mmm... lentils...

yes, i know it may seem a little odd to some of you, but i like lentils. love them, actually. and so do the kids. all of them. and so does charlie, it would seem. but that's a whole other story. anyway, i posted a recipe the other night for lentil and spinach soup, which i stole (and had to alter a little bit, admittedly) from Jamie Oliver. and oooooooh, is that soup good!!!

but!

would it surprise you to know that i have more lentil recipes up my sleeve? ok, granted, one isn't much of a recipe. it's a lentil casserole i learned from a friend in bible college, and always remembered it, even though i didn't make until about 10 years later. i'll admit, i was a little scared. scared that it wasn't really as good as i remembered. scared that the kids would hate it. scared that i would screw it up somehow (though how, i don't know, since it's the absolute simplest recipe ever!! and there's the lentil and sausage soup that the kids love. we just had some leftovers tonight and it was to die for. seriously. i would take a bullet for this soup. ok, maybe i'm exaggerating a little bit. but not much, gentle reader. it's just that good.

i'll start with the lentil casserole, since you can just click on "lentil and sausage soup" above, and it will take you to the recipe. so, here's the recipe for the casserole.

oh, wait! before i start, let me remind you that i "learned" this recipe by looking at what my friend had made. not watching while he made it, just looking at the finished product. so yeah, there really won't be much for quantities. i just add till it looks right.

Dave's Lentil-icious Casserole

• some lentils. k, lots of them, since they make up the main part of the dish. but it's soooo worth it, so go nuts with them. i'd say, fill the casserole dish about 1/2 to 2/3 full with lentils, cooked.
• 1 can of diced tomatoes
• feta cheese
• garlic
• olive oil

preheat oven to 300 to 350F. (why do i even bother posting my own recipes here? LOL)
add lentils, tomatoes and generous amounts of feta into casserole dish. throw in some crushed garlic. drizzle with olive oil. not too much, mind you. just some. (wow, even i want to cry reading that line. LOL) maybe 1-2 seconds of pouring. hope that helps. mix together.
toss into the oven and bake... till it looks done. not too long, though. say, 30 mins? keep an eye on it. you'll know when it's done.
enjoy.

ok, now to be honest, i cheat. it's just easier. instead of using a can of plain ol' diced tomatoes, i use a can of bruschetta tomatoes. it's awesome. it already has olive oil, garlic and herbs mixed in. so really, when i make this casserole, it only has three ingredients. super easy. and perfect for when you're rushed. i think the other short-cut you can take is to use a can of lentils. they're already cooked, so you don't have to worry about that. i don't use them, though, due to the high amounts of salt in canned beans. and really, lentils are probably one of the easiest, quickest beans to cook, so it doesn't really take much more work.

and really, this has to be one of the simplest and yummiest recipes i have. it's also pretty cheap. i figured it out once, and i can make this casserole for less than $5. the biggest expense is the feta, but i love feta, so i consider it worth it. and really, i use feta in a lot of other things (eg, spinach salad and my favourite pasta sauce... which i might also post, since it's just that good), so i get good value from this "decadence."

again, i thought of posting the lentil sausage soup recipe, but it's kind of long, and i already linked to it, twice now, so i'll just leave it for now. but seriously, check it out, because it's delicious! everyone here loves it. i've made it twice already and bram asked me tonight if i could make it every night.

mmmm... lentils...

trying out a new recipe

ok, so this afternoon i took the kidley-winks to the bookstore. i know, i know, library library library. except that i was getting a math workbook for blithe, who is really struggling with that subject lately. and they frown on writing in library books. soooo....

i went to my new favourite section of any book emporium. the cookbooks. i must confess, i've fallen in love with jamie oliver. i think he's amazing. such great recipes. yeah, that's why i love him. his recipes. no, really, it actually is, believe it or not. anyhoo... i picked up my favourite of his books, Jamie's Food Revolution. man, if i had money, i'd buy me a copy of that book and NEVER put it down!

well! i began to peruse said tome, and my mouth was watering whilst i scanned the titles of each recipe. and then one little delight caught my eye. "Egads!" i cried out impulsively, "that sounds simply marvellous." ok, honestly, i don't think i actually said anything (especially anything that intelligent). i think my reaction was more one of speechless awe with a touch of flabberghastedness (is that even a word?!) and embarassment as i realized that my jaw was on the floor and i was standing in a puddle of drool. let me tell you, it wasn't as pretty as it sounds.

