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.

Cranberry Orange Walnut Bread

2 c. flour
1 c. sugar
1.5 t. baking powder
1 t. salt
1/2 t baking soda

3/4 c. orange juice
1 egg.
2 T softened butter

1.5 c fresh cranberries
1/2 c. walnuts


Mix dry ingredients. Add juice, egg, and butter. Mix until you have a good batter. Stir in cranberries and walnuts. Spread evenly into a loaf pan and bake for 55 minutes at 350 degrees. Cool in pan for 10 minutes and then transfer to a rack to cool.

Pumpkin Cheesecake

Crust
4 tablespoons butter
3/4 cup graham cracker crumbs
1/2 cup crushed gingersnaps
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon

Filling
1 cup heavy cream, chilled
24 ounces cream cheese, softened
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
3 large eggs
1 1/2 cups mashed pumpkin
3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
3/4 teaspoon powdered ginger
3/8 teaspoon ground cloves


Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F or 300 degrees F for convection oven.

To make the crust: Place the butter in a small saucepan and melt over moderate heat. Mix the graham cracker crumbs, gingersnaps, brown sugar and cinnamon in a medium bowl. Add the melted butter and mix together with a fork. Line bottom and side of 10-inch springform pan with parchment or wax paper. Spray with nonstick pan spray. Press the crumb mixture into the bottom.

Filling: Pour the heavy cream into a medium bowl and beat just until soft peaks form. Refrigerate. Beat the cream cheese (in large bowl) with an electric mixer until fluffy. Gradually add the sugar, beating well. Add the eggs one at a time, and beat the mixture until it is fluffy and pale. Stir in the pumpkin, cinnamon, ginger and cloves. Remove the whipped cream from the refrigerator and whisk lightly to re-blend. Using a spatula or flat spoon, fold the whipped cream into the cream cheese-pumpkin mixture. Pour the mixture into the prepared crust. Wrap one continuous sheet of aluminum foil around the springform pan and press firmly. Put wrapped pan in a baking pan and fill with hot water halfway up the spring from pan. Bake for 60 to 70 minutes.

Cool the cheesecake to room temperature, then refrigerate for at least 3 hours to chill thoroughly.

Remove the sides of the springform pan. Just before serving, place the pecan halves on top of the cheesecake, in a ring around the edges, to garnish.

Sundried Tomato Pesto

Ingredients

1 cup of sundried tomatoes (*not* oil packed)
2/3 cup grated paremesan cheese
2 cloves of garlic, crushed
1/4 t. salt
1/4 t. pepper
1/4 c. olive oil

Instructions

Dump it all in a food processor and mix. It's great over hot pasta (I like it with whole wheat rotini), but it also can be mixed with butter and used as a spread.

Key Lime Pie

So many key lime pie recipes out there are complicated, and include gelatin and lots of other totally unnecessary ingredients.

This original recipe for key lime pie is simple and irresitable.

Ingredients

1 9" graham cracker crust
1/2 cup key lime juice (it's better with key lime juice, but this recipe works fine with just plain old lime juice. Similarly, fresh squeezed is better, but the bottled kind will work fine)
14. oz of condensed sweetened milk (interesting note: In the Florida keys, there were no cows, so the only milk available to them was canned milk that came in shipments.)
4 egg yolks
1/2 c heavy cream

Directions

Add juice, milk, and eggs to a blender. Mix well. Pour into crust and bake 15 minutes at 325 to set the pie. Let cool and then refridgerate.

The pie is good alone, but much better with fresh whipped cream. When you're ready to serve it, add the cream to a bowl and beat it on high speed until it forms peaks. Spread this on top of the pie and serve.

Three-Bean Enchiladas

Ingredients

1 can of refried beans
1 can black beans
1 can garbonzo beans
1 can enchilada sauce
tortillas (I prefer using 9 or 10 6" corn tortillas)
1/2 cup salsa
1 cup cheddar cheese

Steps

Mix beans and salsa. Warm the tortillas, or (if you are feeling ambitious), add a layer of enchilada sauce to a frying pan and warm each tortilla in the sauce on each side. Fill the tortilllas, roll them, and add to a casserole dish. Cover with enchilada sauce and top with cheese. Bake covered at 350 for 30 minutes, and then uncover to brown the cheese.

Tortilla de Patatas

Ingredients

Two large baking potatoes (or the equivalent amount of other potatoes)
One small yellow onion, or half a large yellow onion
4 eggs
salt
olive oil

Peel the potatoes (I don't, but I'm lazy) cut each in half lengthwise. Cut each half into slices about 2mm thick. Dice the onions. Mix the potatoes, onions, and 1 - 2 tsp of salt (depending on your taste).

