Thank you so much for all of your cheers for me about actually completing a run! And also, for the many kind words you shared about my blog and also the ways you have grown through blogging as well. The comments were great to read. Keep them coming, since I love knowing why you love blogging as well.

Before getting more into this post, I would LOVE it if you all would click on over to Lisa's blog and read the guest post I did for her. It is all about how we can truly respect our bodies and the importance of doing so. It is something I really enjoyed writing and I want to share it with each of you. While you're over there...check out Lisa's own posts as well. She is one awesome chick and I have known her through the online world for a long time. From the things we have gone through and how we relate to each other, I would think we are long lost sisters. She is one of my favorite ladies!

On to the Amazing Grass Giveaway Winner! I apologize for just now posting this up. But the winner is....#1!!! I don't think random.org has EVER given a 1 as its result. How cool. So, that means Jessica from How Sweet It Is is the winner. Congrats Jess!!! I know you will appreciate this so you can have some chocolate and berry vegetables. 😉 Email me at [email protected] and I will get those to you ASAP.

Now for the Frontiers part of my post. Tonight for dinner I made a soup using a ready made soup mix that I was sent from the kind people at Frontier soups to review. I received 3 soups to try out and for the first one I decided to take the adventurous route and prepare the Indiana Harvest Sausage Lentil soup.

I have never had lentils before, so this was definitely taking my cooking to a new frontier. In a way I knew I would be comfortable with, since things I cook must be easy. 😉

The soup mix contains the following: green and red lentils, rice, onions, carrots, celery, leeks, paprika and herbs. No added salt, preservatives or MSG. Pretty good, huh? And easy too!

Ingredients

• Frontier soup mix package
• 1 T Olive Oil
• 1 lb Mild Italian Sausage (I used sweet turkey sausage)
• 12 C Beef Broth (I used 1/2 broth & 1/2 water to both save money and not have it be so "beefy" tasting)
• 3 medium zucchini, diced
• 1 28 oz can chopped tomatoes
• 1C Red Wine

Step by Step

1. Rinse, drain, and pick over lentils.

2. Crumble and brown sausage in a 6 to 8 quart pot with oil.

3. Stir in contents of vegetable packet from soup mix. Add broth and lentils to pot.

4. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer covered for 30 minutes.

5. Add zucchini and simmer for 30 more minutes.

6. Add tomatoes and wine to soup. Simmer uncovered 15-30 more minutes.

7. Serve and eat! And have some of the leftover red wine for a treat.

me + my sis...and makenzie too interested in the wine

Look for another Frontier soup creation making an appearance in my kitchen next week. And a formal review with more info of the products coming soon. Until then, if you want to try them out, check out their website!

***I added blogs to my blogroll, but had to go ahead and get off the computer. If I missed adding yours and you want it added please let me know. I wanted to be sure to add all of the blogs I regularly read and comment on so please don't feel bad if yours isn't up there. I simply ran out of time.

Before last night, I was a tofu cooking virgin. I had eaten my share of tofu at Asian restaurants, in some of my vegetarian friend's dishes she brings to potlucks, etc. Then after ogling various tofu creations around blog world I just knew I had to take a shot at it. How hard could it be? Basically chop, marinate, cook, and eat, right? Yep. That's all it took to get a delicious, new meal creation on our table. Tofu and Broccoli Slaw Salad.

For the tofu, I used a marinade and cooking tips from Kristen at Iowa Girl Eats. Find her baked tofu recipe here. I'll give you a little picture recap of my tofu preparation and cooking, but for the details you have to check her out. Fair is fair right, and she deserves the credit. 😉

Open the Tofu

Press Tofu (in a bowl with paper towels & pressed with a plate + carton of broth)

Cube the 'Fu

Mix the Marinade

Let it Soak it All In

Bake to Perfection

Now for the Broccoli Slaw. I made this one on my own by adapting things I liked from 5 random recipes  I found online. Here is what I did this time, although I knew there will be changes next time. As good as it was, some things could be subbed to make it even better.

Ingredients for Asian Slaw

• 1 bag broccoli slaw
• 1.5 T olive oil
• 1T sesame oil
• 1.5T cider vinegar
• 1T rice vinegar
• 1 package Oriental Ramen (can't believe I am using this!)
• 1/2 red onion, diced

Step by Step

1. Whisk together the oils, vinegars, and the seasoning packet from the Ramen in a small bowl.
2. Crunch the Ramen noodles in a ziploc bag. Which, btw, is so weird to be doing since I have actually never had Ramen. The dried block of noodles weirded me out.
3. Toast the Ramen in a skillet until they brown slightly. Just about 3-4 minutes.
4. Place the broccoli slaw, toasted Ramen, and diced onion in a bowl.
5. Pour dressing mix over the top and toss to evenly coat. I like to use my Pyrex bowls with the lids to mix. Put the lid on and shake away to get it evenly coated.
6. Set in the fridge to chill and allow the flavors to soak in. The longer the better. I had it set for about 4 hours.
   

   Chilling with Other Goodies

7. Finally, serve it up in a dish with your hot from the oven tofu. Devour because it is so good.

This was so simple, so yummy, and so healthy with all of those nice to the heart good-fats. I do think I will try it without the Ramen next time and instead use some different veggies, either extra broccoli slaw or maybe some shredded cabbage. I don't think the Ramen really added any texture to it, which is why I figured it was in ALL of the recipes I looked through for ideas. And in my opinion, if it didn't really DO anything for the dish and doesn't add any health benefits then the recipe doesn't need it. However, I will still use the Oriental flavor packet from the Ramen because that does add the right taste. Plus, why not look like a college bachelor during check out? 😉 Maybe some slivered almonds would be great in here too. Or some water chestnuts or shredded carrots or baby corns? Okay, I will be making this again SOON with some variations. I welcome a new staple recipe to our house. Good news it was deemed "okay and at least edible" by Peter, and thoroughly enjoyed by my other food critic as well.