Does Anyone Know Why Sometimes Paragraphs Don't Separate?

Do you blogspot? I am having trouble having consistency with my paragraphs having a space between them. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. If anyone knows, I'd really appreciate the help.

THANKS!!!!

Lentil Vegetable Soup

I've been making and eating lentil soup for years, albeit somewhat unenthusiastically, because I know it's good for me and I do enjoy soups with an earthy feel/flavor. But as I've mentioned before, texture rates almost as high on the charts for me as does flavor. And regular lentils are, well, a bit mushy.

And then I discovered French Green Lentils. These actually have a bit of a snap to them. And this recipe from Ina Garten (The Barefoot Contessa) is just a wonderful blend of flavors and texture.

I've not seen French Green Lentils in traditional grocery stores. I found these in our local Seventh Day Adventist market which has a bulk item section, but I imagine you would probably find them in a good health-food market or specialty market.

LENTIL VEGETABLE SOUP

Serves 4-5

1/2 pound French green lentils

2 cups chopped yellow onions

2 cup chopped leeks, white and light green parts (1 leek)

1/2 Tbsp chopped garlic (about 2 cloves, depending on size)

2 Tbsp olive oil, plus more for drizzling

1/2 Tbsp kosher salt

3/4 tsp coarsley-ground black pepper

1/2 Tbsp minced fresh thyme or 1/2 tsp dried (I used fresh, plus added another 1/2 Tbsp after cooking)

1/2 tsp cumin

1 1/2 cups medium-diced celery (4 stalks)

1 1/2 cups medium-diced carrot (I used 4, mine were kinda small)

1 1/2 qt chicken stock (I used turkey stock made after Thanksgiving)

2 Tbsp tomato paste

1 Tbsp red wine or red wine vinegar

Freshly shaved or grated Parmesan

In a bowl, cover the lentils with boiling water and allow to sit at least 15 minutes. Drain.

In a stockpot over medium heat, saute the onions, leeks, and garlic with the olive oil, S&P, thyme, and cumin for 20 minutes, until the vegetables are translucent and very tender. Add the celery and carrots and saute for 10 more minutes. Add the stock, tomato paste, and lentils. Cover and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer uncovered for about 45 minutes until the lentils are cooked through (don't let 'em get mushy!) Check seasonings. Add the red wine and serve hot, drizzled with olive oil and sprinkled with Parmesan.

Yum, yum, yum......enjoy!!!!

Pat's Freezer Pickles

My friend Pat brought me a batch of these pickles some time back. I LOVE pickles, pickles of any kind. But never in a million years would I ever think of making some. I learned this summer after making a huge batch of salsa that I cannot can on my smooth-top cooktop (I don't really understand it, but for some reason the canning process can't ruin your cooktop....something to do with the heat). Anyway......Pat's recipe doesn't require canning, but FREEZING! These are so easy, delicious, and crunchy! The recipe says it keep for you to 6 weeks, but I know this batch has been in the freezer for maybe 6 months and they are still just wonderful. If you like pickles, please try these!

Thank you, Pat, for sharing!

PAT'S SWEET 'N' TANGY FREEZER PICKLES

10-12 medium pickling cucumbers (about 2 pounds), thinly sliced (I used a mandolin)
3 medium onions (I only use sweet onions: Vidalia, Texas 1015, Peru Sweets, etc), thinly sliced
1 large green pepper, diced
1 1/2 cups sugar
3 Tbsp salt, divided
1 cup white distilled vinegar
1 Tbsp celery seed
3 Tbsp salt, divided

In a large container, combine cucumbers, onions, green pepper, and 2 Tablespoons salt. Cover with crushed ice; mix well. Refrigerate for 8 hours. Drain; rainse and drain again.

In a saucepan, combine the sugar, vinegar, celery seed, and remaining 1 Tablespoon salt (or to taste). Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 1 minute. Spoon over cucumber mixture. Pour into jars or freezer containers. Cool.

Top with lids. Cover and freeze for up to 6 weeks. Thaw at room temperature for 4 hours before serving.

Yield: 4 pints

Corkscrew Blue Pasta w/Chicken and Tomato

We are lucky enough to have a Publix Market just down the street. One of my favorite things there is the food demo they do everyday. I don't think I've ever NOT picked up the recipes, and everyone I've sampled or made at home have been delicious. But HOLY SMOKES, this one just melts in your mouth! It doesn't hurt that it has bleu or gongozola cheese in it, but this recipe added a whole other dimension. Kerrygold Garlic Herb Butter. WOW!!! Oh, this stuff was so good. The Girls enjoyed it also.

At Publix, they sell Kerrygold Garlic Herb Butter by the stick. But you could easily just adjust your own butter by adding a bit of chives, parsley, garlic, dill (I think this might have been the biggest surprise), paprika, and S&P (assuming you used unsalted butter).

This is one of their Sunday recipes which means......QUICK!!!! Once you've cooked the pasta and have all the other ingredients on hand and ready to go, this dish is ready in minutes. I served it with a simple Caesar Salad (romaine, shaved Parm, coarsley-ground pepper, homemade croutons [Panera's Everything Bagels and Jalapeno/Cheese Bagels, cut into 1" cubes, drizzled with olive oil, and sprinkled with Italian Seasoning and Garlic Salt, baked at 325 and stirred every 15 minutes until crispy], and a bottled Caesar dressing of your choice) and my favorite Pepperidge Farms Artisan Whole Grain roll. I really should have chopped up a bit of parsley or something to add some color to the photo, but please trust me.....this stuff is good and creamy!!!!!

