Sweet & Sour Lentils

I was skeptical about this recipe...an entire meal with just lentils? Weird. However, it actually turned out quite well and hubby said it was decent. Although he did say it would be better with pork :)

I didn't take a picture because I didn't think it was going to be any good, and it's not very pretty!

The original recipe is from Hillbilly Housewife, and I made very few changes to it. I think next time I would also add pineapple chunks to it, and maybe add a small amount of pork for an 'almost meatless monday' meal. Also, hubby suggested that some roasted peanuts sprinkled on top before eating would add extra tastiness...I love it when hubby has culinary suggestions, often he just gives a thumbs up or a thumbs down, so input is appreciated!!

Ingredients

1 Cup Lentils

2 1/2 Cups Water

2 Beef Bouillon Cubes (Mine are vegetarian due to those being the only gf ones I could find!)

A sprinkle of Bay Leaf Pieces

1/4 Cup Pineapple or Apple Juice

1/8 Cup Apple Cider Vinegar

1/8 Cup White Vinegar

1/4 Cup Brown Sugar, Packed

2 Garlic Cloves, Minced

1 Tbsp. Oil

1 Red Pepper, Diced (I'm sure other peppers would be just as good, that's just what I had)

1 Large Onion, Diced

2 Cups Rice, Cook as Directed

Pineapple chunks (optional)

Peanuts (optional, obviously leave out if you are nut free!)

Place lentils, water, beef bouillon cubes and bay leaf pieces in a pot and bring to a boil. Cook until tender. Stir occasionally. 

While that is cooking, in a large frying pan, saute onion and pepper in oil, until tender/onion is translucent.

In a small bowl, mix together pineapple/apple juice, apple cider vinegar, vinegar, brown sugar and garlic. (If using pineapple chunks, add them here.)

When lentils are tender (most of the liquid will be absorbed), add them to the frying pan with the cooked onions and peppers. Add the juice mixture and stir to mix. Heat until bubbling and serve hot over rice. (If adding peanuts, add them to the top.)

Using Dried Beans

I have had a friend request a 'how to' on using dry beans, so here is my method :) 

It can seem intimidating at first if you haven't done it, but once you have done it once you'll realize just how simple and convenient it is to always have beans ready to go. I do this once or twice a month.

1. Sort beans to remove any bad ones, or any dirt or rocks that may be in your bag. (You will be surprised what you can find!). I also remove any beans that float...my rationale is that if only a few are floating and most have sunk I go with the majority!

2. Place the amount of beans you want into your slow cooker pot, keeping in mind they will almost double in size! (My rule of thumb is less then half a pot, but more then a quarter). This can be done in a regular pot as well, but a slow cooker allows you to cook them the next day without monitoring them on the stove top.

    note: some people add a few tsp. of baking soda at this point to help reduce gassiness after eating...our family is used to eating beans and it doesn't seem to bother us so I skip this step. 

NEVER add salt when cooking or soaking your beans or they will not become tender no matter how long you cook them!

3. Fill with water, almost to the top of the pot.

4. Let soak overnight. (8-12 hours)

5. The next morning, drain the water, rinse the beans and place back into the slow cooker. 

6. Fill with water, almost to the top of the pot.

7. Cook on low for 8-12 hours (depends on heat of slow cooker, amount of beans etc.)

8. Beans are finished when fork tender (or if you like crunchier beans, stop cooking when they reach your desired texture).

9. Divide into containers (I do 3 cup portions, including bean juice) and freeze for later use.

There you have it. Easy peasy and so much cheaper then buying canned beans! I have done this with black beans and kidney beans, and both have worked really well. I always freeze them in their juices to avoid drying out and then depending on what recipe I'm putting them in I either rinse them or add everything in. I add black beans to almost every ground beef dish that I make. Sometimes as Refried Beans, and other times I just add the beans plain.

Dry lentils do not need to be soaked, nor do they need to be cooked very long. For lentils, I rinse them well and then I boil them on the stove until tender (5-10 minutes) and then I blend and add them to things like macaroni and cheese for extra protein!

