Reading, Eating, Watching and Planning {Sweet Potato, Lentil and Spinach salad}

What a week! Last week my poor husband was stricken with a horrible stomach virus, our exercise was off due to illness and heavy rains and I gained some weight back. Bah! But, this week sees much improvement in all areas of our quiet life. We have been listening to music, watched a few movies and started new books.


Reading…... I finished All the Colors of Darkness (#18 in the DCI Banks series) and The Girl in the Castle. Doug finished Lee Child’s latest novel, Night School. Currently we are reading A Yorkshire Christmas by Kate Hewitt and Abandon by Blake Crouch.

 I also browsed through the Outlander Kitchen by Theresa Carle-Sanders and enjoyed all the stories as well as the recipes. That is scheduled over at Novel Meals this week.

Watching……Christmas movies! My favorite of all times is It’s a Wonderful Life. We also watched Love Actually, Bad Santa (yeah, I know), and were only disappointed by one movie, Independence Day: Resurgence. They shouldn’t have done a second movie, in my opinion.

 

Exercising……continuing to walk roughly 6 miles per day, with the exception of last week. Feeling good and eating well. Doug has lost almost 20 pounds and I’ve lost 12.

Planning…..As I have the past few years I have linked up with the British Book Challenge and new one called 2017 Month Motif hosted at Girl.xoxo Also in the plan for this month is a full cleaning out of the downstairs closet. That will be a chore.


Eating…… We’ve had some good meals such as Mushroom, Zucchini & Black Bean Enchiladas, Cassoulet and seafood.

One good recipe I would like to share with Deb’s Souper Sunday series is this Sweet Potato, Lentil and Spinach salad.


 (Not my photo, the one I took at work isn't this pretty)

 It’s so easy I can put it together in the morning to take to work. Canned lentils are always in the pantry and we usually have sweet potatoes so – winner!


Sweet Potato, Lentil and Spinach salad 

Ingredients 

A large sweet potato
Half a large red onion (I say half because I have never ever seen a small red onion)
8 oz Brussel sprouts or a large handful of spinach
1 tsp honey
1 cup cooked lentils
Feta cheese
Olive oil


 
Directions 

Peel the sweet potato and cut into slices or ½ inch cubes. This will help them roast quickly. Combine the sweet potato with Herbes de Provence, 1 tsp. of honey, salt and pepper and a large drizzle of olive oil.
Once this is mixed up cook the potatoes in a 425 F oven for about 15 minutes. OR use a lower temperature if you aren’t in a hurry for the cook time.

 I used canned lentils, the Goya brand. If you aren’t using canned follow these directions: To cook lentils drizzle olive oil in a pot, add the red onion, and cook about 5 minutes. Add lentils, stock and enough water to cover lentils by an inch.

Bring to a boil and reduce heat to a simmer, cook about 15 or 20 minutes. Drain cooked lentils, add salt to your taste, and return to pot. Add Brussel sprouts or spinach (I used spinach) and cook until done. Maybe 5 minutes.

The sweet potatoes should be cooked by now. You are going to mix all this up together and top with feta cheese.

Linking up to Deb at Kahakai Kitchen for her Souper Sunday and with Beth Fish's Weekend Cooking Series.
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