Lentils and Rice, or Rice and Lentils

olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
1 c rice
1 c lentils, picked over
4 c water or broth
salt and pepper to taste

Sauté onion in olive oil until translucent; add remaining ingredients. Bring to simmer and cover, cooking 25-30 minutes or until moisture is absorbed and rice is tender. Season with salt and pepper and serve.

Texas Rice Salad

3 cups cooked brown rice
1 cup (15oz.) can black beans rinsed and drained
1 can (11oz.) corn, drained
1-2 avocados peeled, pitted, diced
2 cups salsa
½ cup chopped fresh cilantro
¼ cup chopped red onion (I don't add this--not an onion fan)
2 T fresh lime or lemon juice
¼ tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. pepper

Mix all well and serve with Fritos Scoops

Chilled Sesame Asparagus

In response to the last post...

1 ½ to 2 pounds fresh asparagus, trimmed
2 T plus 2 tsp. dark sesame oil
1 T plus 1 tsp. rice vinegar
1 T plus 1 tsp. soy sauce
1 tsp. sugar
1 T sesame seeds, toasted

Cook asparagus in boiling water about 4-5 min. Or until crisp-tender. Plunge asparagus in ice water to stop the cooking process; drain, cover, and chill 2 hours.
Whisk together sesame oil and next 3 ingredients. Chill for 2 hours.
Arrange asparagus on a serving dish; spoon dressing evenly over top. Sprinkle with sesame seeds.

Carrots and Rice

This isn't found on a traditional Thanksgiving menu, but we've made it part of our Thanksgiving the last several years. Also good for holiday potlucks because it's novel and delicious. ALSO good for everyday dining, because it's not that difficult to make, and kids like it.

1 1/2 c sliced carrots
1/4 c minced onion OR 2 T onion flakes
4 1/2 c water
2 t salt
2 c uncooked long grain white rice
2 T white sugar
1 c half-and-half
1/4 c butter

In a large saucepan, combine carrots, onion, water and salt. Bring to a boil and simmer for 10 minutes, until carrots are nearly tender. Stir in rice. Reduce heat to medium-low and cover pan. Allow to steam for 20 minutes or until rice is done and moisture is absorbed.

Stir sugar, half-and-half, and butter into rice mixture. Consistency should be creamy, not dry. Stir in additional milk if necessary. Remove from heat and serve immediately.

Serves 10+ as a side dish

Broccoli and Parmesan Puree

from martha stewart

3 T. olive oil
2 1/2 lbs. broccoli (2-3 heads), cut into 3/4 inche pieces (7 c.)
4 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
1/2 c. plus 2 T. water
coarse salt
1/2 c. whole milk
1/2 c. heavy cream
1/2 c. plus 2 T. Parmesan cheese
freshly ground pepper, to taste

1. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add broccoli and garlic and cook until brightly colored and beginning to turn to golden brown, about 8 min. Add water and 1 t. salt to skillet. Cover, and cook until tender, about 10 min. Drain any remaining liquid from skillet.

2. Puree half the broccoli in a food processor or blender, and then tranfser to a large bowl. Puree remaining. Bring milk and cream to a gentle simmer in a saucepan. Add milk/cream mixture to blender and pulse to combine. Stir mixture into first batch of puree.

3. Stir in parmesan and season with salt and pepper. Garnish with additional parmesan

e-notes: ben and i really liked this - we just had it last nite! yum. we didn't do cream -just used milk instead.

Parmesan Corn

We took this to a potluck dinner tonight to rave reviews. And it's so easy. 8-10 side servings.

1/2 c whipping cream
2 T Parmesan
sprinkle of nutmeg
salt and pepper to taste
16 oz. fresh or frozen corn

Heat corn according to package directions. We wouldn't want to substitute canned corn (the texture is all wrong), but let us know. If you do, probably omit the salt.

In a small saucepan, boil cream for two minutes, stirring constantly. Stir in Parmesan (we recommend grated Parmesan, not the bland powdered stuff sold in a canister) and nutmeg. Pour over hot corn. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve hot.

For vegetarians, not vegans.

Paradisaical Pretzels

(Makes six – eight pretzels. Depends on how big you make them.)

1 C. Room temp. - warm water
1 ½ tsp. yeast
3 Tbsp Brown sugar
3 C. Flour
1 qt. (4 C.) water
¼ cup baking soda

Combine water and yeast in a large mixing bowl. Let mixture set for about ten minutes or until the yeast becomes fully saturated and a little frothy. Once the yeast is ready, just add the remaining ingredients and mix to form dough. Let dough rise for 1 ½ hours. Shape pretzels

Combine water and baking soda and bring the mixture to a boil. (Best to use a large sauce pan as to help contain the mess.) Place one Pretzel in the water for ten seconds. Flip the pretzel and let it boil for ten more seconds. (Spatula works best, much better than tongs.) Place the Pretzel on a greased cookie sheet. Repeat this process for all remaining Pretzels. Bake the Pretzels on the greased cookie sheet at 350 Degrees for 10 Min.

Spread butter and kosher salt on the Pretzels to taste.
Just as good then next day from the microwave.

F.Y.I. – This Dough can also make an excitingly tasty and original Pizza dough for a home made pizza dinner.
Also, if you like mustard with your pretzels, I don't recommend seven year old Smiths brand.

Couscous with Dried Currants and Almonds

1/2 cup almond slivers
2 T. olive oil
2 T. onion, white finely diced
2 T. celery, ribbed and finely diced
2 T. red bell pepper, finely diced
1 1/4 c. liquid: water or low sodium chicken/vegetable stock
1/2 c. dried currants (any dried fruit will work)
1 c. couscous, plain
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste.

