Vegetarian Nachos

Instead of ground beef this uses lentils or pinto beans. When seasoned the same way, they taste quite similar. (please note that all spice amounts are approximated, as I have never measured them...)

makes enough for a 9x13 pan of nachos

• around 3 cups Tortilla chips
• 3/4 cup grated cheddar cheese
• 1 or 1 1/2 cups cooked (or canned) lentils or pinto beans (they have to be soft) I like to use leftover lentils/beans if I have them
• 1/3 cup ketchup
• 2 tsp garlic power*
• 1 Tbs ground cumin*
• 1 Tbs chili powder*
• *(spices can be replaced with a half packet of taco or other mexican seasoning if you want, but I prefer to use separate spices so I can customize the proportions)
• optional--a few drops of tabasco sauce
  

Spread the chips in the pan.
Put ketchup and spices in with the lentils and blend well (use a blender or an electric mixer). Drop the mixture in blobs around on the chips.
Sprinkle cheese over the top of everything.
Cook on 350 for about 10 min or until cheese is melted and everything is warm. To keep chips crunchier, use a higher temperature for a shorter time.

Fudge Pudding Cake (Chocolate)

Like cake?
Like pudding?
Mix them together!!

1 cup flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 cup sugar
4 tsp cocoa
Mix together in a bowl.

1/2 cup milk
1 tsp vanilla
2 Tbs melted butter
Mix together, then add to dry mixture and beat until smooth. Pour mixture into a greased 8x8 pan.

3/4 c brown sugar
3 Tbs cocoa
Mix together, then sprinkle over batter in pan

1 1/2 cups boiling water
Pour over the whole mess in the pan.

Bake at 350 for about 50 minutes (you might want to check it at 40 min). It should be bubbly and brown but not blackening at all (my oven runs hot and I really have to keep an eye on this one!) Let it sit a few minutes before attempting to serve it. :)

Crazy Cake (Chocolate)

This is a very moist cake, however it doesn't seem to work for cupcakes (they're yummy, they just sink in the middle). I've had mixed experiences with trying different sizes/shapes of pans, but in a good old 9x13 it seems to be ok.
The reason this is a 'crazy' cake also makes it really fun to make with kids (read the directions!)

3 c flour
1/2 c cocoa
2 c sugar
2 tsp baking soda
3/4 c oil
2 Tbs vinegar
2 tsp vanilla
2 c water

Mix all dry ingredients together. Make 3 large holes in dry mixture. Pour oil in one, vinegar in the second, and vanilla in the third. Then pour the water over the whole mess and stir until blended.
Bake at 350 in a 9x13 pan for 30-45 minutes.

Whole Wheat Pizza Crust

I haven't actually used this one yet, but it comes highly recommended, and I've been wanting a ww pizza dough recipe (my regular one doesn't work so well with wheat flour), and I don't want to lose this one...
I got it from ZestyCook here (but just in case they ever take down their site, I'm copying and pasting the recipe too!)

• 1 1/2 Cups Warm Water
• 2 Packets Active Dry Yeast (this is about 5tsp for those of us who buy the big jars!)
  
• 1/4 Cup Olive Oil
• 2 Tbsp. Sugar
• 2 Tsp. Salt
• 2 Cups All-Purpose Flour
• 2 Cups Whole Wheat Flour

1. Place water in large bowl - sprinkle with yeast.
2. Let stand until foamy (about 5 minutes).
3. Brush another large bowl with Olive Oil.
4. In bowl with yeast, whisk sugar, oil and salt. Stir in flours until a sticky dough forms.
5. Transfer to oiled bowl (brush top of dough with oil).
6. Cover dough with plastic wrap and let stand in a warm place until it doubles in size (about an hour).
7. Turn dough onto a well floured surface and knead until smooth.
8. Preheat oven to 400°.
9. Prepare dough in shape of pizza.
   
10. Spread sauce and then most of the cheese.
11. Add toppings as desired, top with remaining cheese (cheese on top helps hold on the toppings)
12. Bake until crust golden brown and cheese has melted. Time varies depending on the thickness of your crust (12-20 minutes).

Some Notes on Beans

Here are a few basic tips about cooking with beans (specifically dry beans):

Beans are very easy to prepare, so long as you allow enough time and use enough water. Don't be scared of them!

There are a lot of kinds of beans, but most of them are pretty interchangable. For example the classic "beans and rice" that is served in most of Central/South America is prepared similarly in most areas, but different regions use different beans, according to what grows locally. In Sao Paulo they use pink beans, but I've used the exact same recipe with pinto beans, and my sister prefers it with black beans. SO, if the recipe calls for one kind of bean and you don't have it, get adventurous and substitute in something that you do have!

Use LOTS of water. Having a bit extra won't hurt anything, but having too little can make a scorched, stinky mess. The recipes rarely give specific measurments, so I just put in the beans, then water to twice the height of the beans, then check in on them every so often, and add more water if it gets below the level of the beans.

Beans take a loooong time to cook. I prefer to cook them overnight in the crockpot, but if you want to do them in one day make sure you allow at LEAST 3 hours for preparation. I still recommend letting them soak overnight beforehand, but there are "quick preparation" methods which can be done in just a few hours.

Beans grow a lot when cooked--the average bean (or lentil) will more than double in size...so 1 cup of dry beans will go a long way!

The average bean is fairly bland, which is why you can get away with making them into foods ranging from a main dish to a dip to even pie! As a main dish, I like to serve them with something more flavorful--either some kind of sauce, or something cooked in a good bone broth. When I make beans and rice, I cook the rice in broth which adds flavor to it. I suppose you could cook the beans in broth but I've never tried it.

