Lentil Chili

Based on the recipe from two peas and their pod

Ingredients:

1 medium onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 jalapeño, diced, seeds removed
1 red pepper, chopped
1 yellow pepper, chopped
1 large carrot, peeled and diced







**I substituted about a cup of frozen mirepoix mix I had in the freezer**


2 1/2 cups vegetable broth (Water and bullion, I used beef)
2 (15 oz) cans tomato sauce (1 can and 1 can water and some tomato paste)
2 (15 oz) cans diced tomatoes
1 (16 oz) bag brown lentils, rinsed ( I buy them in bulk so I used 2 cups of lentils)
2 (15 oz) cans small red beans, rinsed and drained (I had one large can)
2-3 tablespoons chili powder (I used 2 tablespoons)
1 tablespoon cumin
Salt and black pepper, to taste

Red pepper flakes, crushed to taste

I used my Instant pot to get dinner ready fast.

Saute the onion, carrots and celery mixture in the pot with a little oil, salt and pepper.
After they look softened and start to break down, add the spices to toast them and give them a better flavor.
Add the water and make sure to scrape the browned bits off the bottom of the pot.

Add the diced tomatoes, If you have picky kids like mine, now is the time to whip out the immersion blender and get rid of all of the lumps that they will pick out later.  Just blend until most of the tomatoes, onions and carrots are broken down.

Sort through the lentils and rinse them then add to the pot, also add the rinsed red beans
Add the tomato sauce, paste, and the bullion, stir to combine.

Place lid on the pot and make sure it locks and the vent is set to pressure.

Cook on manual at high pressure for 6 min. While it's cooking is a good time to make the cornbread.

After the timer goes off, allow it to sit for at least 10 minutes then flip open the vent valve and allow the rest of the pressure to escape.

Serve hot with cornbread or tortillas.

Easy Corn Bread (Gluten Free)

From the back of the Quaker cornmeal package.

2 1/2 c all purpose flour (I used 1 c brown rice flour, 1 1/2 c white rice flour + 1 t xanthan gum)
1 1/2 c cornmeal
1/2 c sugar
4 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt (optional, but I did put it in)
2 c milk
1/2 c vegetable oil
2 eggs
3 T butter (optional)

Heat oven to 400.
Grease a 9x13 pan (I melted butter in the pan, so no need to grease)
Combine dry ingredients, stir in the milk oil and eggs.
If desired, melt the 3 T butter in the the pan, then place the mixture in the prepared pan.
Bake 20-25 minutes or until light golden brown.

The Most Amazing Pizza Crust

The Most Amazing Pizza Crust

From: The Pioneer Woman

(MAKES TWO CRUSTS):

1 teaspoon Instant Yeast
4 cups All-purpose Flour
1 teaspoon Kosher Salt
⅓ cups Extra Virgin Olive or Canola Oil
1 1/2 c warm water

Mix Yeast, 2 c flour, 1/2 c oil. Add the water, mix well. Allow to rest for 20 min. Add salt and remaining 2 c flour mix until just combined. The dough will be sticky. At this point the dough can be used or placed in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.

When ready to bake, preheat oven and stone to 500. Prepare crust on parchment paper or greased foil. Do not remove dough from parchment, it will allow easy transfer to the oven and back out again. Prebake crust (naked) for 3-5 minutes to make a crispier crust and avoid soggy spots. Top with your choice of toppings and bake until crispy and browned.

Dough also works well for scones.

Taco Seasoning Mix

Taco Seasoning Mix Bulk

Yield: 3/4 cups
Total time: 10 min
Source: Recipe Zaar #4292 (heavily modified)

1/4 cup dried onions, minced
1/4 cup chili powder
1 tablespoon salt
4 teaspoons cornstarch
1 tablespoon dried garlic, minced
1 tablespoon cumin, ground
1 tablespoon red pepper flakes, crushed --(optional)
2 teaspoons beef bouillon granules
1 1/2 teaspoons dried oregano
1/2 t paprika - optional
1 t season salt - optional
2 t sweet pepper and garlic blend - optional if using this, reduce the garlic (unless you like a stronger garlic flavor)
1-2 t dehydrated tomato powder - optional
2 t dried cilantro - optional
2-3 t black pepper - optional

Combine the ingredients.
Store in an airtight container in a cool dry place for up to 1 year.
Add 2 Tablespoons to 1 lb cooked and drained beef and 1/3-1/2 cup water and cook until done.



