Coconut Red Lentil Soup

One of my favorite things about this soup (other than its flavor) is that it is so filling! I think that can be hard to find with vegetarian meals sometimes. It calls for golden raisins, which I listed as optional. I must say, though, that golden raisins are so much tastier than regular ones. Why aren't they as common? Are green grapes harder to grow??

Also, my split peas took closer to an hour to soften. This is probably an altitude thing, but could also be because they were old. So take that into consideration when making this.

1 c. yellow split peas (green would work too)

1 c. red split lentils (or regular)

7 c. water

1 medium carrot, cut into 1/2-inch dice

2 T. fresh minced ginger 

2 T. curry powder

2 T. butter or ghee

4-8 green onions, thinly sliced

1/3 c. golden raisins, optional

1/3 c. tomato paste

1 14-oz can coconut milk

2 tsp. salt

cilantro for serving, optional

Rinse the split peas and lentils until no more murky water drains from them. Place them in a large soup pot, add the water and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to a simmer. Add the carrot and 1/2 T. of the ginger. Cover and simmer for 30+ minutes, or until the split peas are soft. (Mine took closer to an hour).

Meanwhile, in a small dry skillet or saucepan over low heat, toast the curry powder until is is fragrant, being careful not to burn it. Set aside.

In a small skillet, melt the butter over medium heat, add 4 of the green onions, the remaining ginger and raisins. Saute for 2 minutes stirring constantly. Add tomato paste and saute for another minute. Add the curry powder and mix well.

When the peas are soft, add the tomato mixture, coconut milk and salt; stir well. Simmer, uncovered, for 20 minutes or so. The soup will thicken quite a bit. You can add more water, a little at a time if you want it thinner.

Serve with chopped fresh cilantro and more green onions, if desired. Can also serve over rice or farro.

Yield: 6 servings

From 101cookbooks.com

Baked Sweet and Sour Chicken

Hot Pockets

We made these the other night and they were easy and delish.  We used ham, cheddar cheese and broccoli (I used frozen and then just defrosted it and tried to get the moisture out of them before adding them).

Homemade Hot Pockets

Homemade Hot Pockets
Recipe by Our Best Bites

 Ingredients:

1 recipe Breadstick and Pizza Dough

Desired fillings (ham, cheddar, and broccoli – frozen works if it is thawed and the moisture is absorbed first)

Prepare dough through the first rise. After dough has risen the first time, turn it out onto a lightly floured surface and roll into a rectangle, probably about 16×8 inches big (16 inches long, 8 inches tall).Using a pizza cutter, cut dough into 8 equal portions.

**Leaving a little bit of a “margin” on the right and left sides, add toppings with the cheese going on last. Stretch the dough out a little to give yourself a bit more dough to work with. Fold the left side over the middle and then the right side over that. Starting at the bottom of the “mummy,” tightly roll the filled dough, stretching it very gently as you go to make sure you’re getting a tight seal.Place on a sprayed cookie sheet and repeat with remaining dough. When finished, cover the pan with a clean cloth and preheat your oven to 425 degrees F.

When the oven has heated, bake pockets for about 15 minutes or until golden brown on top. For shine, you could brush the tops with a bit of egg white mixed with water during the last 5 minutes of baking, or you could rub a little butter on top of the rolls while they’re still hot.

Breadsticks Recipe:

1 1/2 c. warm (105-115 degrees) water
1 Tbsp. sugar
1 Tbsp. yeast
1/2 tsp. salt
3-4 1/2 c. flour

 ** You can also just fold the dough over the ingredients to make them more of a calzone.

FREEZER INSTRUCTIONS:

Bake according to directions and allow to cool. Place in a Ziploc freezer bag, squeezing out all the air. When ready to serve, just pop in the microwave for 2-3 minutes (depending on how fast your microwave cooks).

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Article printed from Our Best Bites: http://ourbestbites.com

URL to article: http://ourbestbites.com/2009/07/kids-week-homemade-hot-pockets/

Apple Pie

This pie is from Pioneer Woman and it's delish.  I added more cinnamon (it only called for 1/8th tsp) and I also added more apples than it originally called for (I made three of these pies this weekend and the first ones were a bit sparse in my opinion).  I also changed it to just Apple Pie in my cook book because I can never find my recipes when they begin with random adjectives haha!

Dreamy Apple Pie

Prep: 20 Minutes	Level: Easy
Cook: 1 Hours	Serves: 12

Ingredients

• 1 whole Unbaked Pie Crust
• Filling
• 3 whole Large (4 Or 5 Small) Granny Smith Apples, Peeled, Cored, And Sliced Thin
• 1/2 cup Brown Sugar
• 1/2 cup Sugar
• 1 Tablespoon All-purpose Flour
• 1 cup Heavy Cream
• 2 teaspoons Vanilla Extract
• 1/8 teaspoon Cinnamon
• Topping
• 7 Tablespoons Butter
• 3/4 cups All-purpose Flour
• 1/2 cup Brown Sugar
• 1/4 cup Pecans (more To Taste)
• Dash Of Salt

Preparation

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. 

