Roasted Asparagus

Bend asparagus spears until they break - the tender part will break off from the woody part of the step. spread the good parts on a cookie sheet. Drizzle with olive oil and salt to taste. Spread the spears around to get them thorougly coated. Roast at 450 for 10-ish minutes until tender but not mushy. Great alone or with romesco sauce.

Romesco Sauce

Ingredients 

• 1 7oz jar red peppers 
• 1 small chili pepper or a dash of cayenne pepper to taste 
• 8 oz stewed tomatoes or 2 cooked tomatoes 
• 1 T vinegar 
• 1/4 c almonds 
• 2 cloves of garlic  
• 1T smoked paprika
  

 

Directions In a food processor, blend nuts and garlic. You can substitute other nuts if you prefer. Add tomatoes and pepper and blend until smooth. Add vinegar. If the sauce is too thin, add some white bread to the mix to reach the right consistency.

Spinach Artichoke Dip

Ingredients

8 oz fresh chopped spinach
8 canned artichokes, chopped
8 oz. Philly cream cheese
8 oz. sour cream
3/4 c. shredded Parmesan/Romano/Asiago cheese
8 oz. shredded Monterey Jack (or mozarella) cheese
1/2 onion finely chopped
2 dashes of balsamic vinegar
salt to taste
red pepper flakes to taste

Directions

This is so so much better if you spend the extra money to get the Parmesan/Romano/Asiago cheese blend from the refrigerated section of the grocery store, rather than the normal kraft style parmesan cheese.

Combine all non vegetables and mix well. Add vegetables and mix. Bake covered at 400 for 20-25 minutes. uncover, sprinkle more parmesan cheese over the top, and bake until golden.
Serve with tortilla chips or bread.

Gingerbread

NGREDIENTS

• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup butter
• 1 egg
• 1 cup molasses
• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
• 2 teaspoons ground ginger
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup hot water

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour a 9 inch square pan.
2. In a large bowl, cream together the sugar and butter. Beat in the egg, and mix in the molasses.
3. Add dry ingredients and pour into the pan
   
4. Bake until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean, about 35-40 minutes in my oven. Allow to cool in pan before serving.

Pumpkin Pie

Ingredients

• 1 (9 inch) unbaked deep dish pie crust
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1 Tablespoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
• 2 eggs
• 1 (15 ounce) can pumpkin (no spices added)
  
• 1 (12 fluid ounce) can evaporated milk
  

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 425 F.
2. Blend everything together. Pour into pie shell.
3. Bake for 15 minutes. Reduce temperature to 350 F.; bake for 40 to 50 minutes or until knife inserted near center comes out clean. Cool on wire rack for 2 hours. I like my pumpkin pie cold, so after cooling, I refrigerate it overnight.
   

Cranberry Sauce

Ingredients

1/2 c orange juice
1/2 c water
1 c sugar
12 oz fresh cranberries

Instructions

Boil water, juice, and sugar. Add cranberries. Return to boil then reduce heat to medium. Cook until cranberries pop (about 5 minutes)

Paper Bag Apple Pie

Prepare and set aside one unbaked pie shell.

Pare and core about 8 cooking apples. Cut into eighths. Place in a large bowl and set aside.

Combine and mix well: 1/2 C. sugar, 2 T. flour, 1/2 t. cinnamon
Sprinkle over apple chunks and toss slightly. Spoon
into prepared shell. Sprinkle over top: 2 T. lemon juice.

Combine in bowl: 1/2 C. sugar, 1/2 C. flour. Mix well and add 1/2
cup butter or margarine. Cut in butter with a pastry blender or
two knives until mixture is coarse, like cornmeal. Sprinkle this
mixture evenly over top of pie.

Slide pie into a large, heavy supermarket paper bag. Fold open
end twice and fasten with paper clips. Place on a baking sheet.
Bake at 425 for 70 minutes. Remove from oven, split bag open and cool
pie on wire rack. DO NOT open bag while baking!

Yellow Cake

(still working on this one - my last version was not too moist. Maybe will try another with pudding)

INGREDIENTS:

• 2 cups all-purpose flour, stirred before measuring
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 1 1/4 cups sugar
• 2 eggs
• 3/4 cup milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla

PREPARATION:

Mix flour, baking powder, and salt; set aside. Cream sugar and butter in a large mixing bowl, beating until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add half of the flour mixture then half of the milk.

Add vanilla. Mix until blended; add remaining flour and milk and beat until smooth. Fill 2 greased and floured layer cake pans or a 13x9x2-inch baking pan with the batter. Bake at 375° for 25 to 35 minutes, or until cake springs back when lightly touched near center.
Frost as desired.

White Rice

2 cups water
1 cup white rice
salt

Boil water (with salt if desired). Add rice. Cover. Simmer for 20 minutes. Test rice and if it's crunch, simmer a few minutes more. Don't uncover in the middle of the simmering process.

Lentil Potato Cheese Bake

This recipe serves one person.

1/4 c. dry lentils
one red potato
1/4 c cheddar cheese
1 T. tomato sauce
1/4 c skim milk
salt and pepper

Boil lentils until soft. Slice potatoes thinly and boil until cooked through (I do the lentils on the stove and meanwhile, cook the potatoes in a bowl of water in the microwave for about 7 minutes). When the lentils are done, drain them. Return them to the pan and add tomato sauce and milk, and heat until warm. Add salt and pepper to taste(and any other stuff - basil or oregano are good, and also sauteed onions or mushrooms) Add lentil mixture to a oven proof dish (I use a glass bowl). Layer the sliced potatoes on top, and add the cheese on top of that. Bake at 400 for about 20 minutes, or until cheese is melted and brown.

Lentil Curry

* 1 cup lentils (brown or red)
* 1/2 large onion, diced
* 1-1/2 teaspoons vegetable oil
* 1 tablespoon curry paste
* 1-1/2 teaspoons curry powder
* 1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric
* 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
* 1/2 teaspoon chili powder
* 1/2 teaspoon salt
* 1/2 teaspoon white sugar
* 1/2 teaspoon minced garlic
* 1/2 teaspoon ginger root, minced
* 1 c tomato puree (use basic spaghetti sauce if you don't have any puree)

DIRECTIONS

Wash the lentils in cold water until the water runs clear. Bil lentils until lentils tender (about 40 minutes for brown lentils, and 30 for red).

Meanwhile, caramelize the onions in vegetable oil. When they are finished, add spices and cook over a high heat stirring constantly for 1 to 2 minutes. Then add the tomato puree and reduce heat. If it is not too thick, summer it until the lentils are ready.

Drain the cooked lentils and mix with the sauce. Serve with white rice.