CORKSCREW BLUE PASTA WITH CHICKEN AND TOMATO

serves 4

4 1/2 cups corkscrew pasta (or penne, bow-tie, pasta of your choice)

4 Tbsp Kerrygold Garlic Herb Butter

1 pint grape tomatoes

1 (10 oz) package Grilled Chicken Breast Strips (I grilled 8 oz thawed chicken breast in olive oil, S&P, then chopped into cubes)

4 oz Gorgonzola or Bleu Cheese

Cook pasta.

Preheat saute pan on medium-low 2-3 minutes. Place butter (and added herbs if not using Kerrygold), tomatoes, and cooked chicken in pan. Cook 2-3 minutes or until butter melts and chicken is hot.

Stir in pasta and cheese into chicken mixture until warm.

Baked Tilapia Parmesan and Roasted Root Vegetables

This is a really nice combination, great on a cool autumn night. I usually just broil the tilapia, but ran across this recipe in the Holiday insert that came in the paper a few weeks ago. And I usually do my standard roasted red potatoes, but this time threw in some carrots, red onions, and sweet potatoes. I served it with some steamed asparagus. I just love this time of year!

BAKED TILAPIA PARMESAN with SOUR CREAM SAUCE

Serves 2

2 tilapia fillets
2 ounces sour cream
1 Tbsp Parmesan
Paprika
S&P
1/2 Tbsp Italian bread crumbs
1/2 Tbsp melted butter

Place fillets in a greased baking dish. Stir together the sour cream, Parm, and seasonings, spread over fillets.

Sprinkle fillets with breadcrumbs and drizzle with butter. Bake at 350 for 20 minutes or until fish flakes easily.

ROASTED ROOT VEGETABLES

2 Tbsp olive oil
2-3 cloves garlic, minced
S&P
1 lb red potatoes
1 lb sweet potatoes
4-6 carrots
1/2 red onion

Preheat oven to 400. Peel vegetables and chop into 1" cubes or so. In a medium bowl, toss chopped vegetables with olive oil and garlic. Drizzle with more olive oil if not well coated.

Spread vegetables in a single layer on a baking sheet and sprinkle with S&P. Roast for 40 minutes, stirring after the first 20 minutes.

(I adjusted the temps as I was baking the fish, vegetables, and some rolls. I cooked the vegetables at 400 for 25 minutes, then turned the oven down to 350 to cook the fish and bread. It actually all came out at the same time and everything was just perfect!)

Turkey Tetrazzini

I made this really easy, tasty entree using some of the wonderful leftover, brined turkey. I served it with a simple Italian salad of spring greens, onions, tomatoes, olive-cured olives, and an Italian vinaigrette, along with those wonderful Rosemary Salt rolls from Fresh Market.

TURKEY TETRAZZINI

Serves 4

6 oz spaghetti, cooked

3 Tbsp unsalted butter

3 Tbsp flour

1 1/2 cup turkey/chicken stock/broth

1/4 cup +2 Tbsp cream

1 tsp minced fresh rosemary

2 tsp fresh thyme

1/8 tsp nutmeg

Coarsely-ground pepper

1 1/2 cups diced turked (about 1/2" dice)

5 oz frozen, thawed green peas

1/4 cup dried bread crumbs

1/4 cup grated Parmesan

Preheat oven to 375. Spray 8x8 glass dish with cooking spray. In saucepan or skillet, melt butter. Add flour and cook, stirring, until faintly colored, about 2 minutes. Gradually whisk in stock until sauce is smooth and thickened, just a couple of minutes. Whisk in cream. Add 1/4 tsp salt, rosemary, thyme, nutmeg, and pepper to taste. Stir in turkey and peas, and heat through. Adjust seasonings.

Put the pasta in the dish and spoon the turkey mixture over it. In a small bowl, combine the bread crumbs and Parmesan. Sprinkle evenly over the sauce. Bake, uncovered, until heated through and bubbly, about 20 minutes. Turn on broiled and quickly brown the top. Serve immediately.

Can easily double recipe and make in 13x9 pan.

Turkey/Rice Soup and Black Bean/Corn Salad

Tonight's dinner was all winged...no recipes. Turkey/Rice Soup with a Black Bean and Corn Salad. No real recipes. This is what I did.

First, put the turkey carcass in with some onions, carrots, celery, fresh parsley and thyme, peppercorns and almost covered with water. Brought to a boil and then immediately brought to a simmer for about 4 hours. About half way through I kinda stirred the carcass around to get it mixed up. About this time I tasted the broth and added a bit of kosher salt and some Knorr's chicken broth to bring up the flavor. After about the 4 hours, I lined a sieve with cheesecloth, poured everything through it into another stock pot. I let cool, then cleaned the carcass for meat for The Girls.

I let the broth cool in the frig to form a layer of fat and skimmed it off. Then I put a couple of cups of broth in a pan with about a quarter cup of wild rice and brown Texmati rice, brought to a boil, then let simmer for about 45 minutes or until the rice was cooked.

In the meantime, I chopped up a stalk of celery (with leaves) , half of a sweet onion, a couple of carrots, and a couple of cloves of garlic. I threw all this in with several cups of turkey broth and cooked until almost done. I added about a cup of diced turkey and then the cooked rice (along with remaining broth) to the original broth. That's it. Taste it and serve with done.

I served this with another off-the-cuff salad: Corn and Black Bean. I had a package of frozen corn and thawed out about half of it. I drained a can of black beans and rinsed them. Chopped up some red onions, red pepper, and cilantro. I whisked together 3 Tbsp canola oil, 1 1/2 Tbsp white wine vinegar, some S&P, some Durkee Ethnic Seasoning (southwest....cumin, chili powder, etc) and poured it and stirred the salad.

I served this with my new favorite Pepperidge Farm Artisan Whole Grain Rolls. It was a really nice dinner.