Masala Sweet Potato Stew

2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 medium onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1/2 teaspoon mustard seeds
1 teaspoon curry powder
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
1/4 teaspoon garam masala
2 large carrots, peeled and chopped
2 medium sweet potatoes or yams, peeled and chopped
1 large stalk of celery, chopped
6 cups water or vegetable broth
1/2 teaspoon sea salt (use 1 teaspoon if using water instead of broth)
1 cup cooked quinoa
1 cup cooked lentils
For garnish: lime wedge, dash of cayenne pepper, shredded, unsweetened coconut, and parsley (optional)

1. In a saucepan, heat oil on medium. Add onion and sauté until translucent. Add garlic and spices, cook 2 to 3 minutes until quite aromatic. Stir in carrots, sweet potatoes, celery and water or broth. Cover and bring to a boil.
2. Add salt and lower heat to simmer for about 15 minutes or until the vegetables are tender. If you wish, puree the soup in a blender until creamy or serve as is atop quinoa and lentils.
3. Garnish with lime wedge, a dash of cayenne, coconut and fresh parsley.

Source: http://www.pccnaturalmarkets.com/pcc/recipes/masala-sweet-potato-stew

Curried Lentils and Swiss Chard Stew with Garbanzo Beans

2 Tbsp olive oil
1 large onion, thinly sliced
5 tsp curry powder
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
5 1/4 cups vegetable broth (or three 14-oz cans)
1 bunch chard, tough stalks removed, coarsely chopped
1 lb red lentils
2 cups cooked garbanzo beans (or one 15-oz can)
Plain yogurt (optional)

1. Heat oil in heavy large saucepan over medium-high heat.  Add onion; saute until golden, about 13 minutes.
2. Mix in curry and cayenne.  Add broth and chard.  Increase heat; bring to a boil.
3. Add lentils and garbanzo beans; reduce heat to medium.
4. Cover; simmer until lentils are tender, stirring, 10 minutes.  Top with yogurt.

Source: Tiny's Organic Newsletter, January 30, 2013

Try #1 - February 1, 2013
Pretty good... still pretty lentil-y tasting, but I suppose that's to be expected.  Just kind of variation on the lentil soup theme for me.  Not sure I'd make it again, but it used up our swiss chard.  We topped ours with cottage cheese.

Baked Oatmeal

1/2 cup canola oil (I use 1/3 cup)
3/4 cup sugar (I reduce to 1/2 cup, and have gone as low as 1/4 cup)
2 eggs
3 cups oats (quick or old-fashioned both work)
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 cups milk
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 chopped pear or apple (optional, but highly recommended)

Mix oil, sugar, and eggs until yellow and glossy.  Add remaining ingredients and beat until blended.  Put in 8x 11 pan and bake at 350 degrees for 30-40 minutes.

Note: Can be assembled the night before and refrigerated, then put in the oven in the morning!

Source: adapted from MOPS 2008 Cookbook

Try #1, 2, 3... - January 2013
I've made this recipe 3 times already in the last month... it's that good.  I add chopped pear, which really makes the recipe for me.  A hit with the whole family, and a nice change from boring old oatmeal.  I even ate it as a snack... it reheats well in the microwave.

Note: The original recipe is actually double what I posted, and says you can still bake it in a 9x13... this probably works fine, but 6 cups seemed like a ton of oats to me, and 3 cups feeds my family of 5 perfectly.

Try #4 - February 5, 2013
I reduced the oil to 1/3 cup and sugar to 1/4 cup and while it was obviously less sweet, it was still good, especially with the pear chunks to give a burst of sweetness every few bites.  The kids still wanted seconds and thirds, so I guess they didn't notice the decreased amount of sugar, and I feel better about including this in our regular breakfast rotation with a reduced amount of oil and sugar.

Seven Grain Bread

3 3/4 cup whole wheat flour (18 2/3 oz)

2 tsp salt
2 Tbsp dry milk
2 1/2 Tbsp butter
3/8 cup 7-grain cereal
2 Tbsp molasses
1 11/16 cup water (13 1/2 fl oz)
1 1/2 tsp dry yeast

Put all ingredients in bread machine.  Bake on multigrain setting (5 hours).

Source: Bread Bakery (recipes that came with my bread machine)

Try #1 - January 29, 2013
This came out amazingly soft and rose perfectly!  Other times that I've tried 100% whole wheat (with no bread flour) have produced low, dense loaves, but this one worked great!  I wonder if it had anything to do with the fact that I actually weighed the flour for the first time...  Also, my "7 grain cereal" was actually a 5 grain toasted mix of millet, quinoa, brown rice, wheat berries, and spelt.

