Cumin Lentil Barley Stew

I love lentils and barley, but had never before put them together.  They made a delicious combination in this hearty soup.  The leftovers tasted even better the second day (with a little broth thrown in before reheating).  

2 tbsp olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
2 carrots, peeled and sliced
2 stalks celery, sliced
1 tsp salt
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp coriander
1 14 oz can diced tomatoes
8 cups chicken or vegetable stock
1 cup lentils, rinsed and picked over
1 cup barley, rinsed and picked over
1 package frozen spinach, thawed and drained
Salt and pepper to taste

Heat oil over medium heat in a large stockpot until shimmering. Add onion, carrots, celery and salt and cook until tender, about 7 minutes. Add garlic, cumin and coriander and stir until fragrant, about 30 seconds.

Stir in tomatoes, stock, lentils and barley. Bring just to a boil. Cover and reduce heat to low. Simmer until lentils and barley are tender, about 40 minutes. Stir in spinach and heat through.

Season with salt and pepper.

Banana Split Bites

These were a fun, yummy treat to share with our church home group.   The gingersnaps and I had a fun time making them, with plenty of snacking involved in the process!  I made the "bites" too big, which meant you either had to eat them in two bites (messy) or had to awkwardly shove the whole thing in your mouth (potentially embarrassing).  So my advice is to make sure and keep them bite-size.  Then just eat a whole bunch!


2 medium bananas, peeled and cut into 10 pieces each
3-4 strawberries, cut in half and sliced to make 20 pieces
6 Tbsp dark chocolate chips
1 tbsp coconut oil (I didn't use this, but I bet it would be delicious)
2 Tbsp shredded coconut (I chopped mine to make it even more fine)
2 tbsp finely chopped walnuts or pecans

Place 20 mini cupcake liners on a small baking sheet. Slice bananas and place 1 piece into each. Do the same for the strawberries.

In a small pot on the stovetop or in a microwave, melt the chocolate and coconut oil on low. Remove from heat and stir well to melt the remaining chunks.

Make a workstation with the bites, melted chocolate, coconut, walnuts, and optional nut butter. Spoon on 1/2 teaspoon of melted chocolate onto a bite and gently spread out. Drizzle on nut butter (optional). Quickly sprinkle with coconut and walnuts. Repeat for the remaining 19 bites.

Freeze for a minimum of 15 minutes. If they are in the freezer for a long time and freeze solid, let them sit on the counter for about 15 minutes to soften up a bit. I put mine in a Tupperware container for storage.

Veggie and Feta Pasta Salad

Here's another great pasta salad that we were satisfied with for dinner.  I made a few changes to the original.

1 pound mixed tri-color pasta
1 head broccoli, chopped into florets
1 small zucchini, sliced
1 small yellow squash, sliced
6 ounces feta cheese
1/2 cup pitted and chopped Kalamata olives, pitted and chopped
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
Salt and pepper

Cook the pasta and drain. Cook the veggies in a heavy frying pan with a little olive oil over medium heat until crisp-tender - 5-7 minutes. Toss with cooked pasta and olives.

Crumble the feta cheese into the pasta. Whisk the oil, vinegar, salt and pepper together and toss with the pasta.  Serve warm or at room temperature.

Asian Turkey Burgers with Sriracha Mayonnaise

These burgers had great flavor!  We followed the suggestion to only use the sriracha mayonnaise as a topping and were satisfied.

Makes 4 burgers

For burgers:
1 pound ground turkey breast
2 tablespoons hoisin sauce 
2 teaspoons soy sauce
2 green onions, thinly sliced (white and green parts)
2 teaspoons minced ginger
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper (I used one shake so it wouldn't be too spicy for the kiddos)
1/2 cup bread crumbs
freshly ground black pepper
canola oil
hamburger buns

For Sriracha Mayonnaise:
3 tablespoons mayonnaise
1 tablespoon Sriracha Hot Sauce 

Make the burgers. Combine ground turkey, hoisin sauce, soy sauce, green onions, ginger, garlic cayenne pepper, bread crumbs and a generous grind of black pepper in a large bowl. Mix thoroughly by hand. Form into 4 -6 patties. Heat a grilling pan over a medium-high flame (you can use a large skillet, but grilling pan is preferred—you can also grill the burgers). Brush the grilling pan lightly with canola oil and toast the cut side of the buns in batches; set aside.

