Recipe Share!

I haven't had the time or energy to get up off my lazy butt post lately. Still running a little short on time, to be honest. But I wanted to share a few recipes. These are more "old faithful" type things that I don't have to put much thought into. Here goes:

Pimento Cheese


1 block of cream cheese, softened
1 small jar (about 4 oz. I think) pimentos, mostly drained
1/4 to 1/2 sweet yellow onion (I use 1/2 a small one), grated
black pepper to taste (freshly ground is best)
2-3 heavy spoonfuls of mayo
about 4 cups shredded cheddar


This is a recipe that I have modified over and over each time I have made it. I found the original one from Paula Deen. You can find it in many cookbooks, or do a google search and I'm sure Food Network has one. The big thing here is that you get the overall method, and then adapt it to how you prefer yours.


I begin by grating my onion into the mixing bowl with a handheld grater or microplane. Then I add the mayo and cream cheese. With a handheld mixer, beat cream cheese until it is well incorporated with the mayo. After that is "fluffy", add the pimentos and whip again, mostly to "beat up" the pimentos a bit. Then, you can either ditch the mixer or save it for the next step. I've done it both ways. Today when I made it, I hand incorporated the cheese in by hand. Add the black pepper to taste(I usually pepper mine in the beginning...do it how you like.)  
I like to shred my own cheese for this, because it changes the texture. Usually if I do it myself I just do cheddar, but occasionally I will use 3 parts cheddar to 1 part monterey jack or even shredded mozzarella. But good ol' Kraft shredded cheese works great too. I used finely shredded today....still delicious. Also, I add a few shakes of hot sauce for a little something extra. You can serve this traditionally, with celery and ritz crackers, or you can mix it up. I have heard many use Fritos scoops. I like the New York brand of bagel crisps or pita chips. Either way, DELICIOUS!

I just realized that was a really rambling recipe. Sorry. I personally think the ones that leave more room for error are the best!

Tonight I'm making Lentil Soup. We originally created this recipe when my hubby and I tried this outrageous diet that no human could ever stick to....anyway. This soup is amazing, filling, and most importantly inexpensive! Oh yeah, and its easy too. Today I used the crockpot so I could make it this morning and avoid the 5 o'clock crankies while I'm chopping veggies, but you could just as easily throw it all in the Le Creuset and have dinner quickly.

Lentil Soup

approximately 1 lb. lean ground beef

1/2 bag dried lentils (I buy Publix brand and they don't need pre-soaked or anything) 

2 or 3 carrots, diced small

2 or 3 stalks of celery diced small

2 medium yellow onions, diced small

1 can diced tomatoes (I think its about 14 oz, don't drain)

1 carton of beef broth, whichever brand is on sale :)

3 or 4 cloves garlic, minced (or garlic powder equivalent)

Brown the ground beef in a skillet, adding onions and eventually garlic. Be careful not to add the garlic too soon or it will burn. If you use lean beef you won't need to drain. In fact, I use extremely lean beef and use olive oil to brown it. Transfer the entire mixture to crock pot at this point-or if you are doing it on the stovetop, you can use a large dutch oven. Add carrots, celery, canned tomatoes, lentils (on the stove I let the celery and carrots cook about 4-5 minutes before adding the lentils and broth) and enough broth to cover completely. Let it come to a heavy simmer and cover. Keep an eye on it and add more broth as necessary, stirring occasionally. This is one of those recipes you can just watch and adjust as needed. For my crock pot version tonight I doubled the recipe, and used an entire carton of broth. I am cooking it on low, and may have to turn it off late this afternoon. If so I'll just reheat at dinnertime. Serve with crusty bread (if you read this post, you KNOW what bread we're having!) and even a salad, if you like. Although it really does stand alone.


Well, I hope you enjoy these. I don't have much time today to type an update...but I'm going to try to do that soon! 

-Ashley