Nutritional facts (daily value): Calories 192kcal; Protein 6g (12%); Total Fat 7g (10%)(Sat. 1g (5%)); Chol. 0mg (0%); Carb. 37g (12%); Fiber 12g (49%); Sugars 4g; Calcium 192mg (19%); Iron 9mg (51%)
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       Exported from Shop'NCook Menu 3.4.3 (http://www.shopncook.com)

Three Cheese Enchiladas

Three Cheese Enchiladas

1/2 c      Vegetable oil
8            Tortillas (you may need more if you are using corn tortillas)
1 1/2 c   Sour Cream
4 oz       Cream Cheese
2 1/2 c   Meat (Beef, Chicken, Pork, Turkey) - Shredded
1 c         Cheddar Cheese -Shredded
2 c         Monterey Jack Cheese- Shredded  (OR a bagged blend totaling 3 c)
1/4 c      Chopped Green Onions- Optional
1/2 t       Salt
1/2-1 t    Cumin
1 can      Enchilada Sauce (10 oz) Green or Red or Christmas (1/2 Green & 1/2 Red)

Heat Oven to 350

In a large bowl, stir together Sour Cream and Cream Cheese until smooth. Stir in Meat, cheddar cheese 1c Monterey Jack Cheese, green onions, salt and cumin.  Set aside.

In a large skillet, heat oil over medium heat, 2-3 minutes. With tongs, dip each tortilla in hot oil, coating lightly. (For flour tortillas, I often skip this step. For corn- this is a must, they will crack and break otherwise.)

Place 1/2 c meat mixture in the center of each tortilla, roll up. Place in a baking dish (or aluminum pan if you are planning on freezing for later), seam side down.

You may need more or less mixture in each tortilla, it depends on how full you prefer your enchiladas.

Bake for 15 minutes. (or cover well and freeze for an easy meal later)

Pour enchilada sauce over tortillas, spread to cover. Continue baking for 12-15 minutes or until heated through. Sprinkle with remaining cheese. Continue baking 1-2 minutes or until the cheese is melted.

If you freeze these, allow them to thaw in the refrigerator overnight or- cover with foil and place in a 250-30o degree oven until they are hot, then follow directions above.

I never add the green onions, Heather adds olives- Make them your own and add your favorite ingredients.

I also never use the individual cheeses, I always have bags of mexican cheese blend in my freezer so that's what I use.

To get your cooked meat, use leftovers- cook a little extra chicken when you grill on the weekend, use up the rotisserie chicken that was for dinner, some shredded pot roast would be great and what about some thanksgiving enchiladas?

From the Land O Lakes cookbook (the only recipe I use in this book- it now opens to the right page automatically)

Delicious White Bread

Delicious White Bread

6 c bread flour (I use all-pupous)
3 T Sugar
1-2 T Yeast (I use instant-saf yeast)
2 c water- Very hot (as hot as you can get from the tap)
1/4 c
2 t Salt

In the mixer combine 2c flour, sugar, and yeast. Mix.
Add the hot water and the oil. Mix.
Allow to sit for around 10 min as the  mixture expands (this counts as the first rise).
slowly add the remaining flour, mixing as you go. You may or may not need all the listed flour. when the dough looks smooth and elastic, stop adding flour and allow to mix for 10 min.
Shape into 2 loaves or a bunch of rolls or use it for Pizza Roll-ups (which of course I modify and use pepperoni, sausage and parmesan with the mozzarella)


Bake at 375
For loaves 40-60 minutes
For Rolls 15-20 minutes
For Pizza Roll-ups 15-25 minutes

This recipe is from the back of a huge bag of flour I bought right after I got married. I used up the flour and saved the recipe and have been making it ever since. I try other recipes and always end up coming back to this one.

