Lentil Tacos

This is one of our favorite 'go-to' meals. It's simple, doesn't take much time to prepare, and is super inexpensive.

Lentils with Brown Rice

Ingredients:

3 cups Vegetable or Chicken broth
3/4 cups lentils
1/2 cup brown rice
1 small onion, chopped
1-2 cloves garlic, minced (or 1/4 tsp. garlic powder)
1 tsp. Italian seasoning (or a mix of oregano, rosemary, thyme, basil, and marjoram)
1/4 tsp. cumin (optional)
1/8 tsp. cayenne powder (optional)

Shredded cheddar, crumbled feta cheese, or sour cream to top (optional)

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 350ºF.

In a small skillet, saute onions and garlic, until onions are translucent. 

In a medium to large casserole dish, mix all ingredients, including the onions and garlic. Cover the dish. If you don't have a lid, cover with aluminum foil. Place in preheated oven and bake for 1 hour and 10 minutes or until all the liquid has been absorbed by the rice and lentils.

Remove from oven, serve in individual bowls. Top with your choice of cheese or sour cream.

Makes 4-6 servings.

Homemade Tortillas

4 cups flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
2 Tbsp. vegetable shortening (Crisco), or margarine, or lard
1 1/2 cups warm water


Preparation:

In a medium bowl, mix dry ingredients.

Add vegetable shortening. With a fork, cut through the shortening, mixing with the dry ingredients. (will be crumbly).

Add warm water, a little at a time, mixing as you go.  Your dough will be sticky.

Turn dough out onto a floured surface and knead for several minutes, until smooth.

Divide dough into 24 equal pieces. Roll into balls and allow to rest for 10 minutes.

Heat a skillet over medium-high.  Using a rolling pin, roll out your dough balls into thin, round tortilla shapes. Place the tortilla in the skillet and cook for a couple of minutes on each side, or until each side becomes a light golden brown.  Place in a warm oven or in between kitchen towels to keep warm.

If storing, allow tortillas to cool. Keep in a plastic bag or air tight container for up to a week. Or place in the freezer for up to three months.

Mock Teriyaki Sauce

I use this super easy sauce as a marinade for salmon or chicken. It has a nice balance of salty and sweet. It's also good on pasta (just cut up some carrots, cabbage, or peppers to go with it).

2-3 Tbs Soy sauce
2-3 Tbs real maple syrup
1 clove garlic minced

Preparation:

Mix equal parts soy sauce and maple syrup in a bowl until combined. Adjust the proportions to suit your taste, adding a little more soy sauce for a saltier/savory marinade, or a little more maple syrup for a sweeter marinade. Add minced garlic, mix well. Store in an air tight container in the refrigerator for up to one week.

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For the starving artists:

You can obtain most of the ingredients for free from fast food or take out places. You'll still need to shell out 50¢ to $1.00 for a bulb of garlic though (unless you have a friend willing to share a clove or two with you). 

Soy Sauce: Packets of soy sauce are readily available at Chinese restaurants, or if your grocery store has a sushi section, you can usually grab a packet or two of complimentary soy sauce there.  

Maple Syrup: Almost any restaurant, fast food or otherwise, will carry small containers of syrup. Often times you can ask the counter person or waiter/waitress for a couple of plain syrups to go (mind you, this will be the corn syrup version of maple syrup - so if you're trying to be somewhat health conscious, you'll want to save your pennies for the real stuff).

***

Homemade Restaurant Style Teriyaki Sauce

1/4 cup Soy sauce
1 cup water
1 1/2 tsp minced fresh ginger (or 1/2 tsp ground ginger)
1 tsp minced garlic (or 1/4 tsp garlic powder)
5 Tbs packed brown sugar
1-2 Tbs honey
2 Tbs corn starch
1/4 cup cold water

Preparations:

In a small bowl, mix corn starch and 1/4 cup water to make a 'slurry.' Set aside.

Mix the remaining ingredients in a saucepan over medium to medium-high heat until sugar has dissolved.

Add corn starch mixture and stir until it thickens. Remove from heat and serve with rice or stir fry. Use as a marinade for chicken, fish, or other meat.

Make Your Own Sweet and Sour Sauce

photo courtesy of Muy Yum

3/4 cup white sugar
1/3 cup white vinegar or rice vinegar
2/3 cups water
1/4 cup soy sauce
1 TBS dry sherry or mirin (optional)
1 TBS ketchup
2 TBS corn starch

Preparation:
In a small bowl, mix the corn starch with a little of the water to create a 'slurry.' Set aside.

In a sauce pan, combine all ingredients except the corn starch slurry. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring constantly.

Add corn starch mixture, continuing to stir. Return mixture to a boil. Sauce should thicken quickly.

Remove from heat and allow to cool slightly before serving.  Good as a dip or over fish, chicken, beef, rice, vegetables, or stirfry.

Store in an air tight container or glass jar in the refrigerator for up to two weeks.

Homemade Pita Bread

1 1/8 cup warm water
3 cups flour
1 tsp. salt
1 TBS. vegetable oil
1 1/2 tsp. white sugar
1 1/2 tsp. active dry yeast

Preparation:
Mix all ingredients in a large bowl. Set aside and allow to rise until dough is double in size.

Preheat oven to 500º F.

Turn dough out onto floured surface. Gently roll and stretch dough into a 12 inch rope.

Divide dough into eight pieces. Roll each into a small 6-7 inch circles.  Set aside on a lightly floured countertop. Cover dough with a towel and let it rise for 30 minutes, until slightly puffy.

Dampen two kitchen towels and set aside.

Place pita rounds on a wire wrack, pizza stone, or baking sheet and put in oven. Bake 4-5 minutes.  Remove from oven and immediately put pitas between two damp towels until soft.

Serve warm. Good with hummus or served with butter and cinnamon sugar.

Store in freezer for 1-2 months.

Pasta with Lemon and Garbanzo

2 cups dried garbanzo beans, cooked (or 1 can of garbanzo beans)
1 TBS butter or Olive Oil
1 small onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
Zest of one lemon, minced
Juice of 1 lemon
1 lb. angel hair pasta
Feta or parmesan to top (optional)
salt and pepper

Preparation:
If using dried beans, follow quick boil instructions (takes about 1 hour).

In a large pot, boil water and cook pasta. Angel hair cooks quickly.  When it is cooked to al dente, drain and rinse the pasta. Set aside.

In a large skillet, heat butter or oil over medium to medium-high heat until butter is melted. Add onion and saute until translucent. Add garlic and lemon zest. Saute for 2 minutes, making sure garlic doesn't burn. Add lemon juice and garbanzos to skillet, making sure to coat the garbanzo beans.

Pour lemon and garbanzo mixture over pasta and toss.

Serve warm, top with feta or parmesan cheese. Salt and pepper to taste.

Lemon Rice

Lemon rice is a simple Indian dish, usually made with additional ingredients (such as peanuts, dal, and spicy peppers), but this recipe is the rice at its simplest.


Ingredients:

4 Tbs (1/2 stick) butter or extra-virgin olive oil
3 to 4 cups cooked rice
1-2 cloves garlic, minced
Zest of 1 lemon, chopped
Juice of 2 lemons, plus more if needed
Salt and pepper


Preparation:

Heat 2 tablespoons of the butter or oil over medium-high heat in a large non-stick skillet until butter foams or oil is hot. Add garlic and saute for 1-2 minutes. Add lemon zest, saute for an additional minute. Add cooked rice, tossing and stirring until hot through and through.

Add lemon juice and toss. Stir in the remaining butter or oil and cook for 1 minute.

Remove from heat. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Makes 4 servings.