"for crying out loud, heather," i can hear you exclaim right now, "are you ever going to tell me what this recipe was for?!?!" alright, fine, here you go:

lentil

and spinach

soup!!!

you must realize by now that i quite like lentils. ok, i lurv lentils. and spinach. and soup. and more importantly, as i read through the ingredients, i realized i had pretty much everything in this soup!!! i even have a piece of ginger, if you can believe that! (i rarely have ginger.) the only ingredient i lacked was chili peppers, but that's ok, because the kids don't like anything too spicy (who's kids are these? i mean really!)

well! i came home and got to work. it's simmering away right now, as a matter of fact, much to my delight.

oh! i was actually going to post the recipe (such as i remembered, having mournfully replaced the book on the shelf for i, being poor, have only my dreams... and yes, i just alluded to WB Yeats, for those who noticed... which is probably no one... wow, i'm a nerd!!). and believe it or not, i can actually put in some measurements! and you know, typing that, i can actually hear annie smiling proudly. so here goes, jamie oliver's lentil and spinach soup, or my version of it.

some olive oil
2 carrots, sliced roughly (whatever that means. i just chopped them)
2 stalks of celery (which is disgusting and should be banned, but it's my first time making this, so i'm trying to follow the recipe here)
2 medium onions, chopped
1 clove of garlic, chopped
some ginger, sliced/chopped/whatever. just whatever you do, don't throw a whole chunk in. you only need a bit, and it should be in itty bitty pieces.
some water. i don't know. 4 cups-ish? (do you hear that? it's annie crying over this line.)
1 medium tomato, diced
some lentils (sorry, annie, i just threw in whatever i had left. maybe 1 1/2 cups? forgot to measure. my bad.)
some spinach (this isn't in the pot yet, and nope, i'm not gonna measure. just toss some in. 'cause that's how i roll)

alright, so you throw the olive oil, carrots, celery and onion into a pot, and put that on the stove. and once you've turned the stove on, you let that all cook up till the carrots are tender but still retain their shape and the onions are clear. somewhat later in this process, i also threw in the garlic and ginger. mostly because i couldn't remember when specifically they go in. i should probably actually copy the recipe next time, eh? anyhoo... then you dump in the water (you probably should use broth, which is what his version called for, but i lack that at the moment, so i just used water), tomato and lentils. i also added some salt and pepper and a touch of chili powder, just for kicks. and because like a good scottish girl, i can't live without salt. anyway... let that simmer apparently for a while, like till the lentils are done cooking. then for a little longer, i would think, just to let the flavours blend a bit. then after a while (you know, when it looks right), toss in the spinach. let that simmer for about 10-30 seconds, yes seconds, and then feel free to serve.

this is currently simmering away on the stove, so i'm afraid i can't post any feedback yet. but rest assured, gentle reader, that as soon as we're done eating, i will fill you in on how it went. cross your crossables that it works!

UPDATE: IT'S FANTASTIC!!!!!!! seriously, you HAVE to try this recipe!!!!! mmmm.... lentil and spinach soup.....

when you're poor, you gotta do watcha gotta do... sigh...

i bake.

a lot.

sigh.

i hate baking.

a lot.

sigh.

but i'm discovering something about myself. i may not hate baking as much as i have in the past. note, i'm not saying i love it. but i'm discovering that i actually kind of enjoy it. or maybe someone has taken over this blog and is typing this post. annie, i'm looking at you... haha

anyway, i have recently taken up baking on a fairly regular basis. why, just this week, i've made apple crisp and cookies. and i plan to make tortillas, a couple more loaves of bread, some granola bars and/or muffins (having just re-discovered my recipe for banana muffins on this blog), and possibly some cookies.

