Lentil Soup

OH girls... you have to try this one. It is super easy, inexpensive and delicious. All of us love it! I usually make a batch of rolls and this is a full meal. I found this recipe on food network. Also, the recipe calls for "grains of paradise". You can use plain old cracked black pepper!

Ingredients:

2 T olive oil (I actually use coconut oil)
1 c. finely chopped onion
1/2 cup finely chopped carrots (I use two carrots)
1/2 cup finely chopped celery (I use two ribs of celery)
2 tsp kosher salt
1 pound lentils, picked and rinsed
1 cup peeled and chopped tomatoes (I use one can diced tomatoes)
2 quarts of chicken or vegetable broth (I have used both and prefer chicken broth)
1/2 tsp ground coriander
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp ground grains of paradise (or use black pepper!)

Directions:
Place oil in large soup pan over medium heat. Once hot, add onion, carrot, celery and salt. Sweat until onions are translucent, approx 6 - 7  min. Add lentils, tomatoes, broth, and spices. Stir to combine. Increase heat to high and bring just to a boil. Reduce heat to low. Cover and cook at a low simmer until lentils are tender, approx 35 - 40 min. Using a stick blender, puree to your preferred consistency. ***I use a measuring cup to remove some soup, puree it and add it back in. I continue to do this until the soup is the consistency I am looking for. I still like to have the texture of lentils and veggies but pureeing some makes it less of a broth soup.

Caramel-filled Chocolate Cookies

Not sure where this recipe originated, but it has become a favorite for holiday gifts.

1 c. butter, softened
1 cup plus 1 T sugar, divided
1 cup packed brown sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
3/4 cup baking cocoa
1 tsp baking soda
1 1/4 cups chopped pecans, divided
1 package (13 ounces) Rolo candies
4 squares (1 ounce each) white baking chocolate, melted

Cream butter, 1 cup sugar and brown sugar. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in vanilla. Combine the flour, cocoa and baking soda in separate bowl. Gradually add to the creamed mixture, beating just until combined. Stir in 1/2 cup pecans.

Shape a tablespoon of dough around each candy, forming a ball. In a small bowl, combine the remaining sugar and pecans. Dip each ball 1/2way into nut/sugar mixture and place nut side up 2 inches apart on a greased baking sheet.

 Bake at 375 for 7-10 minutes or until tops are slightly cracked. Cool for 3 minutes before removing to wire racks to cool completely. Drizzle with melted white chocolate. Yield: about 5 dozen

Thumbprints

This is the original recipe given to me by a friend of a friend. I almost always at least double it...sometimes triple depending on the size of the crowd. The original recipe only makes 12 cookies.

1/2 c. Shortening
1/4 c. Brown Sugar
1 egg, separated
1/2 tsp vanilla
1 c. flour
1/4 tsp salt
3/4 c. finely chopped nuts
confectioners sugar
butter
jar of maraschino cherries, save the juice

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Mix shortening, sugar, egg yolk and vanilla until blended.

Blend flour and salt. Add into wet mixture. Roll dough into 1" balls.

Beat egg white slightly with a fork. Dip dough balls into egg whites and roll in nuts. Place 1" apart on ungreased cookie sheet. Press thumb gently into the center of each cookie.

Bake 10-12 minutes or until set. Let cool completely.

Meanwhile, make an icing out of butter, confectioners sugar and maraschino cherry juice. There are no measurements on this one. You'll have to eyeball it. NOTE: add the juice slowly. You will need much less juice than you may think.

Fill each thumbprint hole with tinted icing and top with 1/2 of a cherry, curved side up.

Angie's Green Bean Casserole

This recipe came from my friend Angie. The measurements aren't exact so you have to eye-ball it. It was really, really yummy. I'm going to try it with the homemade cream of mushroom soup I posted on here.

1-2 bags of frozen organic green beans
one box of trader joe's cream of mushroom soup
a little milk or water
salt and pepper
1/2 can of trader joes fried onions.

Mix the ingredients together and bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes.

Easy Stir Fry Sauce

*originally from food.com

This was super easy to make, and it can store in the fridge, too. I used this with frozen stir-fry veggies and served over pasta. Yummy!