Roll out pie dough and place it in a pie pan. Decorate the edges as desired. 

Add apple slices to a large bowl. In a separate bowl, mix together cream, 1/2 cup brown sugar, 1/2 cup sugar, 1 tablespoon flour, vanilla, and cinnamon. Pour over apples. Pour apples into pie shell.

In the bowl of a food processor (or you can mix by hand) combine butter, flour, sugar, pecans (chop if you're not using a food processor), and salt. Mix until everything comes together in clumps. Pour topping over apples. 

Attach foil to the edges and lay a piece of flat foil loosely over the top of the pie. Place pie pan on top of a rimmed cookie sheet and bake for one hour. At the end, remove foil and allow to finish baking and browning. Can bake for up to 15 or 20 minutes more if necessary.

Remove from oven when pie is bubbly and golden brown.

Serve warm with hard sauce, whipped cream, or ice cream.

Perfect Pie Crust

This crust is super flaky and easy to make.  It tastes great!  I found this at Pioneerwoman.com... she's usually pretty reliable when you're looking for fatty foods. ;)

Perfect Pie Crust

Ingredients

·         1-1/2 cup Crisco (vegetable Shortening)

·         3 cups All-purpose Flour

·         1 whole Egg

·         5 Tablespoons Cold Water

·         1 Tablespoon White Vinegar

·         1 teaspoon Salt

Preparation

In a large bowl, with a pastry cutter, gradually work the Crisco into the flour for about 3 or 4 minutes until it resembles a coarse meal. In a small bowl, beat an egg with a fork and then pour it into the flour/shortening mixture. Add 5 tablespoons of cold water, 1 tablespoon of white vinegar and 1 teaspoon of salt. Stir together gently until all of the ingredients are incorporated.

Separate the dough into thirds. ***Note: Separating it into thirds will result in three thin crusts. If you prefer a more substantial crust, separate it in half.*** Form 3 evenly sized balls of dough and place each dough into a large Ziploc bag. Using a rolling pin, slightly flatten each ball of dough (about ½ inch thick) to make rolling easier later. Seal the bags and place them in the freezer until you need them. (If you will be using it immediately it’s still a good idea to put in the freezer for about 15 to 20 minutes to chill.)

When you are ready to use the dough to make a crust, remove from the freezer and allow to thaw for 15 minutes. On a floured surface roll the dough, starting at the center and working your way out. (Sprinkle some flour over top of the dough if it’s a bit too moist.) If the dough is sticking to the countertop use a metal spatula and carefully scrape it up and flip it over and continue rolling until it’s about ½ inch larger in diameter than your pie pan.

With a spatula, lift the dough carefully from the surface of the counter into the pie pan. Gently press the dough against the corner of the pan. Go around the pie pan pinching and tucking the dough to make a clean edge.

Pumpkin Bread with Brown Butter Maple Icing

Mmmm....this is goooood!  I had to use the electric hand mixer to bring the icing ingredients together.
Pumpkin Bread with Brown Butter Maple Icing

1/2 C. butter, softened
1 C. dark brown sugar
1 can pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie filling)
2 eggs
1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 1/2 C. all-purpose flour
FOR GLAZE:
1/2 C. butter
1 1/2 C. powdered sugar
2 Tbsp maple syrup
3-4 Tbsp milk, optional, if glaze is too thick.

Preheat the oven to 350°.  Liberally grease a 9' loaf pan with cooking spray and set aside.
Meanwhile, in a large bowl, combine all of the above bread ingredients and beat at medium speed with a handheld mixer, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed, until well-mixed.
Pour the bread mixture in to the prepared pan.  Bake for approx. 40-50 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out mostly clean or with a couple moist crumbs (not wet).  Cool for about 15 minutes, then very gently remove from pan and transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
While bread cools, make your glaze:  in a small saucepan, heat the butter over medium-low heat until melted.  Continue cooking, watching butter carefully, until it sizzles and begins to turn amber in color, about 4-5 minutes.  Watch it carefully because it can quickly burn!  When butter looks caramel-colored an smells kind of nutty, it's done.  Remove from heat and stir in the powdered sugar and maple syrup until a soft glaze has formed.  Use a handheld mixer, if needed.  Add the milk, a little at a time, if it's too thick.  Pour/spread the glaze generously over the top of the pumpkin bread and let it set, about 30 minutes.  Serve and enjoy!

Recipe altered slightly from thedomesticrebel.com