Lentils and Barley

I found this recipe looking for a light meal to use up our pantry staples. It is now an absolute favorite, and you can even crock it to have an easy night (put it all in and let it go 6-8 hours on low-though it gets a little mushier this way). It is great all on its own, kind of like a stew, with some salad or a nice whole-wheat roll.

1 cup dried lentils- rinsed and sorted
1/2 cup dried barley- rinsed
1 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup chopped celery
1 tablespoon chopped or grated garlic (2 cloves?)
1" piece of fresh ginger, grated or very finely chopped
4 1/2 cups water or stock/broth
1 teaspoon soy sauce
Spices to taste: cumin, coriander, chili power, paprika, salt, pepper, turmeric, chipotle, crushed red pepper, bay leaf, etc)

1. In a medium sized pot, bring water to a boil with a pinch of salt, and bay leaf if you opt for one.

2. Add vegetables as you have chopped them, and once water comes to a boil add the lentils and barley.

3. Return to a boil, turn to low, and simmer uncovered about 30 minutes until the water is almost all evaporated. Add soy sauce and your choice of spices. I throw in what I know our family likes, more of the savory and less of the spicy, just in pinches. You can go wild on all but the salt, and should wait to add more salt until right before serving to see how much you really need.

4. Cook another 10-15 minutes until all of the water has been absorbed.

Cheap, easy, and loved by all in this house It also reheats very well if you have leftovers and is a great grab for breakfast or lunch.

Kielbasa and Chili Hash

4 tablespoons olive oil
1 large white potato, diced
1 medium sweet potato, diced
1/2 ring of kielbasa or smoked sausage, diced
1 small white onion, chopped
1/2 cup chopped, cooked green chili
1 teaspoon MDP's Seasoning  or seasoned salt of choice

1. Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in a wok or large skillet until it starts to ripple. Add potatoes and cook until tender, stirring as little as possible so that the edge crisp, about 10 minutes.

2. Add  kielbasa and onion. Cook until onion is transparent and softened, about 5 minutes.

3. Add seasoning and green chili. Cook until potatoes are cooked all the way through, about 2-3 minutes. Adjust seasoning or add salt and pepper to taste.

BBQ Turkey Meatloaf Bites

1 cup breadcrumbs
1/2 cup chicken stock
2 pounds ground turkey breast
1 tablespoon poultry seasoning
2 teaspoons cumin
1 tablespoon dried parsley
dash of soy sauce
sea salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste
1/4 cup chopped green chili (cooked)
1/4 cup finely chopped onion
2 eggs
BBQ sauce of choice

1. Heat oven to 375. Combine breadcrumbs and stock to moisten.

2. Mix turkey and dry seasonings. Add moistened breadcrumbs, soy sauce, chili, onion, and eggs. Mix until blended together.

3. Form mixture into 12 balls and insert into the holes of a 2.5" muffin pan(s).

4. Bake for 30 minutes, remove and spread about 1 teaspoon of BBQ sauce on the top of each meatloaf. Continue baking for another 15-20 minutes until internal temp reaches 170.

5. Let stand 10 minutes before serving.

Make-ahead Option: Instead of baking immediately, you can wrap the meatloaves and store overnight until you are ready to cook and serve.

Whipped Pumpkin Spice Cream Cheese

4 ounces cream cheese
1/4 cup solid packed pumpkin puree
1 teaspoon real maple syrup
1 teaspoon real vanilla extract
1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice

In a food processor, whip cream cheese until fluffy. Add remaining ingredients, and pulse until combined well.

Great for bagels, French toast, or on ginger snaps. 

Slow Cooker Baked Beans

Whether you want something for a Barbeque, Easter Brunch, or a cheap slow cooker meal, these beans are perfect. I started making them 14 years ago when we had a cupboard full of dried beans and I was not familiar with how to cook them or what else to use them for. Now all sorts of dried beans line the shelves of my pantry for soups, salads, casseroles, and anything you could do with canned beans.

4 cups cooked pinto beans
1 large onion
1/2 pound bacon
1 cup ketchup
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup dijon mustard
1/4 cup molasses
1 tablespoon real maple syrup
1 teaspoon Worchestershire sauce
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper

Add beans to slow cooker. Thinly slice the onion and cut slices into quarters. Saute in a lightly oiled pan over medium heat until golden brown. Add onions to slow cooker.

With a pair of kitchen scissors, cut bacon slices into 1/2" pieces. Cook over medium heat until fat has run off, drain on paper towels, and add to slow cooker.

