What's for Dinner? Moroccan Lentil and Chick peas soup!

Photo from Wegmans.com

One of my biggest resolutions this year is to cancel out fast food, and cook every night for my husband. (Not that we eat fast food every night, but going out to eat, and fast food is was the majority in my house. When I do cook, I tend to go all out; my husband really enjoys my cooking. So, to 2011, I am going to let you in on what I have cooking in my house. I will take you through all the cuisines, and if you decide to take a recipe; let me know what you think!

So, here is what was on our table this evening...

Moroccan Lentil and Chick peas soup

Ingredients:

2 Tbsp Basting Oil

...1 pkg (8 oz) Mirepoix

4 cloves (2 Tbsp) Peeled Garlic, chopped

1 pkg (16 oz) Green Lentils, sorted and rinsed

1 can (28 oz) Italian Classics Kitchen Cut Roma Tomatoes with Basil

2 cartons (32 oz each) Vegetable Culinary Stock

1 tsp coriander seed or ground coriander

1 tsp cumin

1 tsp turmeric

1 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp powdered cayenne pepper

1 can (15.5 oz) Garbanzo Beans, rinsed and drained

2 Tbsp chopped fresh cilantro

Salt to taste
 
You'll Need: Handheld or regular blender


Directions:



1.Add basting oil to stockpot on MEDIUM. Add mirepoix and garlic; cook, stirring, 5-6 min, until soft but not browned. Stir in lentils, tomatoes, stock, coriander, cumin, turmeric, cinnamon, and cayenne pepper.



2.Cook, covered, 20-25 min.



3.Puree briefly (about 15 seconds) with handheld blender, just to thicken (don't puree all the lentils).



4.Stir in garbanzo beans and cilantro. Season to taste with salt. Simmer about 5 min on MEDIUM until heated through.

Chef Tip(s):

To save time, use Produce Department cooked lentils.

Sealed Strength Organization

Spouse deployed? Need some encouragement? The staff writers from the non-profit organization, "Sealed Strength", will send letters, and care packages to help the deployment go smoother.

Click below to enter their site!

2 Corinthians 3:3 You are a letter of Christ, cared for by us, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts.

 
BIO: Founded in September 2010 My friend, Mallory Sessions, founded Sealed Strength after her and her husband got stationed in South Korea. Her and her co-founder, Samantha Payne, has recruited quite a few staff writers from all branches of the military. These ladies give letters of encouragement to over 120 plus miltary spouses, stationed from all over the world.    Their Mission: "Our passion is to provide positive encouragement while battling loneliness. Supporting wives during times of deployment. We are handwritten letters of Christ, writing from our hearts to yours." Sending strength and faith home to spouses all over the world.

What they do:

"When a spouse deploys, we want to be that extra support and strength a Wife (Girlfriends and Moms too) needs during the entire deployment. Each new friendship starts with a care package and follows with handwritten letter once a month from a person on our writing team. We will continue to support you, as a Military Wife, until your deployed service member comes home safely.

We are here to serve all members of the Armed Forces.



*If you know someone whose spouse isn't deployed but could use a little support, please feel free to email us. Our main goal is to add as much support in the lives of Military Wives, and no one will be left behind.



Sealed Strength is committed to maintaining your privacy and security during your deployment. We will never share or sell your information to anyone. We will never contact you for any matters other than those directly related to Sealed Strength. The only people who have access to your information are our board members (for database purposes) and your team writer. All of our team writers are chosen carefully and are personally known by our president and (often) other members of the Sealed Strength team. This familiarity with our team writers is essential to maintaining a personal, professional, and safe experience for all involved."
 
How YOU can help support Sealed Strength
  All money goes directly to the organization.

*Sealed Jars of Strength $15 (+ $3 shipping)

*Sealed Strength Bracelets $5 (+ $1 shipping)

*Yellow Ribbon Decal $ ANY Donation

A sample care package:

*Sealed Strength T-Shirts - Coming soon



Sealed Strength team members are asking for the following items to be donated:



- Stationery/Note Cards

- Pens

- Postage (Forever Stamps are best!)

- Envelopes

- Snacks

- Monetary Donations Always Accepted.



Donations of $25 or more will receive a gift in order to Thank You for your support of Sealed Strength and Our Troops.

Etsy shops and crafty ladies:

Sealed Strength is always looking for items to be donated for Silent Auctions

If you would like to be a Team Writer; go to http://www.sealedstrength.org/ for more information.

Thank you for your support!

{Twenty-Ten} A year in Review

Better late than.. never. :)

{January}

 I forgot to blog.. oops.

{February}

Welcome back to blogger! I reviewed a month later about what had happened in 2009... and have been writing every month since. Go me!

{March}

My husband had his wonderful birthday, and I ordered this wonderful golf cake!

{April}

We closed on our first home!

I dealt with my favorite show, Lost coming to end, and how I viewed where I was at in life.

{May}

I went on a getaway with the girls to New York City! I had soo much fun!

{June}

Miss K and I went and saw some great friends in North Carolina

{July}

We celebrated 4th of July

{August}

Miss K turned 3 and Miss A turned 1! (A combined birthday to celebrate.)

My momma came to visit!

Mr. B was a Distinguished Graduate from the Career Course. (Top GPA in his class.)

{September}

We made a special trip to North Carolina so Miss K could see her best friend on her birthday.

{October}

I played for a co-ed softball team, the Sharks.

{November}

I went home to Texas, and Keira got to re-unite with her "unofficial" twin, Chase!

{December}

Goodness! What a month! Just look at the last post , lol.

Miss A was in the hospital with RSV and Bronchiolitis for three days

Went skiing for the first time at Purgatory in Colorado

Just a few blog headers that I went through this past year!