Snobby Joe's

This recipe is stolen from a vegan cookbook, although, sadly and irresponsibly, I do not know which one.  I got the recipe from some friends who loved these.  I love them, too, so I am posting it for you!

1 cup uncooked lentils
4 cups water
1 T olive oil (I used virgin coconut: YUM)
1 medium yellow onion, small dice
1 green bell pepper, small dice (I also used some red pepper)
2 cloves garlic, minced
3 T Chile Powder
2 t dried oregano
1 t salt
8 oz tomato sauce
1/4 cup tomato paste (mine was pretty pasty; you might want to consider cutting this down)
2-3 T maple syrup
1 T prepared yellow mustard

Cover the lentils with water and simmer for 20 minutes.  Drain and set aside.

Halfway into cooking the lentils, saute the onion and pepper in the oil for 7 minutes till soft.  Add garlic and saute for one more minute.

Stir in the cooked lentils, chile powder, oregano and salt.  Add tomato sauce and paste.  Cook for about 10  minutes.  Add maple syrup (to taste) and mustard.  Turn off the heat and let it sit for 10 minutes for the flavors to meld, if you can wait that long!

These would be yummy on a bun, or open faced on a bun, but we did not eat them that way.  The girls ate them as lettuce wraps (yum) and the boys used it as dip for their tortilla chips (Frito Pie, anyone?)  This was delicious either way, but of course, tortilla chips make everything yummier.  I just ate some of the leftovers in a wrap with a wheat tortilla and some fresh baby spinach.  That might have been my favorite way to consume these.  This filling is so easy, so versatile, and really really really yummy.   You are welcome.

DEEELICIOUS Whole Grain Waffles

We had these for dinner last night and no one could get enough.  They are so scrumptious.  And NO ONE could tell there was so much good stuff in there.  They are quick, healthy, and yummy.  Make them, freeze them, and pop them in the toaster for a quick breakfast!

 Whole Grain Waffles

 Ingredients

• 2 eggs, beaten
• 1 3/4 cups skim milk
• 1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup whole wheat flour
• 1/2 cup flax seed meal
• 1/4 cup wheat germ
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour (I used bread flour, because that is what I had on hand)
• 4 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 tablespoon sugar (I used a squirt of agave, honey or maple syrup would be delicious, and then the waffles could be served with fruit on top instead of more sugar)
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• a few dashes of cinnamon (I probably used a teaspoon)

Directions

1. In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk, applesauce, agave, and vanilla. Beat in whole wheat pastry flour, flax seed meal, wheat germ, all-purpose flour, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt until batter is smooth.
2. Preheat a waffle iron, and coat with cooking spray. Pour batter into waffle iron in batches, and cook until crisp and golden brown. In my waffle maker, each took about 2 1/2 minutes.  I got about 8 waffles.

Chewy Granola Bars

I don't know about your house, but in ours, granola bars are a necessity. They work as breakfast, snacks, lunch, skipped dinner, whatever we need them to be. Packaged granola bars are expensive, well at least the good kind are.

I set out on a journey to find an alternative, and this is the recipe I have stumbled upon. It's very forgiving, and not exactly a recipe, as much as it is a starting point. I change up the additives/ingredients to suit our tastes, and change the pans I prepare it in, always looking for the next easiest option for packaging and serving.

I know some of you, ie Jessica, have issue with trying something that doesn't have a step-by-step recipe. GET OVER IT, these will still turn out fine. I promise!

2 C organic rolled oats (not the quick kind)

1 C whole wheat flour (sub white, flax meal, wheat germ, oat bran for some or all if you want)

1/2 tsp baking soda

Add random stuff you like in your granola: sunflower seeds, nuts, flax seed, sesame, chopped dried fruits, chocolate chips, poppy seeds, you get it...

Stir above to combine, and add the wet ingredients to follow:

1/3 C honey (more or less to taste, sub some brown sugar, peanut butter, molasses if you want)

1 stick melted butter

Press concoction firmly into a well greased receptacle. The size of the pan will dictate the thickness of your bars/squares/bites.

Bake at 300 degrees for 15-22 min. Time in oven directly relates to pan choice, so keep an eye on them and when the begin to brown and become fragrant, pull 'em out.

You will notice that they puffed up again. Smash the suckers back down nice and flat, give 'em 10 minutes to cool, and get them out of the pan for slicing. If you used the mini-muffin tin for bites, just leave 'em alone. To make it really easy for removal, try using a parchment sling under them in a 9x13, then cut with a pizza roller! After slicing, let cool thoroughly before moving for best results.

