Red lentils

This has become one of my new go to Sunday night dishes that I make to use in a bunch of different ways throughout the week.  I will post the recipe for the lentils and then post the adjoining recipes using the lentils next.  This is a great dish because you can make it ahead, refrigerate it, and eat it all week.  As a bonus it taste super yummy cold on wraps. I would also like to add a disclaimer that I don't really have a picture of the finished product in the pot.  It was really good while tasting, and I kept burning my mouth, plus I was starving, so when it was finished I just put it on a wrap and walked away.  You can kind of see the finished product once it's layered on a wrap, I'll post that below.

INGREDIENTS

1 Cup red lentils (checked for rocks and goodies, then rinsed)

3 Cups water / vegetable broth

1 Rounded tsp cumin

1 Tsp garlic powder

1/2 Tsp sea salt

Pepper to taste

1/8 Cup chopped white onion 

*Optional crushed red pepper flakes

STOVE TOP DIRECTIONS

In a medium dutch oven (or sauce pan) bring water and lentils to a boil.  Once boiling add in cumin, garlic powder, salt and pepper.  Stir to get all of the lentils off the bottom of the pan and combine seasoning.  Reduce heat to low and cover for five minutes allowing it to simmer.  Add in chopped onions, stir, once again getting all the bits off the bottom of the pan. Cover and allow to continue simmering for 15-20 minutes until lentils are tender and soft.  Remove from heat and stir one final time checking consistency.  If your lentils seem soft with no bite, they are done.  If not, add a little more water and keep simmering.  Your lentils should have very little left over liquid when done.

INSTAPOT DIRECTIONS
 Reduce amount of vegetable broth by 1/2 cup.  Combine all ingredients in pot.  Set to manual 9 minutes.  Instant release pressure and serve.

If you are more adventurous then me this is when you would add in a pinch or two of crushed red pepper flakes.  I am not adventurous.  

You can serve the lentils warm as is, or refrigerate them for about three hours and use them as the base for a few types of wraps which I will link to after I post them up.

This recipe has so far made enough for three wraps, plus a good amount just spooned right into my mouth, and it looks like I have enough left for two wraps. If you wanted to feed a family on this I would double the recipe.  This is something I made to have on for lunch and dinner for myself since I am the only vegetarian in the house.

This is how they look the next day after being chilled over night.  Kind of a spreadable wrap filling.  Reheated it will be a nice hearty spoonable texture.

Slow cooker BBQ pulled pork

 Pork:
4 - 5 pound pork shoulder
1 chicken bullion cube
1/2 tsp black pepper
3 garlic cloves minced
1/2 yellow onion chopped

BBQ Sauce:
1/2 yellow onion cubed
4 cloves garlic

 1 can tomato paste
2 Tbsp dijon mustard
3 Tbsp apple cider vinegar

2 Tbsp balsamic vinegar

1 tsp onion powder
2 tsp paprika
1 tsp smoked paprika
1 tsp sea salt
1 tsp black pepper
1 can pineapple chunks with juice

2 Tbsp pure maple syrup

Combine all ingredients for BBQ sauce in blender and puree until smooth.  Taste for seasoning.  I added a little more balsamic vinegar after tasting.  It is going to taste tomatoe-y until it's cooked down.  Add pork, half of sauce, and all ingredients for pork into crock pot.  Cook on low for 8 hours.  Store remaining sauce in blender, covered in the refrigerator.  After the 8 hours using a large spoon drain half of juice from cooked pork, shred and cover with remaining half of sauce.  Allow to cook for another hour until sauce thickens.  Serve and enjoy.  I served mine on a whole wheat bun spread with a little salted butter, and sliced fresh tomatoes.  The boys devoured it.

This sauce can be cooked longer, or even ahead of time.  You can simmer it on low for 2-3 hours then add it to any meat you desire.  The pork can be cooked a day ahead of time, drained and then put back in the crock pot with the sauce and cooked on low in the crock pot for 8 hours if you want the sauce to be really thick. 

Vegan vanilla muffin base recipe / vegan chocolate chips muffins

This base can be used with any mix ins. Apples and cinnamon would be great.

