What we ate 08-08-14

For dinner last night I combined around a cup of dried red lentils with one 14 oz can of dice  tomatoes, 1 can of water, two cups of raw spinach, 2 t ginger, 1/2 T garlic, 1 T dried onion, 1 t curry powder. I cooked it on high heat until the spinach was cooked and the lentils were tender and served it over white rice. It turned out well.

Breakfast: coconut Greek yogurt, strawberry coffee cake
Lunch: tuna salad, celery, banana
Dinner: lentils with tomatoes and spinach, rice
Snacks/desserts: Greek yogurt tubes, protein bar
Beverages: water, Crystal Light

Recipe for slow cooker curried chickpeas and carrots

1 1/2 cups dried chickpeas (garbanzo beans)
1 14 oz can diced tomatoes in juice
3 or 4 carrots, thickly sliced
2 cloves of garlic
1 T curry powder
1 T olive oil
2 T dried onion flakes

Soak the chickpeas in 3 cups of water overnight. The next morning combine all ingredients in a 2 qt slow cooker, and add 2 more cups of water. Slow cook on high for 6 or 7 hours until chickpeas are tender. Makes about 8 cups. Nutrition info is for 1 cup.

Slow cooker recipe for hearty bean and vegetable soup

sooooo many vitamins

This soup gets tons of flavor from fresh, dried, and canned veggies and beans, and is high in with lots of assorted micronutrients. I am tagging this recipe as vegetarian, because you can very easily replace the chicken bouillon with vegetable or mushroom bouillon. Don't be intimidated by the long ingredient list. This is super fast to put together.

1/3 cup dried black beans
1/3 cup dried pinto beans
1/3 cup dried garbanzo beans
1/3 cup yellow split peas (if you can't find these, try brown lentils instead)
1/3 cup green split peas
5 cups water
2 carrots, thickly sliced
1 bell pepper, chopped
1/4 cup dried onion
2 T sodium free chicken bouillon
14 oz can diced tomatoes in juice
3 cloves of crushed garlic
1/4 cup white wine
1 t oregano
dash of black pepper

Combine all dried beans and pulses with the five cups of water the night before and allow them to soak. The following day, combine all ingredients in a 2 qt or larger slow cooker and cook on the low setting for 6 or 7 hours until beans and split peas are tender. Makes 8 cups. Nutrition info is for 1 cup.

Chunky slow cooker spaghetti sauce recipe

OMGSPAGHETTI!

I realized way later that I forgot to put dried onions in this. I usually do, but I spaced it this time. It tastes fine either way.

7 oz tomato sauce
14 oz canned diced tomatoes (no salt added)
3 cloves of garlic, crushed or pureed
1 zucchini, chopped
2 veggie burger patties, torn into small pieces, or 1/2 cup veggie ground round
3 T olive oil
1/4 cup red wine
1 T Italian seasoning

Combine all ingredients in a slow cooker and cook on low heat for at least 6 hours. This recipe cooks down to about 3 cups of sauce. The nutrition info is for one half cup of sauce. Just the sauce, no pasta.

Green bean and cheddar quiche

Very clever dinner...

Green beans are not something I have ever put in quiche before. Spinach, yes. Broccoli, yes. Peas, sure. But I had a can of French cut green beans, and none of the other previously names green things. So I went with it. Green beans typically pair well with plenty of dairy products and fat. This quiche is no exception.

I halved the recipe for pie crust that was printed on the back of my all-purpose flour bag, reduced the salt, and replaced the shortening with coconut oil (because, again, this was what I had). It has a very slight coconut flavor, which isn't altogether unpleasant. I used to use this recipe for quiche, but over time I have adjusted some of the proportions to make it slightly firmer and have more room for veggies.