Try #2 - February 4, 2013
I made this with the actually 7-grain cereal this time, and was surprised that it didn't rise as well and wasn't as  soft as my first try with the 5-grain mix.  Still about the same taste, though, and delicious when dipped in cauliflower soup.

Crockpot Pasta Fagioli

1 pound lean ground beef, browned and drained
1/2 large red onion, chopped
1 cup carrots, chopped
2 celery stalks, sliced
2 cans (14.5 oz) diced tomatoes (and juice)
1 can kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1 can white beans, drained and rinsed
4 cups beef broth
1 jar (26-ounce) pasta sauce
2 tsp oregano
1 T Tabasco sauce
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/2 cup dry pasta, to add at end of cooking time
10 oz chopped spinach, to add at end of cooking time (optional)

1. Use a 6 quart or larger crockpot, or cut the recipe in half. This makes a lot.
2. Brown the meat on the stovetop, and drain well. Let it cool a bit.
3. Chop up the carrots, onion, and celery. Add it to the empty crockpot.
4. Drain and rinse the beans, and add them. Add the whole cans of tomatoes, and the pasta sauce. Add the beef broth. Add the salt, pepper, oregano, and Tobasco sauce. Stir in your meat.
5. Cover and cook on low for 8 hours, or high for 4. When the vegetables are tender, stir in the 1/2 cup of dry pasta.
6. Cover and cook for another hour on low, or until the pasta is tender. It will swell quite a bit.
7. Serve with a bit of parmesan cheese if you have it.

Source: A Year of Slow Cooking

Try #1 - April 22, 2013
This was a quick and easy meal, with ingredients I usually have on hand.  It was good, although fairly rich, and too salty for my taste.  Next time I would omit the 1/2 tsp extra salt. I added 1 cup of pasta instead of 1/2 cup because 1/2 cup just sounded ridiculously small.  I also just added a few drops of hot sauce instead of a full Tbsp because I didn't want to risk it being too spicy for the kids.  It was not spicy at all and they seemed to like it.  I also added about 10oz of frozen chopped spinach just before serving, because I wanted to give the meal some green.  The spinach made no difference in the taste or texture, since it was finely chopped, so I think it was a good addition.

Monster Cookies

1/2 cup butter, softened
1 cup white sugar
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 1/2 cups peanut butter
3 eggs
3/4 tsp corn syrup
3/4 tsp vanilla extract
2 tsp baking soda
4 1/2 cups rolled oats
1/4 lb M&Ms
1/4 lb chocolate chips

1. Preheat oven to 350.
2. In a large bowl, cream together the butter, white sugar, brown, sugar, and peanut butter until smooth.  Beat in the eggs, then stir in the corn syrup and vanilla.  Mix in baking soda and oats until well blended.  Stir in the M&Ms and chocolate chips.
3. Roll dough into 2 inch balls, and place 3 inches apart on an ungreased cookie sheet.  Flatten slightly with a fork.
4. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes in the preheated oven.  Cool on cookie sheets for a few minutes before transferring to wire racks to cool completely.

Source:  Allrecipes

Try #1 - January 22, 2013
These were fun to make with the kids.  I used slightly less white and brown sugar than the recipe called for.  I also didn't roll the dough as that would have been quite messy, so I just used the normal two spoon scoop method.  I also didn't make them "monster" size, so my cookies only took about 10 minutes to bake.  Pretty yummy!

Cheddar Herb Bread

2 cups flour (I used 1 1/2 cup all purpose, 1/2 cup whole wheat)
1 Tbsp sugar
1 Tbsp dried parsley (I used 1/2 Tbsp)
1 Tbsp dried dill (I used 3/4 Tbsp)
1 Tbsp dried rosemary (I used 3/4 Tbsp)
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 cup butter
4 oz white cheddar cheese, shredded
3/4 cup milk
1 egg, slightly beaten

1. Preheat oven to 350.  Lightly grease a loaf pan.
2. Mix flour, sugar, parsley, dill, rosemary, baking powder and salt.
3. With a pastry blender, cut in 1/4 cup butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs.  Stir in cheese.
4. In a bowl combine milk and egg.  Add to crumb mixture all at once.  Stir quickly with a fork to moisten.  Spread in prepared pan.  Bake 45 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean.
5. Cool in pan on wire rack for 10 minutes.  Turn loaf out onto wire rack; cool completely.

Source: http://www.sweetandsavoryfood.com/2013/01/cheddar-herb-bread-mix-great-gift-idea.html