Taco Pie

I love any type of meal that can be served from one dish. Things that I can prep earlier and then throw into the oven 30 minutes before supper. This taco pie certainly fits that bill.
It's gluten free (of course) and quite tasty. I've made it two nights in a row, but the first night I followed a different recipe for the 'filling' and I wasn't happy with it. It was good, but forgettable. I knew I needed to make it again right away with changes so that it would be memorable and I would then remember to make it again later! The crust recipe is from Here, but I wouldn't make her meat recipe again. Like I said, it was good but not great. As soon as I bit into the original version of this pie, I had a lightbulb moment. Refried beans! That's what this needed. So without further ado....Taco Pie! (Which of course was gobbled up before I took a picture, that's what happens when a tasty supper is pulled out of the oven with 4 adults and 2 children looking on! Just imagine a taco pie and that's what it looked like!)

Crust:
1/4 Cup Butter
2/3 Cup Milk
1 Tbsp. Taco Seasoning
2 1/2 Cups Instant Potato Flakes (as I've said before, not a huge fan of instant anything, but when cooking gluten free sometimes we have to make do!)

Melt butter in a small pot. Add milk. Bring to a boil and add taco seasoning. Mix well. Remove from heat and add Potato Flakes. At this point you may need to add a few Tbsp. of water to get it to mix properly. You want a 'doughy' type of consistency, but you do want all the potato flakes mixed in.

Press into a pie plate. Bake just the shell at 350F for 10 minutes. Remove and let cool (or if you are in a hurry add the filling right away and just bake. Prebaking/cooling just allows the crust to firm up a little bit, but it's not a complete must-do!)

Filling:
1 lb. Ground Beef
1 Recipe of Refried Beans

Cook and drain beef. Cook refried beans. Mix together. Scoop into shell. Bake at 350F for approx. 25-30 minutes or until the crust starts browning.
Remove from oven and top with cheese, lettuce and tomatoes. Serve with sour cream.

Taco Casserole

I was trying to decide what to make for supper yesterday and came up with this really yummy dish! Not really a super pretty dish, so I once again forgot to take pictures...I'll try to get better at that!

Ingredients
2 Cups Rice - Cook as directed
1lb Ground Beef, Browned
1 Recipe Refried Beans
1 Cup Sour Cream
1/2 Cup Water
2 Cups Salsa
2 Cups Grated Cheese, plus some for topping 
Tortilla Chips, Crushed

Mix together everything over medium heat in a large frying pan (except the rice and the topping cheese). Stir until well mixed (it wont look pretty lol). In a 9x13 pan start layering rice, meat mixture, rice, meat mixture. End with meat mixture and then extra grated cheese on top. Bake at 375F for 8-10 minutes, or until cheese is melted and bubbly. Serve hot, topped with crushed tortilla chips.

Delicious the first time and delicious reheated the next day!

Black Bean Burgers

Looking wonderful and tasty and ready to eat!

Hot off the BBQ!

Ready for the BBQ!

These were such a hit for supper last night! Although hubby refuses to call them 'burgers' choosing instead to label them BBQ Bean Patties. Whatever you call them make sure you insert 'yummy' at least once!

I kind of just threw them together so changes will need to be made but here is the preliminary recipe.

Makes 10 patties depending on what size you make them.

Ingredients

6 cups beans, drained (I soak & cook my beans and then freeze them in 3 cup portions (including broth) so I'm not exactly sure how many cups of drained beans I used).
1/2 Large onion (next time I would cook this first or use dehydrated onion)

1 Egg

1 Cup Cheese, shredded

1/2-3/4 Cup Instant Potato Flakes (I don't normally use anything like this but in trying to keep it gf and not use crackers I tried this. It worked but I think I will experiment with ground gf oats or gf breadcrumbs next time just to see if it makes a big difference. Although I will admit that these were super cheap and easy to grab out of the pantry!)
Steak spice, to taste (Maybe 2Tbsp.)

BBQ Sauce, to taste (Maybe 1/4 Cup and more for topping on the BBQ)

Mash the beans in a big bowl using a potato masher. You don't want complete puree but you do want it all mashed.
Add all other ingredients.
Add more potato flakes/bread crumbs as needed.
Shape into patties.
BBQ on medium-medium high heat for about 5 min per side.
Add some BBQ sauce to the top after you flip them, if desired.
Alternately you can pan fry them in 1/4 cup of oil. I knew if I was going to stand a chance to get my hubby to eat them they would have to be on the BBQ!!

Serve hot as you would hamburgers...buns, ketchup, mustard, lettuce, pickles etc. then return to the kitchen and quietly fist pump as you score one for meatless Mondays and are one meal closer to reducing your grocery bill, even a small amount!

