Pink Princess Lentil Soup

Time for another soup recipe! I had a ton of vegetables about to go bad from my rare car-ride grocery trip (my usual ride, a Honda Elite scooter, only has a measly basket). SO, soup is always the way to go when you need to empty out that fridge.

I call this one Pink Princess Lentil soup because the beet makes it pink, and also makes it just a little sweet, which is uncommon for a lentil soup. Enjoy!


Ingredients

3-4 14.5 oz cans vegetable stock (I only had 3, but 4 is better)
1 1/2 c red split lentils, rinsed
2 carrots, diced
2 celery stalks, chopped
handful fresh green beans, chopped
1/4 head of cabbage, chopped in 1x2 in. strips
1/2 jalapeño
2 ears corn
olive oil
1 large knob onion (or medium white onion), diced
1 medium red bell pepper, diced
4 cloves garlic, diced
1/2 medium beet, shredded
2 tomatoes (totally optional), diced
2-3 cups water (or the 4th can of vegetable stock)
cumin
thyme
basil
2-3 bay leaves
chili powder
salt
pepper


Instructions

1. Combine broth, lentils, carrots, celery, green beans, jalapeño, and cabbage in a large soup pot over medium-high heat. Bring to boil, then reduce heat to low. Add chili powder (start with 1/2 tsp, add more later if you need the spice).

2. Bring second pot of water to a boil (enough to easily cover 2 ears corn). Add ears of corn and boil for 5 minutes. Remove from heat, dump water, and run cold water over corn. When cool, cut off kernels with a large knife and add to lentil mixture. You can totally use a can of corn here. But it won't be as awesome/crispy/fresh.

3. Heat olive oil in a separate skillet, then add onions. Turn heat to medium-low and cook, stirring, for about 3 minutes, or until soft and translucent (careful not to burn!). Add red peppers, cook another 2-3 minutes, then add chopped garlic. Cook only 1 minute longer, or until garlic is fragrant, being careful the garlic does not burn.

4. Add onion mixture to large pot, and add additional water or broth if necessary. Shred beet into pot. Add thyme, basil, cumin (I accidentally spilled too much cumin into pot and it was great, so don't be shy), salt and pepper. Add any leftover tomatoes you wanna get rid of. They blend right in.

5. Cook on medium-low to low, stirring occasionally, until veggies are soft and lentils start to break down. Total from step one, about 35 minutes, probably. I had "a little spot of wine" while making this, so time flew right by.

Garnish with Havarti cheese, greek yogurt, sour cream, cilantro, or anything else you like in your soup! Try something new!

Andian Curry Medley

In case you didn't figure it out, Andian is Andi mixed with Indian. HA. I figured, I'm not Indian and I've never been to India, so what do I know about Indian food? Well, it tastes Indian, anyway.

Ingredients:

olive oil

1/4 onion, minced

1/2 bell pepper, minced (mine was purple, but use any color)

1 jalepeño or other hot pepper, minced

1 tomato, minced

6 baby bella mushrooms,  minced

2 cloves garlic

1/2 can coconut milk

curry powder

chili powder

squeeze of honey

salt and pepper

1 cup basmati rice

 

Instructions:

1. Rinse basmati rice, and combine with 1 1/2 cups water (account for water in the rice after rinsing) and a dash of olive oil. Heat on high, uncovered until water comes to a boil, stir, cover, and set on low for 22 minutes. DO NOT PEEK!

2. Heat olive oil in a pan or wok, on medium to medium-high. Add onion, cook for about 3-5 minutes, then add bell pepper and hot pepper. Cook for another 3-5 minutes, then add tomato. Wait until tomato heats up and then add mushrooms, garlic, and some chili powder (to taste!). Cook 2-3 minutes then add coconut milk, honey and curry powder. (As a rule, you can go nuts with the curry powder and not overdo it. Taste along the way, and you'll get the hang of it!) Let cook for a good 10 minutes or so on low, so the flavors all soak in. 

3. Enjoy!

How to make a healthy stoner snack

I'm pretty good about not buying junk food when I grocery shop, for obvious reasons. But I must say, there are a few times when I'm kicking myself for not having a bag of Doritos in the pantry. But here are some ways I improvise when all I have is boring healthy food.

 Vegetable + Cheese = Yum

If you have a vegetable, cut it up, and put some cheese and spices on it. Tonight I made this cooling combo after a long day of cleaning:

Cucumber
Cream cheese
fresh dill
salt
pepper

Slice the cucumber in 1/2 in. slices. Put some cream cheese on top, sprinkle on the dill, salt, and pepper. Put sriracha or cayenne pepper on it if you want it to be spicy, and then munch happily.


