Lentils

Carrie did a recipe question/answer exchange on her blog this week and she mentioned she needed some recipes for lentils. We LOVE lentils in this house and there are two recipes we use frequently. Lentils are cheap and yummy and we usual have them once a week or so.

The first recipe I found on Happy Foody (a really awesome vegan blog) so I'll send you there. It's a one pot meal (which is my favorite way to cook). Stir all the ingredients together in a covered baking dish and let it cook! Her blog just moved to wordpress but the recipe is on her old blogspot blog.

The second recipe I've used for five years. It's called Mazidra and it's a layered lentil dish. It's from an old spiral bound vegetarian cookbook called "100% Vegetarian" by Julianne Pickle.

MAZIDRA

Combine the following in a saucepan and bring to a boil:
1 c lentils
3 c water
1/2 c chopped onion
3/4 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp sweet basil
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp oregeno

Reduce heat and simmer on lowest setting 1 1/2 - 2 hours until lentils are soft and cooking liquid becomes cloudy.

Meanwhile, prepare cooked brown rice (3 c after it's cooked).

When the lentils are ready you can build the mazidra like this:

1. Cooked rice
2. Cooked lentils
3. Diced tomatoes
4. Diced cucumber
5. Sliced green onion
6. Top with chopped avocado or guacamole/avocado dip

We pig out on mazidra. It's sooooooo good!

Today we are snowed in...AGAIN. We live next door to church and had to close because we can't see the church. Not too mention the wind chill is -25 degrees and the path Chad shoveled to the church this morning is already buried knee deep. I cooked a spiral ham that I was saving for Easter because I was grumpy with all the snow and a sugary ham seemed like a good idea. I've snitched a few bites already and it's delicious! I'm off to make some rice and veggies to eat with our ham. Enjoy your Sunday!

With all the family Christmas parties and the eating, eating, eating, my family has cut back on the food. Our tradition is to each bring our "speciality" soup. My mom makes either cheese and broccoli soup or vegetable beef. My sister-in-law makes homemade noodle soup. I make white chicken chili. We eat out of little bowls and taste everybody's soup and don't feel stuffed!

Here's my white chicken chili recipe (actually my mother-in-law's that I've stolen):

1 lb. chicken breast cubed, browned
1 large can of Randalls great northeren beans
1 block of pepper jack cheese (cubed)
1 medium size jar of salsa


Brown the chicken. Stir all ingredients into a big pot. Warm through and cook until cheese cubes have melted. Serve with sour cream (to cool the kick from the cheese). If you don't like a strong bite you can substitute a milder cheese.

Enjoy!

Homemade Scrubs and Bath Soaks

Because of the time of year (and the day! Dec. 20! Ack! 5 days left!) my brain is mush. Lots of cute and amusing things are going on here but I can't remember any of them. And I lost the card to my camera so I can't even take random pictures of things like Charlie's dwarf snowman and the new bunkbeds Henry won't stay in. So instead I will share some yummy recipes from my last MOPS party.

My MOPS group meets once a month and December is the best. We have a SPA day! This year I called my friend Mindy to go with me. She said, "I'm so busy and overwhelmed I NEED to go!" And it was well worth it.

We made neck wraps, got paraffin dips, foot soaks, and made some amazing bath stuff. Here are the recipes that were included:

Hershey's Spa Chocolate Bath
1 C Powdered Milk
2 T Cocoa
1 t cornstarch
1/2 t cinnamon

Add 1/2 or whole bag to warm bath and enjoy! Warning- the bath water looks so yucky but smells so good! And your skin will be super soft when you get out. Wash out the tub immediately because it gets all over the sides.

Chocolate Brown Sugar Body Scrub
1 1/2 c brown sugar
1/2 c light olive oil
1 T cocoa powder
1/4 t almond extract

To use- gently massage onto body to exfoliate and moisturize skin. Not for facial use.

This stuff is so awesome! I have a little bit left of each and I'm saving them for Christmas Eve (since I'm wrapping EVERYTHING that night to prevent Henry from unwrapping anything he shouldn't).

Have a great day!