 i've also begun making soup more often. from scratch.

i have to make soups from scratch (including broth, since commercial broths are rather high in sodium, and that doesn't mesh with my littlest man's congestive heart failure). to do this, i've started shopping differently. now when i go to the store and buy chicken, i make sure to buy it with the bone in. then when i cook it, i take out all the bones and spend the evening using them to make broth. (if you're lucky, i'll post those details later.) the next day, i make soup.

i've decided that i love soup, and the more i make it, the better i'm getting at it, too. soup is awesome. that's all i'm gonna say about that. and in fact, when i'm done this, i'm going to post my current fave recipe, which is loved by everyone in this house... and the occasional babysitter. ;) it's quite scrumptious, actually: sausage and lentil soup. and believe me, it's just as easy to make as it is yummy. mmm... sausage and lentil soup...

the other thing i did yesterday, for the first time in my entire life, was to make hot cocoa. and holy marshmallows, batman, it was AWESOME!!!! infinitely better than hot chocolate!! i'm going to be making this more often, and don't be surprised if i have the recipe memorized in the next week or so. the kids loved it, i loved it, it's cheap, it's easy, it's slow (which is definitely the way to go when it comes to food, etc, if you ask me), and it's satisfying on more levels than i care to admit.

and one other thing i've done recently... i rediscovered my local library. did you know they let you take books home... for free?!?! it's a poor booklover's dream come true. why, just last week, the kids took out several books, and i grabbed a few for myself, including one about ADHD, a barbara coloroso book, a magazine, and three novels, including one Sophie Kinsella (and no, not The Undomestic Goddess; i already own that one. haha). and today i went again on my own, and borrowed another novel, which i'm digging so far (it involves Dracula!!) and... get ready for this... a cookbook. you may be able to guess my heretofore held opinion of cookbooks, given that they contain actual recipes, for which one must - gasp! - measure! but i've decided that cookbooks are perhaps the most glorious kind of books. because. that's why. just because. in fact, just thinking about them right now, i have a smile on my face. :) <---- that's me, right there, in case you were wondering.

anyway, i have to run at the moment. it's about time i start working on supper for tonight. in case you're wondering, perogies with bacon and fried onion, smothered in (gah! i'm gonna butcher the german here... forgive me, anni) schmauntfat... basically, it's milk, flour and bacon grease. and yes, it's a beautiful meal. comfort on a plate, if you ask me. and the kids all begged for it tonight, so there you have it. toodles!!!

ah, wendy, how i love thee...

my friend wendy, wonderful wendy, posted a couple recipes on facebook tonight. and um, yeah. YUM!!!! (at least, i'm assuming so... they look good, though i haven't tried them... yet.) and they looked so delicious, i thought i would share them here. :)

Taco Bake
1lb lean ground beef
1 small onion
1 cup salsa
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1 pkg hot taco seasoning mix OR 2 tsp chili powder
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
2 cups crushed tortilla chips
3 oz (approx) light cream cheese
tomato
avocado
lettuce
tortillas for scooping

brown the ground beef and onion, drain well, then on medium heat add in the salsa, cream cheese, mayo and spices.


in and ungreased baking dish (like a round deep one) layer meat mix, some crushed tortillas and half the cheese, and then repeat.

Bake uncovered at 350 for about 25 minutes.

I topped with fresh tomato, avocado and lettuce and a dab of sour cream but clearly there are many possible options.

Scoop and eat with tortilla chips or scoop into hard taco shells or on a bed of lettuce. Enjoy!