Add remaining ingredients to slow cooker and stir well to combine. Add water as needed to make beans saucy. Cook on low for 8-10 hours. Sample sauce and adjust salt/pepper/molasses/brown sugar to your personal taste.

Orzo Salad

This is a great pasta salad for a quick dinner or sharing at a gathering. It's very simple, light, but flavorful. The recipe makes enough for a crowd so I cut it in half if I'm just making it for my fam.

1 box Orzo pasta
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
2 generous cloves garlic, grated
1/2 cup finely chopped onion
juice of 1 lemon
1 cucumber, quartered and thin sliced
2 plum/roma tomatoes, diced
salt and pepper to taste
1 tsp dried dill
1/4 cup crumbled feta

Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain and put into a large bowl with olive oil, onion and garlic.

Once pasta cools, add remaining ingredients and stir well. Let stand 15 minutes before serving.

Greek Dressing

We have been making our own dressings lately because its quick, healthy, and you can use what you have on hand. Make this in a shaker or mason jar and pull it out of the fridge a few minutes before serving to let the olive oil thin out at room temp.

1 cup extra virgin olive oil (good quality)
zest and juice of 3 fresh squeezed lemons
red wine vinegar
3 cloves garlic
2 tsp oregano
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/4 tsp black pepper

In your dressing container (make sure it has a lid), add olive oil. If you have any olives on hand packed in oil (from the deli section), use that oil and add regular olive oil to make 1 cup total. Replace the oil you took from the olives with regular olive oil.

Roll lemons in your hand or on the counter until they feel very loose and soft. Zest lemons with a grater or zesting tool. Cut lemons in half and squeeze out as much juice as possible. Add enough red wine vinegar to make 1/2 cup total. Add to oil.

Grate garlic and add it to oil and vinegar with remaining ingredients. Shake well until all ingredients have combined. Let stand at least 15 minutes before serving.

This is great over a "Greek" salad. I enjoy mine with an iceberg bed, and topped with thin sliced onion, diced tomatoes, pepperoncini rings, pitted kalamata olives, and of course TONS of feta cheese crumbled over the top.

Taco Meatloaf

1 pound ground meat
2 TBSP taco seasoning (equal to 1 packet)
1 small onion, finely chopped
1/2 bell pepper, finely chopped
1 jalapeno, finely chopped (omit seeds for milder version)
1 tsp worchestershire sauce
1 egg
3/4 -1 cup breadcrumbs
optional: 1/2 cup taco sauce

Saute onions and pepper until soft to release extra juices. Mix all ingredients together by hand until combined, and all breadcrumbs a little at a time until mixture holds together.

Form into a loaf on a broiler pan or in a loaf pan. Top with taco sauce and bake at 350 for 60-75 minutes (depending on the thickness) until juice runs clear. Let stand 5 minutes before slicing.

Brazilian Chicken

This is a quick dinner that tastes like vacation in a bowl!

2lbs boneless chicken breast, thin sliced
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp coriander
1 tsp turmeric
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1/4 tsp black pepper
1 tsp salt (divided in 1/2)
2 TBSP olive oil (divided in 1/2)

1 onion, sliced
1 seeded jalapeno
3 cloves garlic
1" chunk fresh ginger root, grated
2 cups crushed tomatoes
1 can light coconut milk
1 cup chopped flat leaf parsley

Mix spices and 1/2 tsp salt together in a medium bowl and rub into chicken. In a large skillet, heat oil over high heat. Cook chicken until browned and juices run clear, about 10-15 minutes depending on thickness. Remove to a clean plate.

In skillet, heat remaining oil and saute onions, garlic, jalapeno and ginger. Once onion is softened, add 1/2 tsp salt, tomatoes and coconut milk and stir to deglaze the pan. Simmer about 5 minutes to thicken, and add chicken into the sauce. Garnish with chopped parsley.

Serve over rice or noodles or with a chunk of crusty bread for mopping.

Soft Baked Honey Wheat Pretzels

We are working hard on our road to financial freedom, so we opted to skip an outing to the ballpark and have baseball night at home, complete with every one's favorite snacks. This was my first time with pretzels, but we will be making many more.

4 tsp yeast
1 tsp honey
1 1/4 cup warm water
2 1/2 whole wheat flour
2 1/2 all-purpose flour
1/2 honey
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 TBSP vegetable oil
1/2 cup baking soda
4 cups hot water
kosher salt or 1/2 stick butter melted and cinnamon sugar blend

In a measuring cup or small bowl, dissolve yeast and 1 tsp honey in warm water and let stand 10 minutes.

