Lentil Soup with Beef and Barley

1/2 lb ground beef
1 c lentils, washed
1/4 c pearl barley or rice
6 c water or vegetable stock
2 c beef broth
1 large onion, chopped
1 large carrot, diced
1 large celery stalk, diced
large pinch of thyme and basil
salt and pepper to taste

In a heavy pot brown beef, drain off fat.  Add lentils, barley, water or stoch and beef broth.  Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer, covered till lentils and barley are nearly tender (about 30 minutes).  Add remaining ingredients and simmer about 1 1/2 hours.  Add extra liquid to give thickness desired.  Salt and pepper to taste.

Serves 12 (maybe, it's good!)

French Beef Stew

I got this recipe from Simplify Suppers.  We've had it just as a stew but I think it would be great on noodles or mashed potatoes too.

2 pounds stew meat
6 carrotes, cut up
5 celery stalks, cut up
1/2 onion, chopped
1 can tomato sauce
2 c beef broth
1/3 c tapioca
1 T sugar

Combine all ingredients in large roasting pan.  Cover and cook at 350 for five hours.  (The recipe called for salt but the first time I made it, it was SO salty.  I omitted it and didn't miss it!)

Macaroni and Cheese

This is as easy as mac and cheese in a box and about 10,000 times better (in my humble opinion).  It's my variation on the recipe from my Better Homes and Garden's cookbook.

1 c Barilla rotini pasta (the omega 3 enriched kind)
1/4 c onion (sometimes I skip this...it's great either way)
1 T butter
1 T flour
1 1/4 c milk ( I use skim)
2/3 c shredded cheddar cheese (you can use more cheese if you want, the recipe calls for 2 c but I think that's too too much)

Boil the pasta 10 minutes.  Meanwhile melt the butter (if you decide to use the onion, saute it in the butter before you add the flour...cook it until it's tender, not brown), add the flour once it's melted, then the milk.  Mix together and stir occasionally (keep the temperature low) while the pasta boils.  When the pasta is boiled, mix it all together.  The milk mixture won't be thick at all.  That's OK.  Pour it into a casserole dish (1 qt).  Add the cheese and mix it in.  It's OK if it's not mixed in and the cheese is a little clumpy.  Bake at 350 for 25 minutes then stir to evenly spread the cheese.  Salt and pepper to taste.  I grew up eating ketchup on this and my kids like it that way now too.

I just tripled this recipe for our lunch.  It's that good.

Chocolate Zucchini Bread

Mix:

3 eggs
1 c oil
2 c sugar
2 c grated zucchini
1 T vanilla

Add to dry ingredients:

3 c flour
1 t salt
1/4- 1/2 t baking powder
1 t soda
1 T cinnamon
3/4 t nutmeg
1 c chopped nuts
2 T cocoa

Bake 350 for 45 –50 minutes. 2 medium loaves.

Chocolate Zucchini Cake

2 1/2 cups flour 1/4 cup vegetable oil
2 1/2 tsp baking powder 2 cups white sugar
1 1/2 tsp baking soda 3 eggs
1 tsp salt 1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp cinnamon 2 generous cups zucchini
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa 1/4 cup milk
1/2 cup butter


Preheat oven to 350. Grease and flour a 9X13 " pan.

Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and cocoa powder. This is helpful because the cocoa usually is lumpy. Set aside.

In a large bowl, cream together the butter, oil and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs one at a time, then stir in the vanilla. In a small bowl, combine the shredded zucchini with the milk. Beat in the flour mixture alternately with the zucchini mixture. Pour batter into prepared pan.

Bake in the preheated oven for 55-60 minutes, or until a tooth pick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Allow to cool.

You can the cake with a made-up frosting of about a cup of melted chocolate chips, powdered sugar, and milk. I didn't follow any recipe, just made it thin enough to pour on the cake while it was still warm. Tonight I'm thinking of using a cream cheese frosting though...

Now go...eat your vegetables!

Vegetable Korma

I got this recipe from a blog. I didn't put everything in (like the raisins and cashews although I wish I'd remembered to buy them because that would have been good). We all loved it. I didn't add the cayenne pepper because we're wimpy when it comes to spices. One of my favorite Indian foods is naan bread. She recommended using leftover pizza dough to make naan. It was fabulous dipped in the korma.

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
3 garlic cloves
2 teaspoon grated ginger
1 (8 ounce) can tomato sauce
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper (optional)
1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric
2 teaspoons ground coriander
1 teaspoon garam masala
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup chopped carrots
1/2 cup chopped green bell pepper
1/2 cup chopped fresh green beans
1 cup chopped potatoes or cauliflower
1/2 cup green peas
1/4 cup raisins
1/3 cup cashews
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 teaspoon honey
salt to taste

Saute onion in oil and cook until tender. Mix in garlic and ginger and cook 1 minute. Stir in tomato sauce, cayenne pepper, turmeric, coriander, garam masala, 1 tsp. salt and cayenne if desired. Place mixture in blender, pour in water, blend until smooth. Pour sauce into a pressure cooker or stove top pot. Mix in carrots, potatoes, pepper and beans. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, and simmer 30 minutes, until potatoes are tender. Or pressure on high for 4 minutes, natural release. Stir peas, raisins, nuts, cream and honey into the pot with the vegetables. Heat through. Season with salt to taste.

Easy Vegetable Lasagna

According to the website Simplify Supper (where I found this recipe) it's a Weight Watcher's recipe. My kids don't like it as well as regular lasagna but I think it's great and it's SO easy.

28 ounces spaghetti sauce
6 Uncooked Lasagna Noodles
15 ounces Fat-free ricotta cheese
6 ounces fresh baby spinach
8 ounces fresh sliced mushrooms
8 ounces low-fat mozzarella cheese

Preheat oven to 375. Spread 1/3 of the sauce on bottom of l9x13 casserole dish. Arrange 3 noodles in a single layer over sauce. Top with all of the ricotta cheese and vegetables, another 1/3 of sauce, and 1/2 of mozzarella cheese. Then add remaining noodles in a single layer. Spread evenly with remaining sauce. Cover dish with foil; bake until noodles are tender and mixture is piping hot, about 1 hour. Sprinkle with remaining mozzarella cheese; bake uncovered 5 minutes longer. Let stand 5 minutes before serving.