Lentil Soup

3 T olive oil
3 medium carrots, diced
3 medium celery stalks, diced
1 large onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
8 cups water
2 cups lentils
1 15-oz can tomatoes
1 t dried thyme
1 1/2 t balsamic vinegar
2 t salt

Cook carrots, celery, onion, and garlic in the olive oil until tender, about five to ten minutes. Stir in water, lentils, tomatoes, and thyme, bring to a boil, and reduce the heat. Simmer until the lentils are soft, about 30-45 minutes. Stir in the salt and vinegar, and serve.

Christmas Mix (aka Christmas Crack)

2 cups each Cheerios, Rice Chex, Crispex, Kix
12 oz bag holiday M&Ms
10 oz bag pretzel sticks broken in half
1.5 lb white chocolate

Melt white chocolate, pour over other ingredients, mix, spread out to cool.

Clam Chowder

1 cup chopped onion
3 cups diced potatoes
1 bottle (8 ounces) clam juice
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
2 cans (approximately 7 ounces each) minced clams
3 tablespoons flour
2 cups half-and-half
1 cup milk

Preparation:
Sauté onion in some butter until softened. Add potatoes and clam juice, salt, and pepper. Cover and simmer for about 15 minutes, or until potatoes are tender. Remove from heat. Add minced clams with their liquid. Whisk flour into milk; add to chowder with half-and-half. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until clam chowder thickens and bubbles, or about 3 minutes.

Black Beans and Rice

2 cups cooked black beans
1 15-oz can diced tomatoes (with chilies is good) or some salsa
1 1/2 cup rice (I always use brown)
2 3/4 cups water

Mix together in a rice cooker, and let it cook. When it's done, eat with sour cream or plain yogurt, lime wedges, tortilla chips, cilantro, and avocado. It always surprises me how good this is.

Raw Cranberry Relish

1 navel orange
1/2 cup sugar
1 12-oz bag cranberries

Cut orange into wedges (keep the skin on). Place in a food processor and pulse until roughly chopped. Add the cranberries and sugar and pulse until finely chopped but not pureed. Transfer to a serving bowl. Cover and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes and up to 24 hours.

Butternut Squash Couscous

1 small butternut squash
Olive oil
1/2 cup chopped green onions
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 1/2 cup chicken broth
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 cup frozen peas
1 cup couscous
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1/4 cup raisins
2 tablespoons cilantro
1/4 cup pumpkin seeds

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Peel butternut squash, scoop out the seeds, and cut the meat of the squash into tiny cubes. Toss squash with olive oil and bake for approximately 15 minutes. Remove from oven and add the onions and garlic. Toss together, return to oven, and bake for about five minutes more, or until the squash is tender.

In a saucepan, place the chicken broth, chili powder, nutmeg, and cinnamon; bring to a boil. Add the peas, reduce to medium heat, and cook for 6-8 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in couscous, soy sauce, and squash mixture. Cover and allow to sit for 10 minutes. Uncover, add raisins, cilantro, and pumpkin seeds. Fluff with a fork and serve.

Conference Cinnamon Rolls

1 cup warm milk
2 eggs, room temperature
1/3 cup melted butter
4 1/2 cups flour
1 t salt
1/2 cup sugar
2 1/2 t yeast

1 cup brown sugar, packed
2 1/2 t ground cinnamon
1/3 cup butter, softened

3 oz cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup butter, softened
1 1/2 cups confectioners sugar
1/2 t vanilla
1/8 t salt

Place first seven ingredients in bread machine, select dough cycle, and start. When it finishes rising, turn it out onto a lightly floured surface, cover, and let rest for 10 minutes.

Mix brown sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl. Roll dough into a 16x21 inch rectangle. Spread dough with 1/3 cup butter and sprinkle evenly with sugar/cinnamon mixture. Roll up dough as tightly as you can and cut into 12 rolls. Place rolls in a lightly greased 9x13 pan. Cover and let rise until nearly doubled, about 30 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Bake rolls in preheated oven until golden brown, about 15 minutes. While rolls are baking, beat together remaining ingredients. Spread frosting on warm rolls before serving.

Middle Eastern Rice and Lentils

1/2 medium onion, chopped
1 T olive oil
1 cup brown rice
1 T tomato paste
2 1/2 cups water
1/4 t cinnamon
1/4 cup lentils
1 t salt
1/2 cup raisins
1/2 cup chopped walnuts, slivered almonds, or pine nuts

In a large saucepan, sautee the onion in the oil until soft. Add the rice and cook and stir for a few minutes until it is toasted. Add the water, tomato paste, cinnamon, and lentils. Bring to a boil, then turn down the heat, cover, and simmer for 30 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 350 degrees. Stir the salt, raisins, and nuts into the rice. It should still be a little watery, add 1/4 cup water if it's dry. Place in a greased 9x13 pan, cover with foil, and bake for another 20-30 minutes. Serve with a salad.