Brush the pan more generously with oil and cook the burgers until just cooked through, about 5 minutes per side. Use a quick read thermometer to make sure the burgers reach an internal temperature of 165ºF.

Meanwhile, make the Sriracha mayonnaise. Crazy easy. Put the mayonnaise and the Sriracha Hot Sauce in a small bowl and mix with a spoon. Done.

Assemble the burgers. Also easy. Bun, burger and a smear of Sriracha mayonnaise. You can add some lettuce or tomato slices, but I would discourage it. These are quite tasty on their own.

Mediterranean Couscous and Chicken Wraps

Tricia passed on this recipe to me and I've already made it twice!  It was a hit with the whole family and super easy to pull together.  I made the couscous mixture ahead of time, so I put the chicken on the pan to cook literally as my husband walked in the door, held the baby in my other arm, and we were eating 15 minutes later.  The flavors are subtle, but enough to not be boring.  This will be a regular on our summer menu.




1/3 cup couscous (I just used a box and cooked according to directions)
1 cup fresh parsley, chopped
1/2 cup lemon juice
3 Tbsp olive oil
2 tsp minced garlic
salt and pepper
1 lb. chicken tenders 
1 tomato, chopped
1/2 cucumber, chopped
10-inch spinach or sun dried tomato wraps

Cook couscous according to package.

Combine parsley, lemon juice, oil, garlic, 1/8 teaspoon each salt and pepper in a bowl.
Toss chicken w/ 2-3 Tablespoons of parsley mixture and 1/4 teaspoon each salt and pepper, then cook in skillet until chicken is done, about 5 minutes per side.

Stir remaining parsley mixture into couscous.  Add tomato and cucumber. (Both times I forgot to add the tomato and cucumber, so I just sliced them and served them on the side)

Assemble wraps, putting approximately 3/4 cup couscous mixture on wrap with chicken.

Shrimp and Couscous Paella

I'm all about simple and quick these days.  This definitely fit the bill.  We all liked it.




1 red bell pepper, chopped
6 green onions, chopped
4 garlic cloves, minced
3.5 cups chicken or vegetable broth (2-14.5 oz cans)
2 teaspoons ground coriander 
1 teaspoon ground turmeric
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper (I used just a dash so it wouldn't be too spicy for the kids, but would have preferred more for my own taste)
1 pound large shrimp, uncooked
2 cups couscous
2 cups frozen peas, thawed
1 tablespoon butter
sliced almonds, to garnish
fresh parsley, to garnish (optional)




In a large nonstick skillet saute red pepper in a small amount of oil until softened. Add onions and garlic and cook for 1 minute.


Stir in broth and seasonings. Bring to a boil. Add shrimp and cook for 2-3 minutes, just until shrimp turn pink.


Making sure broth is at a simmer, stir in couscous, peas and butter. Remove from the heat. Cover and let stand for 5 minutes. Fluff with a fork. Sprinkle with almonds and parsley to serve.

Tangy Tzatziki Pasta Salad

This was a great twist on normal pasta salad.  The mediterranean flare was delicious.  We had it for dinner this week (by itself) and everyone was satisfied.  The recipe makes a lot of yogurt sauce and I ended up only using about two-thirds because I thought the flavor would over-power the other ingredients.


1 16oz. container low-fat Greek yogurt

• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh dill  (I used 1 tsp. dried)
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon sea salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
• 3 garlic cloves
• 1 (16-oz.) package penne pasta
• 1 cup pitted kalamata olives, sliced
• 2 cucumbers, peeled, seeded, and diced
• 3/4 cup sun-dried tomatoes in oil, drained and chopped
• 1 (9.9-oz.) jar marinated artichoke hearts, drained and chopped
• 1 cup crumbled feta cheese

1. Process first 7 ingredients in a food processor (or Vitamix!) for 30 seconds or until thoroughly blended. Transfer to a bowl, and cover and chill 1 to 24 hours.
2. Cook pasta according to package directions; drain and rinse with cold water.
3. Place cooled pasta in a large bowl. Stir in olives and next 3 ingredients until well blended. Add yogurt mixture, and stir just until well coated. Gently stir in feta cheese. Cover and chill 1 hour.

Strawberry Oatmeal Muffins

These were tasty, but they sagged a bit.  The tops didn't puff up beautifully like some muffins do.  They seemed sad, but still tasted good and we had no problem finishing off the batch. 