1 cup all purpose flour
1/3 cup coconut oil
5 T cold water
1/4 t salt
3 eggs
1 cup half and half
1 14 oz can of French cut green beans
2 oz white cheddar with black pepper
pinch of nutmeg

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Use a pastry blender to mix together coconut oil, salt, and flour in a medium sized bowl, until well incorporated.  Mix in cold water a little bit at a time until it feels like a nice dough ball. Roll out the crust and place it in a pie pan. Or just do what I did and smoosh it relatively flatly into the pie pan for a "rustic" look. Grate the cheese, drain the green beans, and mix them together in the pie crust. Whisk together the eggs, half and half, and nutmeg. If your cheese does not already contain black pepper, I'd recommend adding some at this juncture. Pour the egg mixture over the cheese and beans. Bake at 425 for 15 minutes, then reduce the heat to 350 and bake for another 25 minutes. Let it cool a while before you cut it. Nutrition info is for 1/6th of quiche.

Chili cheese casserole recipe

I mean, this barely even qualifies as a recipe, but it turned out nice, so I'll post it.

2 cups chili (I used leftover vegetarian chili)
4 oz shredded cheese
4 corn tortillas

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spread 1 cup of chili in a small casserole dish. Top with two corn tortillas. You can cut them into strips if they fit weird. Sprinkle with half the cheese. Repeat with a second layer of chili, tortillas, and then cheese. Cover with foil. Bake it for 30 minutes. You can also make this one ahead, and put it in the fridge until dinnertime, as I did. Nutrition info is for 1/2 the recipe.

French toast with cherry pear compote

This is worth getting up early for, people.

French Toast

4 slices of bread (we used Franz old fashioned buttermilk)
2 eggs
1/4 cup half and half
1 t cinnamon
1/2 t nutmeg
1 T oil

Beat together eggs, half and half, and seasonings. Pour half of it into a plate or shallow bowl. Heat a skillet on medium. Add half of the oil. Soak two slices of bread in the egg mixture, and cook until each side is golden brown. Add the remaining oil to the pan, and egg mixture to the plate, and repeat with the other two slices of bread. This recipe makes two servings. Nutrition info is for two slices of toast. You can add powdered sugar on top to taste. The NI does not include powdered sugar.

Cherry Pear Compote

1 cup pitted cherries
1 ripe pear, peeled and sliced
1/4 cup water
zest and juice of one small lemon (about 2 T juice)
1 T cornstarch
1 t honey

Combine all ingredients in a small saucepan and simmer over medium heat for about 15 minutes until fruit is soft and sauce has thickened. Allow to cool for a few minutes before serving. Nutrition info is for 1/2 of the recipe.

This compote would also be awesome on it's own, served over a scoop of vanilla ice cream, on top of your oatmeal, whatever. The lemon gives it a nice tangy summery flavor.

Carrot and cranberry granola

doesn't taste like carrots

This pan of granola has two whole carrots in it. It tastes nothing like carrots. It really just tastes like granola. Heck, you can barely even see the carrots. If you have a kid who refuses to eat carrots, but for some reason they love granola, put grated carrots in their granola. They will never ever know.

This is the exact recipe I used, but I ran out of both cinnamon and nutmeg making this. If I had had any more I'd have used more. It's not bad as is though.

2 cups old fashioned oats
1 cup steel cut oats
1/4 cup whole grain teff
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 scant T cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1 whole egg
5 T melted coconut oil
2 grated carrots
1/2 cup dried cranberries

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix all ingredients except for cranberries together in a large bowl. Spread mixture evenly on a cookie sheet and bake for 35 minutes. Allow granola to cool, then break up into chunks, and mix in dried cranberries. Makes about 6 cups of granola. Nutrition info is for 1/2 cup.

Slow Cooker Vegetarian Chili

1 cup dried pintos
1 cup dried black beans
2 veggie burgers (or 1/2 cup veggie ground round)
14 oz tomato sauce
14 oz diced tomatoes
2 T chili powder
1 T cumin
3 T dried onion flakes
dash of red pepper flakes
4 cups water

Soak the beans in the water overnight. The following day tear the veggie burgers into small pieces and add all ingredients to pot. Top it off with a little more water if necessary. Slow cook on low for 7-9 hours until beans are tender. Recipe makes about 2 quarts. Nutrition info is for 1 cup.