In a large jar with a lid, add:

2-3 T cornstarch
1/4 c. brown sugar
1/4 t. ground ginger or a bit of fresh minced ginger
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1/2 cup soy sauce or tamari soy sauce
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar or white wine vinegar
1/2 cup water
1 1/2 cups broth (any kind)

Put on the lid and shake well. To use, stir fry the veggies and/or meat and then add sauce (I used about 1/3 - 1/2 of what the recipe made). Bring to boil, boil for 1 minute until slightly thickened.

Homemade Cream of _____ Soup Substitute - Dairy Free

I know at least one of you had asked for this recipe, and I am adding it here so I can find it again in the future. It is SO yummy and easy to make. It also uses ingredients that I usually have in my house. I used this to make a dairy-free chicken and rice casserole, and it was delicious. Just to kind of creamy comfort food that I miss on our dairy-free diet. Can be gluten free if you use a gluten-free flour.

The original recipe is for Cream of Chicken, but if you look at the end, there are notes for making Cream of Mushroom or Cream of Celery, too.

Originally from mywisemom.com

Ingredients (yields 4 cups, approx 2 cans)

• 2-1/2 cups organic chicken broth
• 1-1/2 cup almond milk
• 3/4 cups flour (gluten-free, if needed)
• 1 teaspoon real salt
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon parsley
• 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/2 teaspoon oregano
• 1/4 teaspoon basil
• 1/4 cup cooked mushrooms (optional)
• 1/4 cup cooked celery (optional)

Instructions

1. Combine the chicken broth with 1/2 cup of the almond milk in a large saucepan. Bring to a low boil.
2. Whisk the flour and seasonings into the remaining cup milk until smooth. The mixture will be thick.
3. Pour the milk/flour/seasoning mixture into the broth mixture in the saucepan and reduce heat to low. Stir/whisk continuously as it simmers to avoid lumps.
4. Continue whisking 5-10 minutes until the mixture is smooth and thick.

For cream of mushroom, add 1/4 cup cooked mushrooms after the mixture is taken off the stove, before it thickens.For cream of celery, add 1/4 cup diced, cooked celery pieces after the mixture is taken off the stove, before it thickens.

Bread Pudding with Salted Caramel Bourbon Sauce

This is the recipe we had to celebrate P's birthday. It is originally from my recipes.com. I tripled the recipe for the birthday dinner (7 adults, 6 kids), but we ended up having about 3/4 of a pan left.

Bread pudding:5 cups (1/2-inch) cubed French bread (about 8 ounces)
1 cup evaporated fat-free milk 
3/4 cup 1% low-fat milk (I used almond milk since that's what we had)
1/3 cup granulated sugar 
2 tablespoons bourbon
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
2 large eggs

Sauce:
3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
3 tablespoons bourbon
1 tablespoon unsalted butter 
6 tablespoons half-and-half, divided 
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/8 teaspoon kosher salt
Cooking spray 
Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 350°.

2. To prepare bread pudding, arrange bread in a single layer on a baking sheet. Bake at 350° for 8 minutes or until lightly toasted. (I did this ahead of time)

3. Combine evaporated milk and next 7 ingredients (through eggs) in a large bowl; stir with a whisk. Add bread cubes. Let stand 20 minutes, occasionally pressing on bread to soak up milk. (I did this ahead of time... but I wouldn't recommend transporting it!)

4. To prepare sauce, combine brown sugar, 3 tablespoons bourbon, and butter in a small saucepan over medium-high heat; bring to a boil. Simmer 2 minutes or until sugar dissolves, stirring frequently. Stir in 5 tablespoons half-and-half; simmer 10 minutes or until reduced to about 1 cup. Remove pan from heat. Stir in remaining 1 tablespoon half-and-half, 1 teaspoon vanilla, and 1/8 teaspoon salt. Keep warm.

5. Spoon half of bread mixture into a 9 x 5–inch loaf pan coated with cooking spray. Drizzle 3 tablespoons sauce over bread mixture. Spoon remaining half of bread mixture over sauce. Bake at 350° for 45 minutes or until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean. Serve warm sauce with bread pudding.