In large mixing bowl, combine flours and salt and make a well in the center. Add yeast mixture, honey, and oil into the hole. Mix until well combined and knead for about 5 minutes (low speed). Pour a little oil into the bowl and turn until surface is coated. Let rise is a warm place for an hour. I put mine in the oven, and if its chilly in the house turn it on for 1 minute at 300 to warm it some.

Heat oven to 450 degrees. Combine hot water and baking soda.

On a floured surface, divide dough into 6 pieces for jumbo pretzels, 12 for regular size. Roll each piece into a long rope and twist into a pretzel shape. Dip the pretzel in baking soda solution and place onto a greased baking sheet. For salted pretzels, add salt here before baking .

Bake 8 minutes until well browned. For cinnamon sugar pretzels, brush with butter when you remove from the oven, and sprinkle with cinnamon sugar powder.

The salted pretzels are also delicious dipped in nacho cheese!

Rainbow Cream Cake

This year, my daughter made a very specific request for her birthday cake: this picture below, maybe a little shorter. Now I know she prefers chocolate cake  I know she likes brownie ice cream cake. But otherwise, she doesn't usually get specific on this kind of thing. AND she didn't even know we were having a surprise party. She thought we would just hang out the 4 of us and eat a 4 foot long cake....

 Quite a beast for 4 people, eh? Since we were in fact having a party, I decided to take a stab at it, in smaller scale, in the neighbor's kitchen, so she wouldn't get suspicious on why we had such a large cake for 4 people the day before her birthday.  

 

 

It looks hard. And it sounded hard. But once I had a plan, it was really no problem at all. Here is how it all went down. After a derailment when I snuck to Walmart at 7am for supplies, and my car battery died and left me stranded in the parking lot. Good thing for my neighbor who was up waiting for the baking!

Ingredients:

2 boxes white cake mix

2 boxes instant vanilla pudding mix (optional, this is my box cake secret)

eggs, oil, water that boxes require

food coloring (I did 1 primary and 1 neon)

 

 

Directions:

Spray 5 round layer cake pans with baking spray (cooking spray plus flour). Preheat oven as directed.

Mix batter according to package directions (1 package at a time if using a stand up mixer) adding the pudding mix to the dry ingredients. Separate batter into 5 bowls and repeat process with the other box. Each bowl will be half of each batch which will prevent them from rising differently due to the time they were mixed.

Decide what colors you want your cakes to be. I suggest picking 5 and doing 2 shades of  each. For example: Red and Pink, Orange and Yellow, Lime Green and Bright Green, Light Blue and Bright Blue, Lavender and Violet.

One bowl at a time, start your light shade by adding a few drops of food coloring until you get the desired color. Pour half the batter from that bowl into one side of the pan, and use a rubber spatula to spread it just on one half. Add more coloring to darken the remaining batter in your bowl. For example: 10 drops of pink food coloring made my pink, then 10 more drops of red coloring made the other half red. Once you have tinted and poured out all batter, bake about 20 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean.

Let cakes cool at least an hour before frosting. For some reason, mine split themselves down the centers. I stacked the halves on top of each other, and ran a knife down the center side to make them even and make the bottom surfaces flat.

My cake had WAY too much whipped cream (a 50/50 cake to cream ratio). Partly because I wanted it to be well covered and partly because I wanted to use up the cream. You can either make your own whipped cream or just do cool whip. I used 2 quarts or cream with a little sugar, but would've make it work with 1 if I worked sparingly.

Once you have your cake surface ready (a cake board and fancy foil shown, but a cutting board and tin foil is fine), spread a line of cream down the center. Working from the center out, spread cream between two of the half circles like a sandwich and place on the cream line on the board. One at a time, spread cream on the sides of the half circle shaped cakes and add them to the cake on the board. Use the remaining cream to cover the top and sides.

Decorate the top with the sprinkles or fanciness of your choice. For full effect, use rainbow candles. This was nearly a fire hazard with 14 of them!

Sweet and Sour Kielbasa

2 lbs kielbasa
1 can pineapple chunks and juice
1 large onion
1 green bell pepper
1 spicy pepper (your choice, I used poblano)
1 cup cherry pie filling (I buy the sugar-free)
2 TBSP cornstarch
2 TBSP vinegar ( I used apple cider)
1 TBSP soy sauce
2 TBSP brown sugar

Cut kielbasa into 1/4" slices, and onions and peppers into bite-sized chunks. Add them to the crock pot with the pineapple chunks setting the juice aside.

Mix pineapple juice, pie filling, cornstarch, vinegar, soy sauce and brown sugar. Pour into the crock pot over kielbasa and veggies and cook 4-6 hours on low.

