Lentil Soup

My kids love Lentil soup, so I am always experimenting with different ways of serving it. Here I will post my basic Lentil soup recipe that is always a hit at our house! (Yes, my children are weird. I wonder where they get it from???)



2 c dry lentils
About 8-10 cups water
1 bay leaf
1/2 onion (whole or chopped)
1-2 cloves garlic (whole or pressed)
2 Tbsp chicken bouillon
1/4 tsp pepper
2 tsp olive oil
1 1/2 tsp fresh thyme
4 fresh basil leaves
1/2 c celery (leaves included!!) chopped
3 large carrots, 'circled' (as my kids say)
2 small tomatoes, finely chopped

Place all together in a large sauce pan. Simmer on med-lo heat for about 45min-1hour. Serve! Eat with crackers or fresh hot wheat bread! And perhaps a salad with a balsamic vinaigrette dressing. You can also shred some real Parmesan on top. It adds a nice touch.

**Sometimes I add a chicken thigh to this and simmer it with the lentils. Depends on whether I feel like a vegetarian night or not. I've also added mushrooms. The kids don't appreciate them as much, but I thought they tasted wonderful! :) (Just don't use canned. Has to be fresh!)

Calzones

I tried out a new experiment, and these turned out so super yummy, I think I'll make them again some day!

For the pizza dough, I used a bread machine! (I'm sure you could do this by hand, or in a regular machine, but my bread machine is my right hand man lately.)

1 1/2 c Warm water
4-5 Tbsp Soy milk (or regular milk)
2 Tbsp Oil
2 Tbsp Sugar
1 tsp Salt
2 c Whole Wheat Flour
2 1/2 c White flour
1 Tbsp Flaxmeal
1 Tbsp Bean Flour
2 tsp yeast

Throw it in the bread machine and use the dough setting. Hooray!

Once it's done, pull it out in six smallish portions. Shape each one in a ball, and roll out into a very flat circle. Plop in about 2 Tbsp of the Gourmet Pizza Sauce, some sliced cheese (you don't even need to shred it!), pepperoni, olives...or whatever you would prefer inside of a calzone!!




Wet the outside rim of the circle (I dipped my fingers in the olive juice and used that), then fold in half, pinching the edges together with your fingers.



Place each one on a greased (and layered with cornmeal) baking sheet. Poke a few holes in the top with a knife to keep it from exploding! :)

Place in a 425F/215C degree oven for 20 minutes.



These were SOOOOOO yummy! Devin still drools thinking about these! :) And they really took almost no time at all.

Gourmet Pizza Sauce

I wanted to make calzones, and decided to make a 'real' pizza sauce instead of my usual 'just throw it all together' sauce. I found a recipe on allrecipes.com that I thought looked interesting, but I didn't have all the ingredients it listed. So, as always, I improvised, and found that this is THE MOST FANTASTIC pizza sauce I've ever tasted! Woohoo!!

3+ Tbsp freshly grated Parmesan Cheese
4 sprigs (about 2 tsp) fresh Basil, finely chopped (I admit, I use my kitchen shears!)
1 tsp dried Oregano 3 cloves Garlic, pressed
1/4 tsp black pepper
1 1/2 tsp chicken bouillon
1 tsp onion powder
dash Crushed Red Pepper
1/4 tsp dark brown sugar
8 oz can Tomato Sauce (not paste!!)
4 Tbsp boiling hot Water

Combine all the ingredients except for Tomato Sauce and water. Mix well.



Add tomato sauce all at once. Add hot water one tablespoon at a time. You may like your sauce thinner (add more water or tomato sauce) or thinner (omit water). Let sit for at least 1/2 hour on the counter to mix the flavor!



Use on top of pizzas, inside Calzones, or as a breadstick dipping sauce!! OR you could make a yummy chicken cacciatore with something like this as well! Or it could be a yummy marinara sauce for pasta or shrimp! The uses are endless!

**Note: While the crushed red pepper gives it a super yummy zing, my kids thoroughly disliked it! So, I'll try it without the pepper next time and see if they like it better, or if they were just trying to find an excuse to finish early and go play!

Shrimpy Noodles

My kids love Ramen. I used to. Now I think it's a touch on the nasty side. However, one day, they were begging and begging for Ramen noodles. So, I gave in; with one condition! I could add some stuff to it. So, thus the Shrimpy Noodles (aka Master Chifou Noodles) were born. (This is, as always, given in the measurements my family would consume.)



5 packages beef Ramen
3 carrots, peeled and jullienned
1/2 cup frozen peas OR corn
1 cup frozen tiny shrimp
Water

Throw it all in the pot together and let boil until noodles are cooked through. Add the little seasoning packets (yes, I add all five). This is the ultimate in 'fast food' at our house. The kids like it. Peter eats first the veggies, then digs out and inhales the shrimp, then shoves the noodles in as fast as he can! :) I only add one or the other of the peas and corn (usually I add and cook the peas) because I use the other as an 'ice cube' to cool their soup down. So, I give them their bowl of soup, then let them take a handful of frozen corn to add and cool it off. I like this better than just adding ice, as it adds more veggies and they think it's super cool! :) I usually make this as a quick lunch, but it could be used in a pinch for dinner. You could have a salad with it!

Apple Berry Oatmeal

My kids LOVE this. ALL of them. Peter eats more of it than I do! And it's SUPER easy! I'll give the measurements that I use to feed my family. It's usually barely enough...


6 cups water
3 cups oatmeal
1/2 tsp salt
2/3 c dehydrated apples (can use fresh, too...would be great with shredded apples, or just diced if you want to take the time! I actually use freeze dried.)
2/3 c freeze dried strawberries (again, if they're in season, sliced fresh strawberries would probably be super yummy, too, or you could substitute strawberries with blueberries or raspberries just as easily, or add all three and call is triple apple berry. My kids tend to think that the longer the name of the food is, the better it will taste...)
2 cinnamon sticks (or 1 tsp ground cinnamon)
1/4 cup dark brown sugar

Add all ingredients together in a large sauce pan. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly to keep it from burning or sticking too much. Voila! So simple and quick! Sometimes, I even let the kids drizzle real maple syrup on top! Very tasty, especially on a cold morning or right after an afternoon of outdoor winter fun! :)

Stir Fry

There are always a million ways to do a stir fry. I shot from the hip on this one, and it turned out so wonderful, that I just had to share! :)

2 boneless skinless chicken breast, diced (not cooked yet!)
1 large onion, finely chopped
3-4 cloves garlic, pressed
1 inch ginger, finely chopped
2 Tbsp olive oil

**saute onions in olive oil for a few minutes. Add garlic and ginger. Add chicken and some seasoned salt. cook until chicken is no longer pink--sometimes I like to cook until everything is slightly browned, as it gives a wonderful flavor!

Add:

8-10 large white mushrooms, sliced
**saute until mushrooms are all 'coated', then add:

1/2 large zucchini, jullienned
1 c cauliflower, chopped
2 carrots, sliced
a handful of green string beans
1/2 c green peas
1 c shredded cabbage
2 celery stalks, chopped

**cover pot and simmer all together, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are to your crunchiness level. Then add:

3-4 green onions, chopped
a big bunch of green parsley, finely chopped

Stir together, drop in about 1 Tbsp soy sauce, stir, then let simmer for about 4-5 minutes.

Serve over rice! This is just fantastic! You can add more soy sauce later, if you like is saltier. I've also garnished with pine nuts, and that is TASTY!! My kids helped chop all the veggies, and so it turned into a really fun activity for all of us, and they are much more apt to eat it if they've helped me to make it! :) A very tasty dinner!