1 + 1/4 Cup whole wheat flour
3/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 cup coconut sugar 
1/4 tsp salt
2 Tbsp chia seeds (mixed with 1/4 cup of water, pureed in a blender or food processor)
2/3 cup water
1 1/3 cup So Delicious Dairy Free Vanilla Coconut Milk
1/4 cup Coconut Oil (warmed to liquify)
3 Tbsp Honey
1 tsp apple cider vinegar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup vegan chocolate chips (I use enjoy life)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Combine dry ingredients (Flour through salt) set aside
3. Make the chia seed mixture and set aside.
4. Add in remaining ingredients leaving out chocolate chips &; chia seed mixture.
5. Mix in reserved chia seed & water mixture.
6. Allow batter to rest for 15 minutes then mix in chocolate chips.
7. Line cupcake pan with silicon liners, or spray with cooking spray and use paper liners
8. Scoop the batter into each of the liners
9. Bake for 22-25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. You may want to over cook these as they will be a little wet if you only cook them 22 minutes. These are best after being refrigerated over night. Straight out of the pan they can be a little moist. The next morning they are perfect. 

These  muffins will rise but they fall again once they have cooled.  You can fill them about 3/4 of the way full without having them bake over the top of the tin, and then they will settle at about 3/4 of the way full again. 

Spicy lentil wrap with tahini sauce (A copycat of the expensive wrap you can buy at Trader Joes)

I used to go to Trader Joes on a Monday and buy six of their pre-made wraps to get me through this lunch week.  This is expensive.  While playing around online the other day looking for vegan banana bread (coming soon) I found another persons version of this wrap.  Theirs was just a little too high cal/carb for me so I updated it.  Mine is more simple but seriously, so so so good. You can make these wraps ahead of time and take them with you for lunch, the Lavash bread does not get soggy. I recommend keeping the tahini in a separate container for lunch traveling, the wrap will get messy if you add that before wrapping and traveling.  For a weeks worth of lunches I took a tupperware of lentils, a bag of cabbage, 5 half pieces of Lavash bread, and a container of sauce to my office and then built each wrap on my break. 

 INGREDIENTS
1/2 Slice of Lavash bread (or a whole if you are hungry)
1/8 Cup Spicy red lentils
1/2 Cup shredded cabbage
Red pepper flakes to taste

Lay wrap flat on plate. Spoon lentils onto one half of wrap.  This is where Trader Joes uses a chili paste.  I am a sissy so I skipped that and just put a few red pepper flakes. If you want the chili paste Trader Joes sells an excellent pre-made one with minimal ingredients.  Add cabbage on top of lentils.  Starting from the side of the wrap with the lentils roll towards the empty side.  This should give you a nice clean wrap.  I prefer to drizzle with tahini sauce before each bite.  You may dip, or pour, or put it in before rolling it up. I enjoy the drizzling. 

To make Tahini sauce
2 Tbsp tahini*
1-2 Tbsp unsweetened coconut milk
Squeeze of fresh lemon juice
1 Tsp chopped parsley
Pinch of red pepper flakes (more if you aren't a sissy like me

Combine all of the sauce ingredients and mix with a fork until smooth and able to drizzle off fork. If using raw tahini you will want to add a little more coconut milk to make it pourable.

*I've used raw Tahini or the Trader Joes Tahini sauce found near their hummus
Spicy red lentil recipe found here

Oreo fudge

 

 I have never made fudge before.  Last week while scrolling Pinterest I found a picture that looked similar to what I have pictured above.  My husband loves Oreo's.  He loves Oreos almost as much as he loves me.  I knew I had to make this. The only problem is that every single recipe called for marshmallow fluff and that has eggs in it.  I don't eat eggs, and dangit if I was going to be making something like this I wanted to taste it.  So I altered the recipe using marshmallows and corn syrup. I also increased the portion of Oreo's by a lot, because the online recipes just did not have enough cookie goodness.  This stuff is good you guys.  It is sweet.  Very sweet. But so good. So good I had it for breakfast, and maybe even midmorning snack.  I admit nothing.

• 3 cups granulated sugar
• 3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) butter or margarine
• 2/3 cup (5 fl.-oz. can)  Evaporated Milk
• 2 cups (12-oz. pkg.) White Morsels (I used 4- 4oz bars Ghiradelli white chocolate)
• 1.5 cups mini marshmallows
• 3 Tbsp light corn syrup
• I package crushed Oreo's
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

LINE 9-inch-square baking pan with foil.