1. Toast the almond slivers by placing them on a parchment lined baking sheet in the oven (325). When you begin to smell the aroma of nuts, they should be ready.
2. To make the couscous, sweat the onions, celery and bell pepper in the oil until soft.
3. Add the liquid and bring to a boil.
4. Add the couscous, currants and almonds to the boiling liquid.
5. Mix well, Cover and remove from the heat for 10-15 minutes.
6. Fluff the couscous with a fork and adjust seasoning with salt and pepper to taste.

This is delicious with roasted chicken! But sometimes I'll eat it by itself.

Summer Penne Salad

1 lb. Mozarella cheese, cut into small cubes

1 large red pepper, roasted or 3 Roma tomatoes, seeded and diced. (I've always just used the pepper, and it's yummy)

1 medium red onion, finely dice

1 1/2 T. white balsamic vinegar or apple cider vinegar

1 1/2 T olive oil

1 sprig fresh basil leaves (10-15 leaves), chiffonade

1 pkg penne pasta

kosher salt, pepper, pinch of sugar


Dice the onion and add to a bowl with the vinegar. Allow to sit for 10 minutes.
Cook the pasta in salted boiling water until al dente, probably 9-11 minuts. Drain the pasta and then add the oil and mix to coat.
Seed the tomatoes, or roast the pepper (I use a fork and the gas flame on my stove. Char the skin until it's black. Rinse in cool water to remove the skin.)
Add the pasta, any excess oil, the basil and mozarella to the onions.
Add salt and pepper to taste. This salad will be served cold so you will need extra salt to bring out the flavor.
Cover and chill 1 hour to serve. Check flavor again, add salt, pepper and sugar as needed.


To Chiffonade, stack the basil leaves into a pile. Roll the pile tightly into a "cigarette". Slice the cigarette thinly. When the leaves unroll they will be in long strips - Voila! Chiffonade.

I have this salad repeatedly during the summer - it's a huge summer staple for me. Light, but delicious!

Butternut Squash Lasagne

Serves: 6 main dish serving or 12 side-dish servings
You can make the squash-sauce up to three days ahead, then assemble and bake.
If you want it to fit into a 9x13 pan, you'll need to one-and-a-half this recipe.

3 pounds butternut squash (about 9 1/2 cups), peeled, seeded, and cut into 1/2-inch dices
3 T. vegetable oil
Coarse kosher salt
4 cups low-fat milk (I used 1%)
2 large sprigs fresh rosemary
1 T. minced garlic
2 ounces (1/2 stick) unsalted butter
4 T. flour
9 no-boil lasagne sheets (7x3.5"; use fresh ones if you can find them)
1 1/3 c. freshly grated Parmesan cheese
1 c. heavy cream
1/2 t. salt

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Line two large, rimmed baking sheets with aluminum foil.

In a large bowl, toss the diced squash with the oil until well coated. Spread in a single layer on the baking sheets. Roast for 10 minutes, then sprinkle with the coarse salt to taste. Stir the squash and roast for 10 to 15 more minutes, or until tender and beginning to turn golden brown.
While the squash is roasting, heat the milk in a saucepan over medium-low heat. Add the rosemary and cook for 10 minutes. Strain through a fine-mesh strainer into a large pitcher or measuring cup.

In a large saucepan, melt the butter with the garlic over medium-low heat. Whisk in the flour and cook, stirring constantly, for three minutes. Remove the pan from the heat and add the warm milk mixture in a steady stream, stirring until smooth. Return the pan to medium-low or low heat and cook about 10 minutes, until the sauce has thickened. Add the squash, salt and pepper to taste, stirring to combine. (At this point, the mix can be refrigerated in a bowl with plastic wrap directly on the surface.)

When ready to bake, reduce the oven temperature to 375 degrees. Lightly grease a 9x13 baking dish (or 9x9 if doing recipe as is).

Pour 1 c. of the squash-sauce mixture in the bottom of the dish (it will not cover completely). Cover with three lasagne sheets, making sure they are not touching each other. Spread half of the remaining sauce over the paste and sprinkle with 1/2 c. Parmesan. Repeat with another layer of pasta, then the remaining sauce, then another 1/2 c. Parmesan, and finally a layer of pasta on top.

In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat the cream and salt until stiff peaks form. Spread evenly over the top pasta layer, making sure to cover the pasta completely. Sprinkle with the remaining Parmesan. Cover tightly with easy-release/no-stick aluminum foil and bake in the middle of the oven for 30 minutes. Remove the foil, then bake for 10 more minutes, or until the top is bubbling and golden. Let the lasagne stand five minutes before serving.

Notes: This was really good. I took it to a ward lasagne bake-off and won "Most Creative." But some cautions: it was super labor intensive. It took about three-and-a-half hours, start to finish. A lot of that time was dicing the squash and waiting for my milk sauce to thicken. Not sure what I did wrong there. Everything else I did as written. It tastes just like a sweet pasta, certainly not your normal lasagne. I do recommend it however. Oh yeah, I didn't have the easy-release foil, so I sprayed mine with Pam. It worked okay. And sorry the picture isn't that appetizing!

Bagel Pizzas

Chuck and I really love these. I will frequently make mine vegetarian by doing only olives, mushrooms, or just plain cheese.

Use mini bagels (we like the whole wheat ones) and cover with buffalo chicken wing sauce, bbq sauce, or pizza sauce and top with whatever you want. Bake for seven minutes at 400º.