Lentil Soup and Whipped Butternut Squash

Lentils were my impulse buy this week at the grocery store. At a whopping $1.47 I figured I could figure out something to make with them, even though I had never had them in my life. After I did a little research, I found that lentils are pretty much a superfood and I should have been eating them soon before now. They're a plant in the legume family and are packed with fiber and protein with zero fat. And, yeah, they also have high amounts of potassium, calcium, iron, not to mention B vitamins, phosphorus, and copper. 


They're my new best friend. And they don't taste like much, so they absorb any flavor you put with them. It gets even better; Unlike other dried beans, you don't have to soak them the night before. 


The experimenting began with soup (of course, because it's NSM)


Lentil Soup 
Makes two dinner sized portions | 1 hour 

1 tsp canola oil 
1/2 chopped onion
1 carrot, chopped 
2 cups chicken broth, or vegetable if you have it
salt and pepper to taste 
pinch of dried thyme 
1 bay leaf 
1/2 cup dry lentils
1 Tbs. lemon juice
1.5 cups spinach


Heat oil in saucepan over medium heat. Saute onion and carrot in oil for 3-5 minutes. Add broth, spices, and lentils. Reduce heat and simmer for about 40 minutes. Remove from heat. Remove bay leaf, add lemon juice and spinach. Stir until spinach is wilted and serve. If you prefer a thicker broth crush up some of the lentils. 

After making two large batches of Butternut Squash Soup, I still had some butternut squash lying around. I have so much soup I figured I could try something different and whip it up like mashed potatoes. Kind of stringy, but still good!


Whipped Butternut Squash 


1/2 Large Butternut Squash
1 Tbs. margarine or butter
1 Tbs. milk
desired spices (garlic pepper, rosemary)


Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cut squash and lie cut side down in a baking dish. Cover with water. Bake for approximately 40 minutes. Remove from baking dish and scoop out into a bowl with the butter and milk in it. Mix with an electric mixer until smooth.