Add about 1-2 Tbsp of olive oil to a frying pan and heat it to medium heat. Add the potatoes and onions and cook, stirring constantly, for 15-20 minutes until the potatoes are soft, a little golden, but not crispy.

When the potatoes are done, beat the 4 eggs lightly in a bowl, and add the potato mixture. Let sit for 5 minutes.

Heat another 1Tbsp of olive oil in a smaller frying pan to medium heat. Add the egg and potato mixture. Flatten this out to get the traditinoal Tortilla shape. Once you feel that the whole thing can be flipped, flip it. I usually put a big plate face down on top of the pan, turn the whole thing over so the tortilla is on the plate, and then slide it back into the pan. Continue cooking on the new side. Flip it about 4 times until the tortilla is a nice golden color.

White Bread

4 cups of flour
5 T butter
1c water
1/2 milk
1 pkg yeast
2T honey
1t salt


Make sure water is warm. Add milk, yeast, and honey. Let sit for 2 or so minutes. Add butter. Add salt. Combine flour and liquid. Kneed and add flour as needed. Cover and let rise 90 minutes. Form into two loaves and let rise 30 minutes. Bake at 300 for 30-45 minutes.

Pumpkin Bread

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp. baking powder
3/4 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. ground ginger
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
1 heaping T ground cinnamon
1 stick unsalted butter
1/2 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
1 cup granulated sugar
3 eggs
1 cup pumpkin puree

Directions

Preheat to 350°F and grease a loaf pan.

Cream butter and sugars. Add eggs and pumpkin and mix 2-3 minutes.
Add in dry ingredients and mix until smooth.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake at 350 until a toothpick inserted into the center
comes out clean, about 55 minutes.

Transfer the pan to a wire rack and let cool for 15 minutes.

Makes 1 loaf, 16 slices, 200 calories per slice.

Split Pea Soup

Ingredients

10 cups of water
1 cup dried split peas
1 T. dijon mustard
1 medium potato, cubed
1 c. baby carrots (whole or diced)
3 ribs celery, sliced
2 cloves garlic, crushed
salt and pepper to taste

Directions
Mix peas, water, and mustard. Boil for 30 minutes. Add in the rest of the ingredients and cook over medium heat until the desired thickness is reached (about 30-45 minutes). I usually make this very thick, and you may want to use more water for a thinner soup.

Vegetable Stock

This is a basic staple in most vegetarian dishes, and is SO easy to make. It works much better than cubed bullion.

Ingredients

1 large bag of baby carrots (about 4 cups)
2 stalks of celery,chopped (that's stalks, not ribs. basically, use one standard bag of celery)
1-2 yellow onions, diced.
water

Directions

Add the vegetables to a large stock pot and fill 3/4 full with water. Boil until stock reaches a rich green-yellow tint - until water is reduced by about 1/2. Remove vegetables and store stock. It will refrigerate for about a week or freeze for months.

You can throw in any other veggies you have lying around and they'll add more flavor. I particularly like stems from asparagus and broccoli. I also find my favorite way to cook this is in a pot with a pasta insert. The veggies go in there and I can just pull out the pasta strainer when they're done.

I also do not salt my stock because I prefer to salt the dishes in which I use it. You can, of course, salt to taste.

Vegetarian Paella

This traditional Spanish rice dish is easy if you don't mind chopping vegetables, and tastes fantastic. I listed my favorite vegetables here, but the point of paella is that it is flexible. You can put in basically anything you want and it will work.

Ingredients

2 T olive oil
2 medium yellow onions, diced
5 cloves of garlic, crushed
1 red pepper, chopped
2 c. brown rice (uncooked)
4 c. vegetable stock
1/2 c. dry white wine
1 c. fresh green beans
1 c. peas (fresh or frozen)
1 c. corn (fresh, canned, or frozen)
1 c. chopped vegetarian sausage (Boca Italian Sausages actually work really well in this recipe - I would use 4 of them)
2 cups tomatoes (fresh, peeled Roma tomatoes or canned tomatoes drained of juice)
2 t. paprika
1 t. saffron (saffron adds the distinctive paella taste, but is expensive. tarragon works as a substitute, but be careful about how much you use so it doesn't overwhelm the dish)
salt and pepper to taste

Directions

In paella pan or large skillet, heat the oil and saute the onions, garlic, and pepper until the onions are translucent. Add the rice and mix with the vegetables. Add wine, and stir. After about 20 seconds, add 1 cup of stock. Simmer on medium heat until most of the liquid is absorbed.

Add the rest of the ingredients, stir well to mix, cover, and cook on medium heat for 30-40 minutes.

Serves 4-5 as a large, single dish meal.