Keep in mind that these are NOT the same firmness as beef burgers. They do squish a bit when you bite into them. I thought it would bother hubby but he said it was kind of like bbq sloppy joe or meatloaf. I can live with that!

I'm not sure how well they would freeze, I didn't have a chance to try...maybe next time!

What's On The Table?

Black bean burgers on gluten free hamburger buns!

The consensus from my carniverous family is that these are very tasty :)

Happy meatless Monday!

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Chili

Yummy, super filling and easy to make. 3 of my favourite adjectives when describing cooking!
The original recipe was from a magazine called The Canola Digest. It was called Cheapskate Chili.
I have modified a few things and this is our regularly used recipe now :)

1lb. Ground Beef, browned
680mL Tomato Sauce  
398mL Diced Tomatoes  
3 Cups Kidney beans, soaked & cooked (or canned)  
1 Tbsp. Chili Powder  
1 Tsp. Garlic Powder  
1/2 Tsp. Onion Powder  
2 1/2 Tsp. Taco Seasoning  
1/2 Cup Lentils, dry  
1 Cup Quinoa, dry (I used red quinoa, but regular is fine too)


Mix together all ingredients except the quinoa in a large pot. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low and allow to simmer, covered. Cook the quinoa as directed on the package (it cooks like rice...1 cup quinoa, 2 cups water). Simmer the chili on the stove while the quinoa cooks. When its finished add to the pot. Mix well. 
Serve hot with bread/buns or just topped with cheese! Or over fries with cheese sauce on top for chili-cheese fries!
It is also a really good meal to make ahead and freeze.

Southwest Breakfast Casserole

Finished and ready to eat!

Before baking.

Our meatless Monday's dish...or this week's Meatless Tuesday lol (we had leftovers that needed eating yesterday).

So simple, so tasty and yes so filling...not to mention economical!

Ingredients
(I have tripled the recipe, and it is enough to feed 3 adults, 2 kids and have 2 lunches leftover (and yes, it reheats quite well! And of course I use more cheese then the original recipe because cheese is wonderful!)


3 Cups Cooked Rice
1 1/2 Cups Salsa
2-3 Cups Cooked Beans
Shredded Cheese (a cup or two)
8-9 Eggs

Mix rice and salsa in the bottom of a casserole dish and press flat. Sprinkle some cheese on top. Spread beans on top. Sprinkle more cheese. Dig 'pockets' in the layers for however many eggs you want to put in. I do 8 or 9 depending on how I space the pockets. Crack eggs into pockets. Sometimes I put 2 in the centre if its a bigger hole :)
Bake at 350°F for 30-50 minutes or until egg whites are no longer runny. Baking time depends on your preference of egg...a little runny yolk or fully cooked. Enjoy!

What's On The Table?

I have finally found a recipe that my husband approves of that doesnt have meat! *squeal of excitement!*
I can finally do Meatless Mondays even if I have to make the same recipe every Monday until I can find another ok'd one!
It's called Southwest Breakfast Casserole. Beans, eggs, rice, salsa and cheese...doesnt get much easier or delicious!

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Sloppy Joes

mmmm Sloppy Joes on a cool fall day...or any day for that matter! We had this for supper tonight except instead of on buns we had it on fresh made bread (I toasted mine!), and it was delicious!
I like the idea of adding lentils in to bulk up the meal. It makes it feel like a package of hamburger meat goes that much further!
This recipe is from BudgetBytes and the only thing I changed was a little less sugar and a little less vinegar :)

Ingredients
3/4 Cup Dry Lentils
1 Tbsp. Oil
1 Sweet Onion
1 Green Bell Pepper
2-3 Cloves Minced Garlic
1 lb Lean Ground Beef
1 (15oz) can of Tomato Sauce
1 (3oz) can of Tomato Paste
2 Tbsp. Cider Vinegar
2 Tbsp. Brown Sugar (I used Demerara)
1/2 Tbsp. Dijon Mustard
1/2 Tsp. Salt
1/2 Tsp. Chili Powder
Bread or Buns to serve it on!

Lentils: Cook them first, you will thank yourself later when you aren't crunching your way through your supper! Boil water and add the lentils. Reduce heat to low, cover and simmer for 20 minutes. Test to make sure they are tender and then drain them. Set aside to add to the sloppy joe mixture later.