Tortilla Soup

1 T olive oil
4 cloves garlic
1 t chili powder
2 cans diced tomatoes with juice
3-4 cups cooked black beans
1 can chicken broth
1 package frozen corn
1 cup crushed tortilla chips
1 T fresh lime juice
sour cream

Heat oil, cook garlic and chili powder until fragrant, about one minute. Add tomatoes, beans, broth, corn, 1 cup water, and salt to taste. Bring to a boil and reduce to a simmer. Add tortilla chips and cook about 2 minutes more. Remove from heat and stir in the lime juice. Serve with more chips, extra lime juice, and a dollop of sour cream.

Split Pea Soup

2 cups split peas
2 cups ham
3 medium carrots, chopped
2 ribs celery, chopped
1 medium onion, chopped
2 t sugar
1/4 cup parsley
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 bay leaf
6 cups hot water
salt and pepper to taste

Add ingredients in order given to crock pot. Do not stir. Cover and cook on low 8-10 hours or on high 4-5 hours. Serve with corn bread.

Pizza dough

1 1/2 cup warm water
2 T olive oil
4 1/4 cup flour (I use whole wheat)
2 t salt
2 t sugar
2 t yeast

Mix all ingredients on dough cycle in bread machine. Makes two pizza crusts.

Sweet Potato Souffle

4 cups sweet potatoes, cooked and mashed about 3.5 sweet potatoes)
8 oz cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup butter, softened
2 eggs, beaten
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 t salt
1/2 t nutmeg

Preheat oven to 350. To cook the sweet potatoes, boil with the skins on about 45-50 minutes until easily pierced with a fork. Let cool, and the skins easily slip off. With electric mixer whip all ingredients except nutmeg until light. Put into a buttered casserole. Spread evenly, and sprinkle nutmeg on top. Bake 45 minutes until golden. Double the recipe for baking in one 9x13 pan. (Yes, that means you would use an entire stick of butter and two packages of cream cheese. Hey, it's good.)

Honey Banana Poppyseed Bread

2/3 cup warm water
1 1/2 T butter or vegetable oil
1/4 cup honey
1 egg
1/2 t vanilla
3 cups whole wheat flour
1 banana, sliced
2 t poppy seeds
1 t salt
2 t yeast

Put all ingredients in a bread machine, wet ingrdients first. Use the dough setting on the bread machine to knead and rise the dough. When it's done, break the dough in two pieces and turn it out into two loaf pans. Let it rise again, then bake at 350 for about 35 minutes.

Baked Ziti

8 oz. UNCOOKED ziti
1.5 cups water
26 oz. spaghetti sauce
15 oz. ricotta
.5 c mozzarella

Combine all ingredients in casserole dish, cover, and cook at 375 for an hour. Put a little more mozzarella on top and return to oven until it melts.

Asian Chicken Slaw

1 (16-ounce) bag coleslaw mix
1 pound cooked chicken, shredded
Assorted vegetables (broccoli, carrots, red peppers, peas)
1 cup sliced scallions
1/2 cup chopped cashews (optional)

Dressing:

1/4 cup soy sauce
2 tablespoons white vinegar
2 tablespoons peanut butter
1 tablespoon sugar
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon freshly grated ginger
1/2 cup canola oil
1 tablespoon sesame oil

In a large bowl, toss together the vegetables.

In a medium bowl, stir the soy sauce, vinegar, peanut butter, sugar, minced garlic, and grated ginger until well blended. Slowly whisk in the canola oil and sesame oil. Season the mixture with salt and pepper to taste.

Beef stew

1-2 lbs stew beef
1 28-oz canned tomatoes
1 bag frozen peas and/or green beans
6 carrots
3-5 potatoes, cubed
1 medium onion, chopped
1 cup celery, chopped
3 T minute tapioca
1 T sugar
1 T salt
pinch of thyme, marjoram, and rosemary
2 oz red wine

Mix all ingredients in deep casserole, cover, and cook for five hours at 225. Or, put in crock pot and cook all day on low.

Brownies

3/4 cup butter
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 t vanilla
3 eggs
3/4 cup flour
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1 baking powder
3 oz chopped walnuts (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 deg and grease a 13x9 pan.
Melt the butter.
Beat eggs with sugar.
Add vanilla, flour, cocoa, baking powder, and butter.
Add chopped nuts.
Bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes and cool.

Cocunut Fish Curry

4-5 fish fillets, cubed (I usually use tilapia)
1 onion, finely sliced
8-10 cherry tomatoes
2-3 cloves pressed garlic
1 can coconut milk
1 1/2 tsp curry powder
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
1/4 tsp red chilli powder
1/2 tsp coriander powder
1/2 cup cilantro
olive oil
salt, to taste

SAUTE onions in oil until soft. Add garlic and saute a minute longer, then add curry powder, chili powder, coriander powder, and turmeric and fry for a few seconds.

ADD coconut milk and a half can of water and stir until spices blend well. Allow it to come to a boil, and then add fish pieces, tomatoes, and salt. Cook covered for 8-10 minutes till fish is done. Stir in cilantro and remove from heat.

SERVE warm over a bed of rice.