Overnight Danish

Ingredients:

 2 envelopes yeast (5 t)
1/3 C sugar

½ C warm water

4 C flour

2 t salt

1 C cold butter, cut into 1 inch pieces

1 C milk

4 egg yolks

1 egg white, slightly beaten

1 ½ C jam or preserves (or pie filling) 

Directions:

8-24 hours before baking:

Stir 1 t sugar into water and add yeast.  

In a 4 quart mixing bowl, mix flour, remaining sugar and salt.  Add Butter, cutting into the flour with 2 knives or a pastry blender until the mix looks like cornmeal.  

Add milk, egg yolks, and yeast mixture.  Stir with a spoon to make soft dough.

Cover and refrigerate 8-24 hours.

Cut into 24 pieces, roll and coil (loosley) on pan.  Brush with egg white

Let rise 25 minutes or until puffy.  

Make a depression in the middle and place 1-2 t jelly in each center.

Brush with egg white again and bake at 350° 15-20 minutes or until golden brown.

Optional: The kids really like a simple glaze drizzled over the top of these while they are still warm.

Serving Suggestions:

These have always received rave reviews in our family.  Remember- the jam or jelly is extremely hot when it comes out 

Loose coils on the pan:

Filled with jelly and ready to bake:

Ready to Enjoy!

Cheerio Bars

• The ingredients

2/3 c Karo Syrup

1 c brown sugar

1 c peanut butter

6 1/2 c cheerios

• Mix the Karo and the brown sugar in a heavy sauce pan, heat until it starts to bubble around the edges.

Remove from heat and add the peanut butter. Stir well.

Add the cheerios, or pour the mixture over the cheerios in a large bowl and mix well.

If desired add in chocolate chips towards the end so they don't melt.(too much)

If you want your 9x13 to bee this full, make a double batch

These got a thumbs up from Adam

Jackie's Super Soak

I have no idea who Jackie is, but this is how I got the recipe and it is working great

Jackie's Super Soak

1 C generic dishwasher detergent

1 C Purex colorsafe bleach (this is so much cheaper than biz or clorox)

5 Gallon bucket

Put both powders in the bucket.

Add hot water from the tap to dissolve the detergent.

Allow to cool

Add clothes as they become spotted

On wash day pour into the washer

optional- add a little soap

wash as normal

Check for stains before drying you don't want to set in anything stubborn.

Linen Spray

From The Grocery Cart Challenge

Homemade Linen Spray

1 teaspoon of essential oil (a popular scent is lavender but we don't really care for it. A nice fresh scent is jasmine and I really like mango oil for a light fruity scent.)

1/4 cup of witch hazel (you can substitute this with vodka, cetyl alcohol or stearyl alcohol)

3 1/2 cups of water

I used an old hairspray bottle with a pump spray and just washed it out. Then I poured in all the ingredients and gave it a good shake. Just spray on your sheets every morning when you make the bed. You can use this on tablecloths or any linens. It dries quickly and leaves a wonderful scent that smells so good when you turn down your sheets at night.

The witch hazel or alcohol is used as an emulsifier to keep the oil and water from separating. You can make it without, but you'll need to shake it very well to get it to mix together without leaving oily spots. I recommend using the emulsifier.

Febreeze

Homemade Febreeze...

2-4 Tablespoons fabric softener ( I use my homemade stuff that can be used as a liquid or dryer sheet)

25 ounces of water

My old Febreeze bottle or another spray bottle

The Grocery Cart Challenge

Homemade Dryer Sheets

Again, from The Grocery Cart Challenge

Homemade Dryer Sheets

2 cups of water

1 cup of vinegar

2/3 cups of any hair conditioner

Mix in spray bottle and stir. Don’t shake, this will cause foaming. Soak a cloth rag and ring it out until slightly damp. Then throw it into the dryer with your load of clothes.

