Recipes

As a (mostly) stay at home mom one of my "responsibilities" is meal planning and cooking healthy and tasty meals for my family.  I love cooking and eating and nutritious food is extremely important to me.  My goal is to stay within our budget while making a variety of mostly organic nutritious meals.  I am always looking for new recipes so I thought I would share some of my "go to" recipes with you.  These meals I have made many times for my family and for friends.  Oh and the most important of my goals with meal planning is that whatever I am making is easy!  I really don't have a lot of time for cooking these days with a baby and a toddler so easy peasy is a necessity.  I tend to make a lot of vegetarian meals as well.  Not only is this type of food so nutritious but it really helps us stay on budget so it's good for mind and body! Even though I have spent countless hours cooking I still feel like I am just beginning to learn so please share your recipes and tips with me!  And so, here are some of my faves....

Quiche
This is probably my top go to recipe.  It is so easy and so versatile!
I make my own crust which sounds complicated but trust me it's not.
Crust
1 1/2 cups flour
2 tsp white sugar
1 tsp salt
1/2 cup vegetable or canola oil
2 Tbsp milk
Place all ingredients in a bowl and mix together until just combined.  Then press with fingers into a 9 inch pie plate.
Filling
1 cup your choice vegetables (I have used mushrooms, or broccoli)
1 onion chopped
a few handfuls of spinach - sorry to be vague here with the measurements but some of my cooking is a bit free spirited
4 eggs
1/3 cup milk
1/3 cup mayo
1 cup shredded cheese ( I usually use mozzarella)
You can also add some meat to this if you want but isn't always necessary.  I have used crumbled bacon, ground turkey, cubed ham, vegan sausage.  Just make sure you cook it first.  As far as a measurement for this I would say a cup or two maybe less for the bacon (unless you are making this for my brother then you probably want to add at least 2 cups of bacon)
Spices - have fun with this.  Add garlic powder, salt and pepper and whatever else you may like.  Just a few shakes is all you need.
Cook mushrooms (if using frozen broccoli you don't need to cook it first) and onions in skillet until onions start to turn translucent.  Remove from heat and stir in spinach.  Beat eggs, milk and mayo in medium bowl with whisk until well blended.  Add spinach mixture, cheese, meat and pour into pie crust you have made.  Bake 50 minutes at 375 degrees.

I consider this quiche recipe so versatile because many of the ingredient can be eliminated or substituted.  This makes it one of my favorites!

Lentil Soup
I love lentils so much!  Lentils are full of fiber which makes them great for your digestive system and helps keep a healthy heart by keeping your cholesterol in check.  Remember that song your mom used to sing "Beans, Beans their good for your heart, the more you eat, the more you..." She wasn't kidding!  Lentils are also full of protein and iron making them a must have staple in every vegetarians kitchen.  As a side note legumes must always be eaten with a whole grain to make them a complete protein.  A piece of whole grain bread or some whole grain rice goes great with this soup.

1 onion chopped
1/4 cup olive oil
2 carrots diced
2 stalks celery chopped
2 cloves garlic minced (if you don't have garlic on hand can substitute garlic powder)
1 tsp dried oregano
1 bay leaf
1 tsp dried basil
1 (14.5 oz) can of crushed tomatoes
2 cups dried lentils rinsed
8 cups vegetable or chicken stock
1/2 cup spinach rinsed and thinly sliced
2 Tbsp vinegar
salt and pepper to taste
Heat oil in large pot over medium heat.  Add onions, carrots and celery.  Cook and stir until onion is tender.  Stir in garlic bay leaf, oregano and basil and cook for about 2 minutes.  Stir in lentils and add stock and tomatoes.  Bring to boil. Reduce heat and simmer for at least 1 hour.  When ready to serve stir in spinach and cook until it wilts.  Stir in vinegar, and season to taste with salt and pepper.

Pumpkin Curry Soup
All I can say about this soup is YUMMMMMY!!!
6 Tbsp butter
3 Tbsp flour
2 Tbsp curry powder (I use a curry spice blend)
4 cups vegetable or chicken broth
1 (29 oz) can pumpkin
1 1/2 cups half and half cream
2 Tbsp soy sauce
1 Tbsp sugar
salt and pepper to taste

Melt butter in large pot over medium heat.  Stir in flour and curry powder until smooth.  Cook stirring until mixture begins to bubble.  Gradually whisk in broth and cook until thickened.  Stir in pumpkin and half and half.  Season with soy sauce, sugar, salt and pepper.  Bring just to a boil and remove from heat.  Enjoy!

I have many more but will leave you with this for now.  Mostly because this is making me very hungry!  Please share your recipes with me and let me know if you try any of these.