brie. Fold puff pastry over the wedge, making sure there are no holes or air pockets. Brush with egg wash.

Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until pastry is browned, puffed and brie is nicely melted.

Merriest Christmas!

From our family to yours, wishing you all a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! 

Card by Tiny Prints

Photo by Jim Trice

Banana Spice Greek Yogurt Muffins

I'm having a moment with these muffins and this recipe is too good and easy not to share. I know I have said this a million times over, but I love having healthy muffins on hand. These make the perfect addition to breakfast or a great snack to take on the go. They are also good for pre or post workout! 

The batter is mixed in a food processor, making it super smooth, which is a nice deviation from our usual muffins. Adding in pumpkin pie spice give them a nice festive flavor and mini chocolate chips make for a sweet add in! I also love to use dried blueberries, and have skipped the pumpkin pie spice for lemon zest instead. So tasty! 

Banana Spice Greek Yogurt Muffins

makes 12 muffins

1 cup plain 2% Greek yogurt

1 Tbsp. olive oil

2 ripe bananas

2 eggs

2 cups organic oats

2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice

1/4 cup coconut sugar

1.5 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1/2 cup mini chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Prepare muffin tins with liners and spray with coconut oil or other cooking spray of your choice. 

Combine all ingredients in a food processor, except for the chocolate chips. Pulse until smooth. Fold in chocolate chips and pour batter evenly, about 3/4 full, in muffin cups. Bake for 15-20 minutes. 

Salt Dough Ornaments

We spent Tuesday morning with some of our mini friends this week on a mission to do some Christmas crafting. We had an ambitious list, but the little ones were having so much fun playing with the salt dough, that we just stuck to that. 

These toddlers crack me up! They were all so excited to pour in the flour and stir the dough. Poor Will...he kept yelling "pizza!" as helped make the dough. If only I could have gotten a picture of his face when he tasted the salty ornament dough!

We were able to get everyone's tiny handprint and a few cookie cut outs. Once mine finish air drying a bit more, I'm going to spray paint them gold and write the year on the back. This is such a fun activity to do with your littles and would even make cute stocking stuffer gifts for grandparents!

Salt Dough

4 cups all purpose flour

1 cup iodized salt

water

In a large bowl, pour flour and salt. Add water slowly, until you get your desired dough consistency.

With a paper towel, rub cookie sheets with a little vegetable oil and sprinkle with flour. Roll out dough onto the sheets and cut using cookie cutters. To make the handprint ornaments, we used a mug to cut out a circle in the dough. Place the tiny one's hand in the center and press down.

Use a drinking straw to punch a hole in the ornaments before baking. 

Bake for one hour on the lowest temperature setting that your oven will allow. (most likely 150-170 degrees) Continue to air dry for at least 24 hours.