1 1/4 cups old fashioned oats
1 cup plain yogurt
1/2 pound strawberries
2 teaspoons granulated white sugar
1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar
2 eggs
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted
1/2 cup brown sugar (packed)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup all purpose flour
1 Tbsp baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon finely ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon




Mix the oats and yogurt together in a large bowl.
Rinse and core the strawberries. Roughly chop the strawberries (I cut them in quarters lengthwise and then make one or two crosswise cuts). You should have about 1 1/2 cups of chopped strawberries. Place in a small bowl. Sprinkle with white sugar and balsamic vinegar. Gently stir to coat the strawberries with the sugar and vinegar.

Position a rack in the middle of the oven and preheat oven to 400°F. Prepare a 12-well muffin tin by coating with butter or lining with paper muffin cups.

Whisk together in a medium bowl the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, finely ground black pepper, and cinnamon.

Add the eggs, melted butter, brown sugar, and vanilla extract to the oatmeal and yogurt mixture. Stir until just incorporated.

Use a wooden spoon to gently stir the flour mixture into the oatmeal. Stir until just incorporated and the flour is moistened. Do not over-mix! Or your muffins will end up rubbery. The batter should be rather lumpy, not smooth.

Gently fold in the strawberries, including any of the sugary vinegary liquid the strawberries have been sitting in.

Spoon the batter evenly into the muffin tin wells or cups. Bake until the tops are browned and the muffin bounces back when you gently press on the top with your finger tips, about 20 minutes. A bamboo or metal skewer inserted into the center should come out clean. Let cool for a couple minutes in the muffin tin before removing to serve.

Tilapia with Thai Coconut Curry Sauce

photo credit

We loved this!  I usually don't chose seafood to go with my curry, but the tilapia was just right.  Lightly flavored without being too fishy (I'm fine with fishy fish, just not in curry).  And the sauce was delicious with just the right amount of spice.  I'll make it again and not change a thing (at least not on purpose!).  

1 tsp dark sesame oil, divided

1 tbsp minced peeled fresh ginger

4 garlic cloves, minced

1 cup finely chopped red bell pepper

1 cup chopped scallions

1 tsp curry powder

2 tsp red curry paste

1/2 tsp ground cumin

4 tsp low-sodium soy sauce

1 tbsp brown sugar

2 tsp Asian fish sauce

1 (14-ounce) can light coconut milk

1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro

6 (6-ounce) tilapia fillets

salt

Cooking spray

Preheat broiler.


Heat 1/2 teaspoon oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add ginger and garlic; cook 1 minute. Add pepper and scallions; cook 1 minute. Stir in curry powder, curry paste, and cumin; cook 1 minute. Add soy sauce, sugar, Asian fish sauce, and coconut milk; bring to a simmer (do not boil). Remove from heat; stir in cilantro if using.


Brush fish with 1/2 teaspoon oil; sprinkle with 1/4 teaspoon salt. Place fish on a baking sheet coated with cooking spray. Broil 7 minutes or until fish flakes easily when tested with a fork. Serve fish with sauce, rice, and lime wedges.

Sweet Potato Taco Packets

Jessie passed on this recipe a while ago, but it took me until now to give it a try.  Delicious!  So simple, inexpensive, easy to adjust for picky eaters and you don't really need to make anything else for it to be a full meal.  I didn't follow the original recipe exactly, so my changes are reflected below.  


1/2 pound ground beef or turkey
2 Tbsp taco seasoning
1 can black beans
1 large sweet potato
2 Tbsp butter
salt
2 cups fresh spinach, chopped
2 cups cheddar cheese, grated
optional toppings: sour cream, pico de gallo, avacado/guacamole


Preheat oven to 425ºF.

Brown ground meat in a skillet over medium-high heat. Stir in taco seasoning and beans. Set aside.  I used leftover meat from tacos.  I rinsed the beans from the can and just piled some on top in the following steps.  

To assemble packets, spray a large square of foil with non-stick spray. Place 1 cup sweet potato cubes in the center. Top with a small piece of butter (about 1 teaspoon) and a pinch or two of salt. Sprinkle some chopped spinach over the sweet potatoes, followed by about 1/3 cup of taco meat and a sprinkle of cheese. Fold the sides in, then bring the top and bottom ends of the foil together in the center and fold, sealing the packet.

Repeat to make remaining packets (4-6, depending on how full you make them).  Place the packets on a rimmed cookie sheet. Bake for 25–30 minutes, until the sweet potatoes are tender.

Serve over chips or rice with sour cream, salsa, and/or guacamole.

Makes 4-6 servings.