This can also be used as a liquid fabric softener in the rinse cycle.

I use dollar store conditioner so this mixture costs me just a bit over a dollar to make. I've been able to get almost 50 loads out of one batch. I keep this stored in a tupperware container by my dryer with the rag already in it so all I have to do is squeeze and add it to the load in the dryer.

Simple and cheap with none of the wax from the store bought sheets that wear your clothes out.

Oxy Clean

Again, Not to be taken internally but this works great!!

I modified it a little, I Spray the Hydrogen Peroxide on the offending garment, sprinkle with baking soda and allow to sit. The next morning or latter that day I throw the clothes in the washer and wash as normal. Most organic stains have been coming out with this mix. Thanks to The Grocery Cart Challenge for the recipe.

Homemade OxyClean

(as a pretreater)

1 cup water

1/2 cup hydrogen peroxide

1/2 cup baking soda

Mix together and soak laundry in it for 20 minutes to overnight and then wash as usual. Or you can just skip the water and pour the peroxide and baking soda directly into the wash with your laundry soap and wash as usual.

Powdered Laundry Soap

So this is not to be taken internally, but it is a recipe none the less and I didn't want to lose it and have to hunt it down again.

This is from one of the groups I am in and it is followed by the chemistry of why it works.

Powdered Laundry Soap

Here's the recipe:

1 55 oz. box Arm & Hammer Super Washing Soda

1/2 cup Mule Team Borax

2 Cups Oxygen Cleaner-She recommends Sun ($5 @ Dollar General)

1/2 cup Simple Green--I USED HOLY COW MYSELF--later in the thread she said

the any multi purpose cleaner will do.

1/2 cup Calgon Water Softening Powder (or one capful liquid)

Empty all into a bucket and mix together with your hands. Use 1 heaping

scoop (like in the oxygen cleaner) for diapers, 2 scoops for regular

laundry.

The detergent must be dissolved in HOT water before adding to the

washer (it's too abrasive on fabrics if it isn't).....so I bought a

pitcher, I fill it half full with HOT water, add a scoop of detergent and

use a wisk to mix until dissolved, then pour it in the washer.

If you can't find Washing Soda - Call 1-800-524-1328. They can tell you

where to find it locally, or you can order directly from them.

If you can't find the powdered Calgon, use a capful of liquid, but you'll

have to add a box of baking soda to counter act the extra liquid.

So, how and why does it work.....the chemist had to explain.

Washing Soda (Sodium Carbonate)- Strong enough to actually change organic

compounds (food, grass, etc) and keeps them suspended in the water so they can

easily be washed away. It is a naturally occurring compound free from

enzymes, dyes, and perfumes, and is the main ingredient in most powdered

laundry detergents.

Calgon - Softens water and, therefore, prohibits buildup of minerals on fabrics that is common in hard water. If you have especially hard water, you may need to add some Calgon Water Softener to each load (1/3 of what it says on the package)

Borax - whitens and brightens without phosphates and enzymes. Borax is too

harsh, both to fabric and sensitive skin to be used in large amounts, and

tends to not rinse out well. Less is more with Borax in laundry. (makes and

excellent household cleaner, though)

Oxygen Cleaner - stain remover and whitener. Oxygen cleaners do not react

well with extremely hard water and will add to scum build up. If you have

extremely hard water, as noted above, add additional water softener.

Simple Green - Provides the necessary surfactants- to lessen the water

tension and allow the detergent to become a part of the water and actually

get into the clothes. I'm not sure if I understand that, but I'll take her

word for it.

Spinach Salad

We had this Sunday at Mercede's Birthday party, and Hannah wanted the recipe on the site.