Chop the onion and green pepper and mince the garlic. Add to the frying pan with the oil and cook over medium heat until soft. (about 5 minutes)
Add the ground beef and continue to cook until the meat is no longer red (about 7-10 minutes)

Add the tomato sauce, tomato paste, cider vinegar, brown sugar, dijon, chili powder and salt. Stir well and heat through.
Stir in the cooked lentils and heat through if needed. Serve warm on buns or bread.

Homemade Refried Beans

Step 1: Saute Onions and Garlic

Step 2: Add Beans (Soaked & Cooked)

Step 3: Add Spices

Step 4: Add water if necessary. Simmer

Step 5: Finished Product. Not pretty, but pretty tasty :)

We have started eating more beans in our house lately. Not only are they Gluten Free, Dairy Free, Soy Free and Egg Free they are an inexpensive source of protein!
I buy dried beans and I soak and then cook up a huge batch and then freeze them in 3 or 4 cup portions. Way cheaper then even buying No Name canned beans :) (For example I spent less then $6 buying dried beans and got 18 cups of cooked beans. This would have cost me just over $14  buying No Name canned!)
This recipe is from The Prairie Homestead and it is so tasty! I have made this recipe so many times in the last few weeks that I have it memorized already! I make a batch of this and mix it with 1lb (or less!) of hamburger meat and we have taco salad. It makes enough for supper for 4, plus several lunches. Very economical and so flavourful!
Ok, enough ranting...more recipe-ing (that's a word right?)

4 cups cooked black beans (I add them with their bean broth)

4 T. butter/Margarine/Oil
1 cup chopped onion
6 cloves garlic, minced
3 tsp. cumin
2 tsp. paprika
2 tsp. sea salt
1 tsp. chili powder
1 tsp. black pepper
Water, Bean Broth or Milk 

Saute onions and garlic in butter (or margarine or oil) until soft and tender. Add beans. Add Spices. Add water if your mixture is too dry. You want have it simmer, so some moisture is required. Simmer for 20 minutes (covered). Mash with potato masher, adding more water as necessary depending on the texture you want. Enjoy! Mix with hamburger meat, or eat plain topped with cheese or anything else you desire!

Crock Pot Taco Chicken

Last night's supper was amazing! And amazingly easy too. I was done making it (except the rice) by 930am! Now that's what I call a win!
BudgetBytes is a new website I have found courtesy of Pinterest, and she's got some pretty neat recipes. Also, they break down the cost of each recipe per serving. It's in American prices, but at least it gives you some sort of idea. It's a website that's worth taking a browse through :)

Ingredients
1.5lbs Chicken Breasts (I used 3 small ones and started with them frozen)
2 Cups Salsa
2 Cups Black Beans (Canned or pre-soaked and cooked)
1 Cup Frozen Corn
1/4 Cup Water
1 Tbsp. Chili Powder
1/2 Tbsp. Cumin
1/2 Tbsp. Minced Garlic 
1/2 Tsp. Oregano
1/4 Tsp. Cayenne Pepper
1/4 Tsp. Salt
Pepper, to taste
2 Cups Dry Rice
1 Cup Shredded Cheese (or more!)
Cilantro, to taste (optional)

Add everything to the slow cooker except the rice, cheese and cilantro (if using). Give it a good stir and then make sure the chicken is covered in the mixture.
Cook on low for 8 hours. (I have a large oval crock pot and it took less then 6, but yours may differ).
Cook rice towards the end of the cooking time.
At the end of the cooking time stir with a fork to shred the chicken.
Build taco bowls by placing rice on the bottom, then the taco chicken mix, shredded cheese and fresh cilantro!



I think you could get away with adding double the beans and make this recipe go even farther. Everything is so flavourful that extra beans would just make it better :)
I love that I was able to make this with frozen chicken breasts. Freezer to crock pot to plate. I love it!



This recipe makes about 8 Servings. It's hard for me to estimate because hubby eats enough for 2 adults most of the time! We had a wonderful supper plus I had enough left over for 2 lunches for him and 1 lunch for me. I think this is my new favourite crock pot recipe!

I haven't tried it yet, but the original poster of this recipe said it freezes wonderfully, rice, cheese and all! Just throw in the microwave to reheat!

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What's On The Table?

Yummy yummy Crockpot Taco Chicken on rice topped with cheese!
So easy and so good. I really need to use my crockpot more often :)
Recipe to follow soon!

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