We so often struggle to stick with our lunch plans, mostly because it's so hard to throw something together in our alotted hour. Sandwiches, soups, and salads are the typical format for lunch at home--and this format serves us well for the most part. Sandwiches, like the above turkey bacon BLT, are usually quick to assemble. Michael layered Swiss cheese onto a few slices of Ancient Grains bread from Columbia's Uprise bakery, and stuck them under the broiler for a couple minutes. He sauteed some turkey bacon in our cast iron pan, drained it, and assembled the sandwich with some sliced tomatoes and bib lettuce. It was fab--and maybe just a teensy bit lower in fat and carbs than the original BLT.
The pinto bean soup above came together in record time. I sauteed half a diced yellow onion in broth (we'd just run out of olive oil), added a 15 oz can of pintos, 2 1/2 cups of chicken broth, a few tablespoons of salsa verde, some garlic powder (yes, I cheat sometimes), a couple tablespoons of cumin, salt, pepper and a few squeezes of fresh lime juice into the simmering pot. If you like a little kick to your quasi-Mexican food, add a pinch of cayenne. I would say, from start to finish, this soup took about 20 minutes. Not bad at all. Michael and I loved it. I garnished mine with a little cilantro. He packed some more for his afternoon snack, 'cuz the boy loves him some beans.
