Veggie, Lentil & Barley Skillet

My cousin Aubrey made this when she had a party at her house and I'll admit at first I was skeptical because I hadn't had lentils very often and wasn't sure I liked them enough to make a main course out of them.  But this is delicious, healthy, filling, vegetarian, and pretty easy to make.  And you will have tons left over if you're not serving it to a crowd, trust me!

Ingredients:

• 1 TBS olive oil
• 1 cup dried lentils, sorted and rinsed
• 1 large carrot, sliced
• 1 onion, chopped
• 3/4 cup quick cooking barley
• 1 tsp dried basil
• 1/2 tsp ground pepper
• 2 cans (14 oz each) vegetable broth, low sodium if you want
• 1 medium green pepper, chopped
• 1 medium celery stalk, sliced
• 1 cup frozen corn, or 1 can of corn
• 1 can diced tomatoes with Italian herbs, undrained

In a large skillet (the largest you have is recommended, this makes A LOT) heat olive oil over medium heat.  Add lentils, carrot and onion, cook 5 minutes, stirring frequently.

Add barley, basil, pepper and broth.  Bring to a boil then reduce heat to medium-low, cover and let simmer for 20 minutes or until lentils are tender but still firm.

Stir in all remaining ingredients.  Increase heat a little, cover and simmer 10-15 minutes or until lentils and vegetables are tender and liquid is almost absorbed, stirring occasionally. 

Serve sprinkled with parmesan or mozzarella cheese.

The recipe says it makes 6 servings.  But I'd venture to say we got 8-10 servings out of it (depending on serving size of course).

Nutritional facts:  (this is from the original recipe, so based on 1 serving of 6)
225 calories, 3 g fat, 700 mg sodium (unless you use the low sodium broth), 13 g fiber, 6 g sugar, 12 g protein.

Vanilla Bean Scones

I decided to make these because they are my husband's favorite breakfast treat from Starbucks!!  They are excellent right out of the oven, or re-heated for 15 seconds in the microwave the next morning...

Ingredients:

• 2 1/4 cups flour
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 8 TBS cold unsalted butter cut into cubes
• 1/2 cup heavy cream or half & half
• 1 vanilla pod, beans scraped (slice lengthwise, scrape out with edge of knife)
• 1 egg
• egg wash (1 egg beaten with 1 TBS water)
• coarse sugar

Preheat oven to 400 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.  In a small bowl with pouring spout or similar, add the half & half and vanilla seeds, let them sit 5 minutes.  

In a large bowl combine flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt.  

Add the cold butter cubes and mix with a pastry blender or your hands to break the butter up into smaller pieces, evenly distributed throughout dry ingredients.  

Add your egg to the half & half vanilla bean mixture and whisk to combine.  

Add to dry mixture and stir to combine. 

Lightly flour a work surface and dump dough out onto it.  Shape into a rectangle that's about 3/4 inches thick.  

Cut the scones into triangles and place on lined baking sheet.  

Brush with egg wash and sprinkle with course sugar.  

Bake 17-18 minutes or until golden brown.

Serve warm with coffee!

Nutritional facts: 275 calories, 12.5 g fat, 74 g sodium, 11 g sugar, 5.5 g protein.

recipe inspired by: www.laurainthekitchen.com

Willow's Honey Bread

The little girl I babysit for got in the car one day after school carrying this bread fresh from the oven at school.  She had made it with her teacher that day as a special project.  It smelled SO GOOD I could hardly drive the 15 minutes home without tearing into it!  We ate almost the whole loaf when we got home, and it was truly the best tasting bread I've ever had.  It has a sweetness to it from the honey that is so delicious by itself or with butter on it.

Ingredients:

• 2 cups warm-hot water (microwave for 45 seconds- 1 min)
• 1/3 cup olive oil (or any oil)
• 1/3 cup honey 
• 3 1/2 tsp quick acting yeast
• 1-2 tsp salt
• 5 cups flour (any combo of all purpose or whole wheat or bread flour), plus more for work surface and hands

In a large bowl, mix together water, olive oil, honey, salt, and yeast.

TIP:  If you measure out the oil first, then use the same 1/2 cup with the oil residue in it for measuring your honey, the honey will pour out much easier into the bowl!

Add 5 cups of flour, stirring with a wooden spoon.  Dump out onto floured surface and knead until elastic and no longer sticky, adding flour if necessary.  Form into a ball and put in oiled bowl to rise. Cover with towel and set inside oven (turned off).  Allow to rise for 2 hours.

After dough has risen, punch it down to get the air out and knead for another minute to be sure there is no air still... 

Divide into 2 equal parts and put into loaf pans.  Cover and allow to rise again as your oven preheats to 350.

Bake at 350 for 40-45 minutes.

Mom's Baked Ziti

Always a favorite I make for company!

Ingredients:

• 16 oz box of ziti or similar pasta
• 2 jars of tomato sauce (24 oz each), any variety you like
• 1  15 oz container part skim ricotta cheese
• 2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
• 1 egg, beaten
• grated parmesan for top

Cook pasta as directed on box, drain.

Preheat oven to 375.

Mix beaten egg, ricotta cheese, 1 jar of sauce plus 1/4 of the second jar, and 1.5 cups of shredded mozzarella and the drained pasta in a large bowl.

Pour some of the remaining sauce in the bottom of dish, spread the ziti mixture on top.

Top with the rest of the sauce, and the remaining mozzarella, then sprinkle with parmesan cheese.  Bake covered for 30 minutes or until hot and bubbly.

Sorry I forgot to take an after baking picture so just imagine the cheese all melted and bubbling!

Dijon Breaded Chicken with Roasted Cauliflower

Make these and you'll never want to buy pre-made chicken tenders again!

Ingredients:

• Boneless skinless chicken breast or tenderloins
• 1-2 eggs (depending on how much chicken you're making)
• 2 TBS dijon mustard
• 1/2 cup flour
• 1 cup panko bread crumbs
• 1/2 cup parmesan cheese

Cut the chicken breast into small strips if necessary, or to whatever size you want.  Set up 3 wide shallow bowls, first with flour, second with the egg & dijon mustard mixture, third with the breadcrumb & parmesan cheese mixture.  Dip, turn, dip, turn, dip turn... plop in a skillet!

Cook on medium high heat for about 8 minutes on each side, or until chicken is done!

For roasted cauliflower you'll need:

• 1 head of cauliflower cut into florets
• 3 TBS olive oil
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1/2 cup panko bread crumbs
• 1/4 cup parmesan cheese
• 2.5 TBS butter, melted

Preheat oven to 400.  Spread cauliflower on a large sheet pan and drizzle with olive oil.  Stir to coat evenly.  Add salt & pepper as desired.  Roast for 20 minutes, stirring halfway through.  

Put breadcrumbs and parmesan in a small bowl and pour the melted butter over top and toss to combine.  

When cauliflower is done roasting, put into a medium sized baking dish, such as an 8x8 square.  Spread the breadcrumb mixture on top.  Roast for 5 -8 min more or until the breadcrumbs are a golden brown on top.