POpCOrN

Popcorn, in my opinion, wins the all-around super stoner snack: Cheap, healthy, tasty, and easy to make. Do yourself a favor, and never buy microwave popcorn ever again. Get a pot with a lid (I use a Whirleypop), some popcorn kernels, and butter if you want it. Popcorn can be made into a gazillion flavors, so it'll never get old. Here are some ideas!

• Classic: melted butter, salt, pepper
• Spicy: hot sauce, salt
• Sweet: salt, any chocolate pieces (M&Ms, chocolate chips, Hershey's bar, etc.)
• Cheesy: Shredded cheese, salt, pepper, basil
• Italian: grated parmesan, garlic powder, basil, red pepper flakes, sea salt
• Stony: dip kernels in ranch and/or nacho cheese
• MAKE SOMETHING UP!

Eggs-in-a-basket, peekaboo eggs, toad-in-a-hole, one-eyed-monsters, etc.

This one is inspired by my roommate April, who made them last night for dinner.

1 Egg
1 slice bread
salt & pepper
spoonful oil

Heat oil in pan. Tear a hole in the bread bigger than the size of the yolk. Put bread in the pan. Crack egg into the hole in the bread. Cook till bread browns, and flip. Eat with hot sauce or salsa, cheese, or anything else you're craving!



Alright, now put down that bag of Doritos, and start cookin'.

Autumn Veggie Quinoa Chili

It's harvest season, it's getting cold outside, and a bowl is the easiest thing to eat from while wearing a Snuggie, which makes it the perfect time of the year for a piping hot bowl of chili.

This recipe is inspired by things I'm growing in my garden and a couple recipes I saw in the past. There are a lot of veggies and beans in this, making it pretty darn nutritious. Remember it's chili, so it'll taste good no matter what you have to substitute/omit.

Prep time 20 min.
Cook time: 30 min.
Servings: like 16 (Freeze your leftovers, or invite your friends!)

Ingredients:

1 cup uncooked quinoa
2 cups water 2 tbsp olive oil
Half white onion, chopped
Half red onion, chopped
6 cloves garlic, chopped
1.25 tbsp chili powder (more or less, depending how spicy you like it!)
1.25 tbsp cumin
1 small can tomato sauce
Green bell pepper, chopped
Red bell pepper, chopped
3 jalapeños, seeded and minced
2 ears corn
2 small zucchini squash, chopped
3 stalks celery, chopped
4 mushrooms, chopped
some shredded beet (optional)
2-(28 oz) cans diced tomatoes
1 small can tomato paste
1 can kidney beans
1 can black beans
1 can garbanzo beans
1 tsp basil
1 tsp oregano


1. Bring the quinoa and water to a boil in a saucepan over high heat. Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer until the quinoa is tender and the water has been absorbed, about 15 to 20 minutes; set aside.

2. Boil a medium pan of enough water to cover the ears of corn. Break in half if necessary. Once boiling, drop in corn, and boil for about 5-7 minutes. Drain and pour cold water in pan to cool. Once cool, slice the kernels off the cob and set aside.

3. Heat olive oil in large pot over medium heat. Add onions and cook until translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic, cumin, and chili powder; cook and stir 1 minute to release the flavors. Stir in the tomato sauce, red and green bell peppers, jalepeños, squash, mushrooms, corn, celery, and beet. Stir and cook for about 5 minutes, then add diced tomatoes, tomato paste, kidney beans, black beans and garbanzo beans, and about 2 cups water. Add basil and oregano, salt and pepper to taste. Bring to a simmer over high heat, then reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer 20 minutes.

4. After 20 minutes, stir in the reserved quinoa. Cook 5 minutes. Serve with cheddar cheese, sour cream, chives, or cilantro!

I'm gonna get better at this food photography thing, promise.

Pesto Butter

I wanted to make Pesto, but didn't have any pine nuts or parmesan, so I got really stoned and decided to modify. It came out super buttery and rich, perfect for a sandwich spread! Try it with grilled veggie sandwiches, portabella burgers, and meat burgers. Mmmmmm. 

1/2 Cup Fresh Basil Leaves

1/4 Cup Fresh Parsley

2 Tbsp Gouda cheese

2 Tbsp Sunflower seeds

4 Tbsp Olive Oil

3-4 Cloves Garlic

1 Tbsp Water

Put everything in a food processor or magic bullet until smooth and creamy! Refrigerate immediately to avoid darkening color. (Color change does not affect taste!!)