*** to make your own tortillas - cut up a stack of corn or flour tortillas into 8, lay flat on baking sheet. Spray with cooking oil and lightly salt. Bake at 375 for 10 minutes, watching carefully. They will crisp as they cool.

the granola bars that turned into muffins LOL

ok, so i'm sure by now we all know how i feel about baking. you must have picked up that it's my absolute favourite thing to do. haha yeah, i really don't like it. i wouldn't say i hate it, per se, but yeah, i can think of about a dozen things i'd rather be doing.

but alas, i am broke. and alas, despite my broke-ness, the kiddies need snacks for school and such (ok, i need snacks, too). so my solution? baking. sigh

i was going to make granola bars. then realized i don't have any brown sugar in the house. so, i turned to my fave website, always handy to have bookmarked at a time of crisis such as this: allrecipes.com. i looked up "banana muffins" (because i do have bananas - trust me, i checked... twice... and i only bought them today! LOL), and found a yummy recipe. so i'll share it here (and yes, annie, the measurements are precise... ok, most of them are. LOL)

2 eggs, beaten
3 ripe bananas, mashed
2 cups, all-purpose flour
1 tsp salt
3/4 cup white sugar
1 tsp baking soda

1. preheat oven to 350 degrees F. lightly grease or line 10 muffin cups.
2. in a medium bowl, mix eggs and bananas. in a separate bowl, combine flour, salt, sugar and baking soda. stir banana mixture into flour mixture. fold in walnuts if desired. pour batter into prepared muffin cups.
3. bake in preheated oven for 20 to 25 minutes, or until toothpick inserted into middle of muffins comes out clean.

ok, so i customized a bit. i read a couple reviews, which mentioned adding applesauce (they said 4 oz., but shockingly, i didn't have that much, so i just used... some. don't know the exact amount.) they also recommended cinnamon (again, i just poured a bit in), and 1 tsp vanilla (i actually measured this one!). i wanted the kids to be able to take these to school, so nuts were out of the question, but i had some craisins in the cupboard, so i added some of those.

the muffins are baking right now, and they look wonderful. oh, and they smell great, too. ooh, between the muffins and the bread i made earlier, my house smells divine!! you know you're jealous. ;)

Carrot Sweet Potato Soup

another recipe tonight. i'd say i'm on a roll here, but there's a catch to this one. and if you know me and how i cook, you already know what that catch is. i don't measure. but! i do know some amounts here for this one, so i thought i'd share. but be warned. this recipe is for a MONSTER batch of soup. and when i say "monster," i mean i made 3 big mason jars, and still had plenty left for supper tonight. but seriously, it was abso-freaking-lutely delicious!! :) so here you go, recipe lovers, an actual recipe for my favourite soup:

8 carrots, peeled and chopped
1 really big yam (you see the precise measurements here LOL)
1 giant white potato (find the biggest one you can, then keep looking for a bigger one)
3 small onions (or one really big one... but all i had was small ones, so i used 3)
3 - 4 cloves garlic, pressed
some nutmeg
some cinnamon (oh, i can hear some of you crying right now over these "measurements")
salt and pepper, but not too much
enough water to cover the ingredients, then a bit more. i used about 3 1/2 quarts, i think

bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium. continue cooking, covered, until veggies are soft.

blend till smooth.

even bram, who only likes pea soup, loves this recipe. and blithe, who now claims to be a picky eater, wanted more. and asher ate some (which is high praise from him). this recipe is beyond easy, and beyond yummy. we love it. so, if you can stand my oh-so-precise measurements, give it a whirl, and feel free to leave a comment. :)

French Wheat Bread (for the breadmaker)

if you're looking for a FANTASTIC bread recipe, without anything fancy, just plain ol' bread... look no further, gentle reader! here it is, my favourite bread EVER!! honestly, i make this bread several times a week (and those who've tried it agree... it's delicious!). so, by special request, here is the recipe:

1 1/8 c water
2 1/2 c bread flour
1/2 c whole wheat (or multigrain) flour
2 1/2 tsp white sugar
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 tbsp butter (or margarine)
3 tsp yeast

throw it all into the breadmaker in that order, and turn on the breadmaker. walk away.

when it's done, take it out.

while still warm, slice a piece for yourself and SMOTHER it in butter, jam, honey... whatever your little heart desires, but seriously, you absolutely must try this bread when it's warm. and then, try it once it has cooled. truly delicious!! LURV IT!!!!!