Store in an airtight container, or wrap individually for grab and go snacks!

Share here if you come up with any particularly delectable combos!

Chinese Five Spice Roasted Almonds- A DEEE-licious snack!

Sweet and Spicy Chinese Five Spice Roasted Almonds

2 cups raw almonds
2 teaspoons olive oil
1 teaspoon Chinese Five Spice
3/4 teaspoon fine grain sea salt
1/4 teaspoon ground cayenne
1/2 packet stevia (or 1/2 to 1 teaspoon sugar)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a large bowl, toss the almonds with the olive oil. Spread almonds out on a sheet pan in a single layer. (Keep the mixing bowl handy – you will need it again.) While oven heats, mix the spices, salt, and stevia (or sugar) in a small bowl; set aside.
Bake almonds in a preheated 350 degree oven for 10 minutes. Remove pan from oven and carefully pour the hot almonds back into the mixing bowl. Sprinkle spices over the nuts and toss well with a spoon. Pour the seasoned almonds back onto the sheet pan and return to the oven for 5 minutes. Remove from oven and let nuts cool completely on pan. Store cooled nuts in a covered container.

Credit: http://pinchmysalt.com/2011/03/29/sweet-and-spicy-chinese-five-spice-roasted-almonds/

Spiced Quinoa and Chickpeas

I got this recipe from Allrecipes.com, made it last night for meatless Monday. It was SO good! I omitted the pine nut-- A)because I didn't have them on hand and B) because I'm too cheap to buy them. I ate some hot and cold and it really was delicious both ways.

Ingredients

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 small onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
3/4 cup quinoa
1 1/2 teaspoons curry powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1 1/2 cups chicken stock (or veg if you want vegetarian/vegan)
1 (14 ounce) can garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed
1/2 cup toasted pine nuts
1/2 cup raisins, soaked in hot water and drained (optional)
Directions

Stir together the olive oil, onion, and garlic in a saucepan over medium heat until the onion has softened and turned translucent, about 5 minutes. Stir in the quinoa, curry powder, salt, pepper, cumin, cinnamon, and chicken stock. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer 20 minutes until the quinoa is tender.
Once the quinoa has finished cooking, stir in the drained garbanzo beans, toasted pine nuts, and raisins. Serve warm or cold.

Credit: http://allrecipes.com/recipe/spiced-quinoa/

Guinness Bread with Molasses Recipe

This bread is a little sweet a little savory and incredibly easy to make. I think it makes the absolute best cinnamon toast. And, it was the perfect bread to accompany my traditional bowl of New Year's Black-eyed peas and greens.

This is from Babble.com

Guinness Bread with Molasses Recipe
• Prep time: 5 minutes
• Cook time: 50 minutes

This is fantastic eaten fresh, and nearly as good the next day toasted with some more butter. Do not use stale beer for this recipe, you want the carbonation.

Ingredients
• 3 cups self-rising flour*
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1/3 cup molasses
• A pinch of salt (roughly 1/8 teaspoon)
• 12 ounces of Guinness beer
• Butter for greasing the pan and painting the top, about 3 tablespoons

* If you don't have self-rising flour, you can substitute using a ratio of 1 cup all-purpose flour, 1 1/4 teaspoon baking powder, plus 1/8 teaspoon of salt, for every cup of self-rising flour. Have made both ways though and got better results from the self-rising flour.

Method
1 Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease a 9x5-inch loaf pan well with butter.

2 Pour the flour, salt and sugar into a large bowl and whisk to combine.

3 Slowly pour the Guinness into the flour mixture. (The “pub cans” are larger than 12 ounces, but they have better carbonation, so I pour most of it out and leave a swig to drink. This has never failed me, but if you are a stickler, use a 12-ounce bottle of Guinness instead.) Start stirring the beer into the dry ingredients, and when you are about halfway done, add the molasses. Mix well, just to combine. Don’t work the heck out of the batter – because that’s what it’ll look like – but you don’t want lumps, either.

4 Pour into the loaf pan to no more than 2/3 full. Pop into the oven immediately and bake for 50 minutes. Since ovens can vary, check the bread after 40 minutes and see if a toothpick inserted into the deepest part of the loaf comes out clean. If it does, you’re done.

5 Let the loaf cool a bit, maybe 5 minutes, and then turn it out onto a rack. Paint it with lots of soft butter, which will melt as you go.

NOTE: I used a chocolate stout instead of Guinness and it was awesome.