Hummus tutorial + Curry-Ginger and Tomato-Basil hummus recipes

One of my favorite all-time snacks that is hella cheap when you make it yourself is hummus. If you like hummus, go to the grocery store and pick up a few cans of chick peas when they are on sale, a jar of tahini, a bottle of lemon juice (or fresh lemons), olive oil, and garlic (fresh or minced in a jar). If you have these on hand all the time, it's simple to make this healthy snack when you have a craving.

Cost of homemade hummus: appx. $1.50 for 16oz. 
Cost of store-bought hummus: $2.50-3.99 for 10 - 12oz.

I make a lot of hummus and always experiment with different flavors by adding ingredients to this basic recipe:

Basic Hummus

Ingredients:

1 15oz. can of chickpeas (garbanzo beans)
1/4 cup lemon juice
1 or 2 large garlic cloves (1 tbs minced garlic)
2 tablespoons tahini
1/4 cup water
2 tablespoons olive oil
< 1 tsp salt (less than 1tsp, in case that didn't read)

Blend all ingredients in a food processor, blender, magic bullet, or smash with your hands/potato masher, until smooth. Play around with diffent textures. More water makes a super-smooth hummus, less makes a chunky hummus, duh. Whatever wets your whistle.  



Curry Ginger Hummus

Add to basic recipe:

1 tablespoon curry powder
1/2 in. chunk of ginger, peeled
Few dashes paprika
Few dashes cayenne pepper


Sun-dried Tomato Basil Hummus

Add to basic recipe:

1tbsp pesto
< 1/4 cup sun-dried tomatoes (or 6 or 7 pieces)
Optional: few squirts of sriracha (to taste)


Hummus can be enjoyed with pita bread or pita chips, all kinds of veggies, tortilla chips, or anything really. Try it out. Munches often equal a very forgiving flavor palette. :)

Introduction + Best Egg Sandwich

My name is Andi Jane. I was raised on a small farm in central Illinois. My mother has always been a professional cook, and when she chose to spend a few years at home, she would cook all of our meals from scratch. My grandmother owned her own restaurant, albeit a small one, and was the only cook. In fact, my first "job" was helping Grandma Betty wait tables at her small courthouse diner. To be honest, I had no passion for cooking until I graduated college, and I suppose it had something to do with all the women around me being great cooks; for one, I never had learn to cook, and for two, it was kind of intimidating.

Over the past four years, I've lived with a total of 15 different roommates in 5 different apartments, and watched them all cook, very differently. I've largely been underemployed (chosen lifestyle), with a lot of time, and not a lot of money. This is where I started cooking blunthouse-style: being resourceful, creative, and cheap.

I have been posting recipes under the name "Andi's Blunthouse" since the summer of 2010, but this is my first blog. The vision behind Andi's Blunthouse is that anybody (who stocks their fridge at least a little) can make a legit meal at any time, especially when the hunger strikes hard. My format won't always be the same. The recipes won't always be easy, empty-fridge answers to your bottomless-pit blues; sometimes my posts will be gourmet dinners that, if you want to replicate, you might have to plan ahead of time.  I'm an improviser, and my biggest goal with this blog is teach others to do the same. Every recipe is mine, unless otherwise noted, and often is a little more in-depth, and perhaps more cluttered than a normal recipe. I want you to learn something from each recipe I post.


So to kick things off, here is a recipe for an egg sandwich I made yesterday (and again today) that was so delicious it kind of tasted like McDonald's... All ingredients can be substituted for something similar that you have in your fridge, but this recipe as is, is kind of the bomb.

Best Egg Sandwich

Ingredients:

oil (olive or whatever, just a splash)
1 egg
2 slices bread
Havarti cheese
red onion, one 1/4 slice of rings, halved
2 small bella mushrooms, sliced
few pieces arugula
some alfalfa sprouts
salt
pepper
mayonnaise
brown mustard

Instructions:

(note: I use a large, nonstick sauce pan for a lot of recipes. There is plenty of room to cook multiple things at once, without dirtying multiple pans)

1. Heat oil in a nonstick pan, lowish-medium heat. Place one bread slice in pan, away from oil (or in separate pan), place cheese slices on top of bread. Add onion to oil, let cook for about 2 minutes, then add mushrooms. Add a pinch salt and pepper. (note: if your veggies are burning, lower your heat. There should be no burn marks on your veggies!)

2. While the veggies are cooking, break egg into remainder of oil. Break yoke. Salt and pepper egg to taste.

3. Onion and mushroom mixture should be lightly cooked by now. Place mixture on top of cheese-bread slice.

4. Flip egg when bottom is cooked. When egg is fully cooked, place on top of mushroom/onion/cheese bread. Add mayonnaise and brown mustard to other bread slice, and close sandwich. Flip.

5. When bottom bread is browned, remove from pan, add arugula and sprouts, and enjoy!