Spinach Salad

1 bag baby spinach

1-2 heads romaine

2 small cans mandarin oranges

2 c swiss cheese, grated

1/2 lb cooked bacon, cut into 1/2 inch pieces

poppy seed dressing

Optional- sliced strawberries

De-vein and clean the spinach and romaine. Tear them into bite size pieces.

Just before serving toss all the ingredients together in a bowl.

Make sure you get some before Adam eats it all. ( He loves this salad and requests it whenever we are asked to bring a salad to a function)

Poppy Seed Dressing

1/4 c. white vinegar

1/2 C. sugar

1/2 to 1 t. dry mustard

2T Dried onions or to taste

1 T Poppy Seeds or to taste

1/2 C. good olive oil (or canola oil)

Combine in blender and mix until smooth. I always taste for the sugar and adjust accordingly. Pour on salad and toss. It will keep, refrigerated, for severaI days.

I learned this recipe from Tammy, and it has been served often at weddings (can you say bags and bags of spinach?), showers, and many family dinners.

Chocolate Sheet Cake

Chocolate Sheet Cake

• 2 c. sugar
• 2 1/2 c. flour
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 2 eggs
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1 c. hot water
• 1 tsp. soda
• 3 Tbsp. cocoa
• 1 c. oil
• 1 c. buttermilk (I use 1 Tbsp. vinegar + 1 c. milk, mix and let sit for a few minutes)
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• a few drops of red food coloring (I omit this when my family will be eating the cake, but it does give it a rich color)

Dissolve soda in hot water. Add all ingredients to a large bowl. Mix till batter is smooth. Pour into greased and floured (I just spray mine with non-stick spray) 10 1/2 x 15 cookie sheet pan. Bake at 350° for 30 minutes. Spread with icing while hot.

Icing

• 1/2 cup butter or margarine
• 2 Tbsp. cocoa
• 3 Tbsp. milk
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• powdered sugar

Melt margarine in a saucepan. Mix in cocoa and milk until well blended. Remove from heat. Add vanilla and enough sifted powdered sugar (this is one time I do make the effort to sift… I don’t want lumpy icing) until icing is creamy and a good spreading consistency.

From: The Finer Things in Life

Apple Oatmeal Muffins

1 pkg white or yellow cake mix

1-2 c quick cooking oats

2 t ground cinnamon

1/2 t baking powder

3 eggs

1 3/4 c chopped peeled apples (I don't add these, I tried them the first time and the kids spent the whole time trying to pick out all the apples)

1 1/3 c milk

1/4 c melted butter

1/4 c applesauce (if using apples, delete applesauce and increase butter to 1/2 cup)

Mix all the dry ingredients in a bowl. In a well in the center mix all the wet ingredients and then incorporate the wet into the dry.

Spoon into prepared muffin tins

Bake at 350

20-25 min regular muffins

9-11 min for mini muffins

By the way: If you double the recipe and make mini muffins, be prepared for slightly less than six million muffins!

From: Cake Mix Magic

Eggs a La Goldenrod

Every Easter this is a must for our family. It's usually a little more technicolor from using dyed eggs, but the dyes didn't seem to go through the shells as much this year. This version of the recipe makes a much smaller batch than I have ever made, but you get the general idea.

SERVES 3 -4

• 6 hard-boiled eggs
• 2 cups milk
• 4 tablespoons butter
• 4 tablespoons flour
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 8 slices bread, toasted

1. Melt butter, add flour and stir until the mixture is smooth and well blended.
2. Add milk very slowly stirring as you add.
3. Continue to stir and cook over a low heat.
4. Cook until the mixture starts to thicken.
5. Add salt and pepper to mixture and set aside.
6. Peel boiled eggs and remove the yolks from the eggs.
7. Chop the whites of the eggs and add them to the white sauce.
8. Toast bread and slice it diagonally.
9. Arrange the bread slices on a plate and pour the sauce over the toast.
10. Take a grater and grate the egg yolks over the sauce.
11. Serve warm.

From Recipe Zaar #216201