I do hope to learn a bit more about the various types of beans, and when I do I will add those specifics to this post (which ones are best for various recipes, etc)

Finally, it IS on my blogroll, but if you're interested in more bean recipes, visit my friend Katie's Beans & Rice blog. ☺

Bone Broth

(I originally posted most of this here, and you might appreciate some of the comments that were left there. However it's still worth reading here as this post has additional information and links.)

The best broth in the world comes from bones, not from meat. Bones are full of nutrients, and even when the meat is gone, bones can provide several more meals if you know what to do with them. At our house, bones never end up in the garbage can!

The best part of the bird, really!

Here's a short overview:

• Bones (in the marrow) have lots of vitamins in them. The best way to get those nutrients out is to leech it out into broth. You know how you always heard that chicken soup was good when you're sick? Well, if it's made with real bone broth, it actually does have immuno-boosting properties! If you add 1 Tbs or so of vinegar to the water, it helps to get the nutrients out of the bone and into the broth. (This is in a 6-7qt crockpot)
• Add 1 Tbs salt (ideally unrefined sea salt!). It will taste really weird without it, I know it seems like a ton of salt, but good unrefined salt is actually really good for you--your body needs it for blood production and adrenal support.
  Adding onion, celery, garlic, or other herbs can make for a richer broth, but they are optional.
• Putting fat and skin in the broth will make it nice and fatty, and it does taste good, but those parts of the animal (especially poultry) tend to hold toxins, so many people prefer to avoid having them in the broth.
• Putting meat in the broth will not add to flavor, and it will suck the flavor out of the meat...so strip off the meat, then make the broth with just the bones. After the broth is done, strain it, and then if you want to make soup go ahead and put the meat back in at the end.
• Feel free to use bones that have been nibbled...after all, 12 hours of boiling will destroy any germs...
• If you don't have enough bones to make a broth yet, just save them in the freezer until you do have enough.
• Once made, bone broth can be canned in a pressure cooker and kept in the pantry, or it can be refrigerated or frozen. My mom puts it in a jar in the fridge to cool, then freezes it in ice cube trays. Once it's frozen into cubes, she stores it in a big ziplock bag in the freezer. Anytime she has a recipe that calls for broth, she can easily grab a cube or two or five and toss them in!
• Oh yeah, real bone broth tastes better than that canned stuff or *gag*choke* MSG-laden bullion. Use it for soups, sauces, graveys, or even cooking rice.
• "Broth is Beautiful" (published by the WestonAPrice Foundation)--this page has lots of information about the health benefits of bone broth, as well as specific recipes for chicken, beef, and fish stock, and how to use your stock to make sauces (the recipes are at the bottom--just scroll down).
  
• "Why Broth is Beautiful" is a lengthy article (with lots of references) explaining more of the health benefits of bone broth.
  

Chicken and Turkey Put the bones in a crockpot, cover them with water, and let them simmer at least overnight (they can stay as long as 2 days if you don't get to them sooner, but we find 24 hours to be ideal) . If you don't have a crockpot, you can let them simmer on the stove for at least 4-5 hours (ideally 8-12). At this point the bones will be bending, breaking, and literally falling apart. This is good--it means you've gotten all the nutrients out of them! Strain out all the solids, and voila, the best broth you've ever had.

Beef Same as chicken, just stick the bones in a crockpot or stockpot, and let them simmer for hours...

Ham Take that hambone and stick it in the pot along with any bits of leftover ham, plenty of water, and lots of beans. My mom always used pinto beans, my mother in law uses white 'navy' beans. You can pretty much use whatever you like. Add some onion, garlic, celery, or whatever else strikes your fancy. Let it simmer all day...

Fish I confess that I can't stand fish broth, but it's mostly because I don't care for most seafood...if you like seafood, or even a good clam chowder, try making fish broth! The whole heads can go in, so this is an especially good option if you catch your own fish, or buy them with the heads on. ☺

Pork (ribs etc) Honestly, we usually give these ones to the dog. She loves them. However pork bones can make a stock just like any other bones.

Mmmm, nothin like real broth!

(I know it looks ikky, but I just wish you could smell this picture!)

Great Grandma's Sugar Cookies

We had been making this recipe for years. It was extremely rich and we loved eating the cookies, but the dough was soft and could be difficult to work with if not chilled well enough (we had to put it back in the fridge between batches). When I was in my late teens, my mother came across another sugar cookie recipe and said "hey, this is almost the same as great-grandmas, except that instead of 1 cup of butter, it has 1 cube..." ...and then the light came on. Somewhere along the line someone had written "1c" instead of 1 cube, and ever since then we'd been doing a double portion of butter in the cookies. Since then I have opted to use 3/4 cup of butter--halfway in between the two. It maintains the rich flavor of our old recipe, but is much easier to work with.

3/4 cup butter
1 cup sugar
2 beaten eggs
1 tsp vanilla
a dash of almond extract if desired
2 1/2 cups flour

Cream butter, sugar, eggs, vanilla, and almond extract. Add flour.
Chill thoroughly (at least an hour). Keep firm in order to handle (any portion you are not working with should be put back in the fridge). Roll out about 1/4" thick and cut with cookie cutters. Place on a very lightly greased cookie sheet with space between cookies (dough will spread a little). Bake at 350 for 10-15 minutes.

Cookies can be frosted, but I prefer to sprinkle them with colored sugar (or sprinkles) before cooking...they are rich enough without frosting, and sugar is just as pretty without the mess!