If you don't have cherry pie filling ( I was just using up some that was leftover), just use a 1/2 cup of maraschino cherries and increase brown sugar to 1/4 cup.

If you opened a can of pie filling and have the rest to use up, put it on ice cream, pancakes, mix it into plain yogurt, or use it in a parfait with vanilla pudding and vanilla wafers.

MDP's Confused Chowdah

I call this confused because when I was a kid, chowder came from Rocky Point and was red (Manhanttan style), or maybe white (New England style). But this batch was more of an orange because I can never decide between creamy or with tomatoes. And when I did a little research, I found there were tons of styles, but this wasn't  one of those either. If you have any interest, check out the Wiki run down for regional chowder characteristics HERE.

2 strips thick sliced bacon (or 3 regular sliced)

1 TBSP olive oil

2 TBSP butter

1 extra large onion, chopped (about 3 cups)

4 inside celery stalks (w/ leaves), thin chopped (about 1.5 cups)

4 small potatoes, diced 1/2" size (about 3 cups)

2 dried or fresh bay leaves

1 tsp dried thyme

2 small cans chopped clams with juice
4 cups stock (ham is excellent here if its on hand, if not any)
2 cups fresh diced tomatoes, 1 cup canned with juice
1 cup light cream or half and half
Salt and pepper, to taste

Heat a large pot on medium high-heat. Add oil and cook bacon until browned. Add butter, onions, celery, potatoes, bay leaf, and thyme and saute about 5 minutes. Once vegetables have begun to soften, add clams and juice, stock and tomatoes.

Cook about 15 minutes over high heat until potatoes are cooked completely. Add cream and stir well to combine before serving.

Estimated Nutrition Info
300 calories
32g carbs
13g protein
4g fiber
5g sugar
437 mg sodium

To get it on the table quicker, I use my Tupperware Quick Chef™ to chop up the onions and tomatoes. You could also do the celery, but I prefer the knife to make clean slices. If you can only find whole clams, you can through them through.

Whatever leftovers we have go into CrystalWave® Soup Mugs so we can grab them and go. Not that they last long!

Taco Pasta Salad

I make this salad all the time to go along with any meat cooking in the crockpot. It makes it a breeze to get dinner together when you are short on time.

1/2 lb tri-color spirals or other short cut pasta
1/4 cup ranch dressing
1 TBSP taco sauce
1/2 cup corn
1 roma tomato diced
1/4 cup chopped green onions
1 cup black beans

Cook pasta according to package directions, drain, and rinse with cold water. Mix with ranch and taco sauce and refrigerate (at least an hour). When you are ready to serve, add the corn, tomato, onions, and black beans. If it seems a little dry, add a little more ranch dressing.

Beans that Bite (in 5 minutes time)

Need a quick side disk for dinner? Beans are a great source of fiber!

1 TBSP olive oil
small onion, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic
1 (14-15oz) can beans (red, kidney, black, pinto, etc)
1 chipotle in adobo sauce, chopped
1 can tomato sauce (8 oz)

Heat oil over medium high heat and add onion and garlic. Cook onion about 2-3 minutes until translucent.

Add chipotle with a little of the sauce from the can, and tomato sauce. Stir to combine and add beans. Cook another 2 minutes to heat beans through.

What is chipotle in adobo?

Smoked jalapeno chili peppers that are canned in a red sauce that usually contains tomato puree, paprika, salt, onions, oil, vinegar, garlic, bay leaves and oregano. Used for making sauces, dressings, and other recipes. Save the rest in the freezer and use a little in chili, soup, etc. I LOVE a little in my tomato soup.

Pizza Pasta

The best of both worlds, it's spaghetti with pizza toppings and a great way to mix the usual. And done in 20 minutes, this is a great meal to prep the veggies for ahead of time and throw it all together for a quick dinner.

8 oz whole wheat spaghetti
1 TBSP olive oil
1 lb lean ground turkey, chicken, or beef
1/2 cup fine diced pepperoni (from slices or stick)
3 cloves garlic, smashed

3 cups any combination:
thin sliced onion
thin sliced bell peppers
thin sliced fresh jalapeno rings
sliced raw mushrooms
sliced black olives
other favorite veggie pizza topping

1 jar  marinara (quart size/28oz)
crushed red pepper flakes
1/4 cup grated romano, parmesan, or asiago cheese
1 cup shredded mozzarella

Cook pasta according to package directions.