COMBINE sugar, butter and evaporated milk in medium, heavy-duty saucepan. Bring to a full rolling boil, stirring constantly. Boil, stirring constantly, for 3 minutes. Remove from heat.

STIR in chocolate, marshmallows, corn syrup, crushed cookies (reserve about 1/4 cup to sprinkle on top) and vanilla extract. Pour into prepared pan. Sprinkle remaining crumbled cookies on top. Refrigerate for 1 hour or until firm. Lift from pan; remove foil. Cut into 48 pieces. Store in airtight container in refrigerator.

I left my cookies sort of big.  The online recipe said to finely crush them. I didn't want that, I wanted to cut it up and have pieces of cookie be visible. I wanted you to get that bite that appeared to have a "whole cookie" effect.  I am glad I made this choice.  Fine cookie crumbs would not have been as crunchy and delightful.  If you don't want to use the marshmallows and corn syrup you can substitue that with 1-7 oz jar of Marshmallow fluff. I prefer the taste of actual marshmallows to the fluff though 

One thing I would change about this, is at the end I would drizzle some melted semi sweet chocolate over the top and lightly swirl it in before putting it in the fridge to cool.  White chocolate is very sugary sweet and I think having the semi sweet chocolate in there to cut the sweetness would help.  I'm going to go home tonight and pour some over the top and see what happens.  Maybe...if I don't eat it all before then. 

 

 

Cheesy baked spaghetti squash

Ingredients

• 5 1/2 cups cooked spaghetti squash (from 1 small)
• 1 tbsp butter
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1/8 cup minced onion
• 1/8 cup flour (use 2 tbsp corn starch for gluten free)
• 1.5 cups skim milk
• 1.5 cup vegetarian broth
• 1 cup reduced fat shredded cheddar cheese
• salt and pepper, to taste

Recommended add ins

• 2 cups (about 4 oz) baby spinach
• Pasta sauce (to top it with once it's done baking)

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 375ºF.

Cut the squash in half lengthwise; remove and discard seeds. Place squash on a baking sheet. Bake until tender, about 1.5 hours. Separate the strands of squash with a fork and place in a medium bowl; discard shells. Maintain the oven temperature.

Heat butter and oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add onions and cook about 2 minutes. Stir in flour. Reduce heat to low and cook, stirring continually 3 - 4 minutes. The flour will become lumpy.

Add broth and continue whisking, raising heat to medium and begins to thicken and smooth. Add in milk and continue whisking.  Season with salt and pepper, taste at this point to see if it needs anything else.  If you want to add the spinach now is the time to whisk that in slowly.

Once it becomes thick, remove from heat, add cheddar cheese and mix well until cheese is melted. Add cooked spaghetti squash, and mix with a spoon until well combined.  Pour into a greased baking dish. Bake until bubbly and golden 25 to 30 minutes.

Adapted from this recipe

Quick, clean and fun kids snack

Today was my day to bring snack for Brandon's little league game.  I wanted to do something besides a prepackaged whatever with no thought so I came up with this.  I bought mini corn dogs and then cooked them.  Once they were cooked I put each one on a skewer.  Then I set out each cup and filled the bottom corner with a squirt of ketchup.  I packed them in a bag stacked on top of each other with trays separating them so they didn't tip.  Then I put all of the warm corn dogs in foil and pu them in the bag (it was one of those lined bags that holds temperatures).  When it was snack time I put two corn dog skewers in each cup and handed them out.   The kids and parents love them because they were easy to carry, there was no mess, they didn't have to squirt ketchup and the kids thought they were super fun.  I think you could do this at birthday parties also...turn the skewers the other way and make little boquetes for people to snack on.  I also made chocolate dipped strawberries because it was a healthier sweet treat then fruit snacks full of red 40, and it was real fruit.  It didn't cost much and I found everything, even the short length skewers at my local grocery store. 

Hope you enjoy my little snack idea.

Fiesta chicken soup

I know I usually post step by step photos on here, but since there is one step only in this recipe you only get a picture of the finished product.  My husband hates soup and he ate a giant bowl of this, and then texted me numerous times while I worked last night to tell me how much he loved it.  That is a big win coming from someone who is not a fan of soup.  This recipe is so easy my four year old could make it.

