Lentil Sausage Soup

This is my first time cooking with green lentils. I originally bought a bag of lentils (12 grams of protein per serving) as an ingredient to make protein powder for a smoothie; but alas, the weather turned really cold and I haven't been in the mood to make it. Despite their small size, I am still baffled by how long these cook to become tender. Since the green ones usually are sold whole, I wonder if they're easy to grow. Apparently you can also sprout them indoors for fresh sprouts.

Serves 1.

Ingredients

1 1/2 c water
1 tsp Organic Better than Bouillon (beef flavor)
1/4 c whole green lentils
1 sausage, any variety, cut into pieces

Directions

Bring everything to a boil, then simmer partly covered over low heat for 25 minutes. Lentils should be done. Give it a stir every so often so the lentils don't burn.

Serve hot.

[update] Wow, this is really salty. Maybe no almost-instant bouillon next time, just a good hearty broth.

Ravioli Filling #1 - Sausage/Ricotta/Spinach

An afterthought note on the ricotta cheese. At the store there were two types of ricotta cheese. One came in a pint tub, but was nonfat ricotta cheese. I'm not sure how this is even possible since cheese is made from the coagulation of the protein and fats in dairy. The other was dry and crumbled; and notably very salty. There was so much salt in the ricotta cheese that it overpowered all other ingredients in the ravioli. I couldn't taste the spinach or the sage. And heck, the cheese was saltier than the Italian pork sausage. If you're going to procure ricotta cheese for this recipe, skip Trader Joe's. Neither of TJ's ricotta cheese products are right for making ravioli. You'll want to get a ricotta cheese made from whole milk. Anyhow, onto the Better Homes & Gardens recipe ratio.

Each ravioli uses 1 tsp of mix, so keep that in mind if you have only made one batch of ravioli pasta dough.

Makes 1 cup.

Ingredients

4 oz Italian pork sausage (if you buy the links, simply remove the casings from 2 of them)

3/4 c fresh spinach leaves, packed

1 egg yolk, lightly beaten

1/3 c ricotta cheese

1 tsp fresh sage, minced

1/8 tsp grated whole nutmeg or ground nutmeg

Directions

1. If you bought sausage links instead of bulk sausage, simply remove the casings from two of the sausages. Fry sausage over medium heat and break up the sausage as it cooks. When no more pink remains, remove the sausage to a plate and add spinach to the hot pan. Cook the spinach until it wilts. Drain off the fat, if any.

2.  In a food processor, combine the cooked sausage and spinach. Pulse until it resembles ground pork.

3. In a medium bowl, combine egg yolk, ricotta cheese, sage, nutmeg. Stir in sausage mixture. Cover and chill until needed.

This is more than enough filling to make twenty 1" ravioli, each filled with 1 tsp filling.