In a large skillet, heat pan over high heat and add olive oil. Cook meat until browned and add garlic and veggies of choice. Cook until veggies are softened and add marinara and red pepper to taste. Simmer on low about 10 minutes and serve over or tossed with the pasta. Top each plate with a sprinkle of grated cheese, shredded mozzarella, and crushed red pepper flakes.

Mexican Spiced Brownies

Brownies
1 cup vegetable oil
2 cups raw (turbinado) sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
4 eggs
1 cup flour
2/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 TBSP cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 tsp ground cloves

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease a 13x9 inch baking pan.

In mixer bowl, beat together the oil, sugar, and vanilla. Beat in eggs. Combine flour, cocoa, baking powder, salt, cinnamon and cloves  in a separate bowl and gradually add into mixing bowl until well blended. Pour into baking pan.

Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Icing
3/4 cup sugar
6 TBSP butter
4-6 TBSP milk
2 cups powdered sugar
pinch cayenne pepper

In a small saucepan, heat sugar over medium heat stirring constantly. Sugar will melt into a golden brown liquid. Once melted, remove from heat and add butter and 1 TBSP milk and stir well (it will be lumpy) Return mixture to medium heat and stir until it becomes smooth. Let cool 5 minutes.

In a mixer bowl, beat cooled sugar mixture and 3 TBSP milk. Add powdered sugar and a pinch of cayenne and beat until it forms a smooth frosting. If mixture is too dry, add more milk 1 TBSP at a time. If it is too runny, add sugar 1/8 cup at a time. Spread frosting over the pan of brownies and let sit at least 30 minutes before cutting into squares.

Crockpot Shredded Pork with Black Beans

Step 1

2 lb pork tenderloin

MDP's seasoning or other all purpose meat seasoning

1 can black beans

1 cup diced tomatoes

4 cups chicken, pork, or vegetable stock

1 cup chopped onion

1 jalapeno (seeded or unseeded to taste)

2 cloves garlic, chopped or smashed

1 handful chopped cilantro

1 tsp cumin

1 TBSP Cilantro Pesto (if you don't want to make a batch, throw inanother handful of cilantro, another garlic clove, 1/4 cup chopped scallions, and a squeeze of lime)

Rinse pork and pat dry. Sprinkle with MDP seasoning and set aside overnight if possible, if not no problem.

Step 2

Mix everything but the meat in the crockpot base, adding water if there is not enough liquid to cover up over the beans, tomatoes and onions.  Add tenderloin and pust it down so that its covered by the liquids. Cook on low for about 10 hours until meat falls apart with a fork and shred as you would pulled pork.

Step 3

Serve over steamed brown rice, in wheat tortillas, or on top of salad. I like an extra shot of siracha and some sour cream.

Low-Carb Flax and Soy Pancakes

I love pancakes, but with choosing to cut out most of the carbs in my diet I haven't had any in weeks. I picked up some soy flour and combined a few recipes to come up with something so I could enjoy pancake birthday breakfast with my son and family, but not stray from my new way of eating. I felt totally satisfied and will be making more of these to freeze in single servings for quick breakfasts.

2 eggs
1/4 cup soy flour
1/4 cup milled flax seed
1 tsp baking powder
2 TBSP sour cream
2 TBSP heavy cream
pinch of salt
1 packet sweetener or 1/2 tsp granulated sugar substitute

Spray a hot griddle or frying pan over medium heat with cooking spray. Pour out 1/4 cup of batter at a time and cook until bubbles form and edges become solid. Carefully flip- these are a lot more sensitive than traditional cakes.

Serve with butter, sugar-free syrup, sugar-free jam, or other toppings of choice.

This are higher in fat than I would normally like, but I am avoiding milk. You could also use low-fat buttermilk for the heavy cream and sour cream and it would drop the fat tremendously.

Rough stats for 1/2 batch- 3-3" cakes:
316 calories
23g fat
13g carbs
8g fiber
5g net carbs
16g protein
352 mg sodium

Cilantro Scallion Pesto

1 bunch green onions, whites and greens
1 bunch cilantro, leaves pulled from stems
1 clove garlic
juice of 1/2 lime
1/8-1/4 cup olive oil
optional: 1 TBSP sunflower kernals

Rough chop onions, cilantro, and smash garlic. Combine in food processor with kernals (if using) lime juice and 1/8 cup oil to start and pulse until it forms a paste. If it is too thick, slowly stream up to another 1/8 cup of oil.

This is delicious over grilled fish or chicken, and mixed into sour cream  for a quick condiment or mixed with a little mayo for a sandwich spread.

Store in a container in the fridge for a week or two, or freeze small portions (like ice cubes) in the freezer.