1 Can petite diced tomatoes

1 Jar mild salsa (I used Newmans Own this time)

8 Boneless skinless chicken thighs

1 Cup frozen corn

1 Can mild green chilis

1/2 Tsp cumin

1/2 Tsp chili powder

1 Tsp garlic powder

1/2 Tsp onion powder

1 Cup water

Combine all ingredients in crock pot and stir to mix well.  Cook for 4 hours on high or six hours on low.  Serve over like that or pour it over rice.  That's it, you are done.  If you cook it for the six hours peek in after a few hours to make sure it has enough water still.  My husband topped his with some hot sauce and said it was absolutely perfect.  Also this wasn't too spicy so the kids cold eat it.  I'm definitely keeping this recipe handy for nights I have to work late catering and don't have much time to throw anything together. Beans would be a nice addition to this but the hubby won't eat them so I left them out!

Broccoli chicken casseorle

This is the cheapest, easiest, most lazy meal ever, and somehow EVERYONE LOVED IT! It's one of those things where I was at the store, threw 6 things in the basket and prayed.

1 Store bought roasted chicken shredded
2 cups uncooked small shell pasta
2 cups mild shredded cheese shredded
1/2 cup frozen broccoli pieces
1 can cream of mushroom chicken
1 can cream of celery chicken

Preheat oven to 450. Boil pasta. While pasta is boiling mix everything else in a bowl reserving 1/2 cup of cheese. Combine pasta in with remaining ingredients and place in an oven safe baking dish. Cover with remaining cheese and bake for 20 minutes. Serve.

Literally that is it. I told you...cheap, easy LAZY. But really good.

Chicken Tortilla Casserole

I get these emails all the time from Eat Better America. This last one had a dish that looked so good I e-mailed it right to my mom. Tonight I decided to make it, oddly so did my mom. Here is the recipe as it was intended to be made. I'll tell you my variations at the bottom. Brandon really liked this which says a lot for a four year old, he called it "cheese chicken." The husband had seconds too. The recipe is called "Healthified" Chicken Tortilla Casserole.

1 can (10 3/4 oz) 98% fat free 45% less sodium condensed cream of chicken soup 1 can (4.5 oz) chopped green chile's 1 container (8 oz) fat-free sour cream ½ cup fat-free (skim) milk 1 ½ teaspoons chili powder ½ teaspoon ground cumin 2 ½ cups shredded cooked chicken breast 8 yellow corn tortillas (6 or 7 inch), torn into bite-size pieces 1 medium green bell pepper, chopped (1 cup) 1 large tomato, chopped (1 cup) 1 ½ cups shredded sharp Cheddar cheese or Mexican cheese blend (6 oz) 1. Heat oven to 350°F. Spray 13x9-inch (3-quart) glass baking dish with cooking spray. In large bowl, mix soup, chilies, sour cream, milk, chili powder and cumin until blended. Stir in chicken, tortillas and bell pepper. Stir in tomato and 1 cup of the cheese. Spoon and spread mixture in baking dish. 2. Cover with foil. Bake 40 minutes. Uncover; sprinkle with remaining 1/2 cup cheese. Bake uncovered 5 to 10 minutes longer or until cheese is melted and mixture is bubbly. Let stand 5 minutes.

This recipe is really as easy as it sounds. I didn't have any shredded chicken just laying around and I didn't plan ahead and have it ready so I will share with you my full proof method of cooking chicken fast. In a baking dish add 1 cup chicken broth and 2 cups of water. Place boneless skinless chicken in and bake it at 550 for about 15 minutes. It should be pretty close to done. This is basically poaching and keeps skinless boneless chicken very moist. I kept mine just under done so it wouldn't dry out during the final bake.

Next. I did not use anything light. I live in a family of underfat men, shit Codi just finally made it to 10% on the weight chart and we celebrated that. I might have also used a tad bit of extra cheese.

I omitted the bell peppers because none of my boys like them.

I combined half regular corn tortillas and half hard ones (they are called tostada shells in the store.) My husband really likes crunchy stuff so I put a few of those closer to the top of the casserole to keep them crisp. I used these tostada shells (the yellow corn ones on the top.)

I think beans would be a nice addition to this. Possibly pinto or red, I don't think black beans would be the right flavor. I also think if I wasn't making it for a kid I would mix in a tiny bit of cayenne pepper or a couple splashes of Tapatio.

Finally, yes I know it looks a little weird when you are first mixing it but it taste so good in the end. SO GOOD!

For a printable version of their recipe click here.