Yellow Dal and Baked Pita Chips

A friend served me some yellow dal from a Trader Joe's prepackaged meal when I was at her house for lunch. I hadn't ever had it before, and it was yum. So I decided to figure out how to make it myself. I learned that dal (or daal, or dahl) is a very generic term, like saying "soup", and can be whatever you have or want. So I will not apologize that this recipe is not authentic, since it is whatever I want. (But I'm sure it is not authentic.)

Serve it over rice. I made 3 cups (uncooked) of brown basmati rice according to package instructions, which was about the right proportions for the dal, however the older kids ate only rice, so probably 2 cups is really the right amount.

2 c. yellow lentils or yellow split peas (although some recipes said to use different colors)
6 c. broth
6 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 t red pepper flakes
1 t turmeric
2 t cumin
2 tomatoes, chopped
1/2 c cilantro, chopped

Mix all but tomatoes and cilantro. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 45 minutes, adding the tomatoes halfway through cooking time. Stir frequently during last half of cooking time. Stir in cilantro.

I think I prefer lentils to split peas (which was how I tried it this time), although it was still delicious and very filling. The recipe I found said to put the tomatoes in with everything else, but I thought they were just boiled to death, so next time I'll try adding them halfway through to preserve their flavor a little bit. You could probably use canned as well.

Here is the conversation I had with my 2yo at dinner:

Him: Mom, dis?
Me: This is dal.
Him: Oh, dal. Like it dal.

Me too.

To win the other kids over, I made pita chips. I get the whole wheat pitas (cheapest at Trader Joe's), split them open, and tear into pieces. Spray a cookie sheet with cooking spray, put the pieces on it, salt and spray again. Bake about 7 minutes at 425. Watch them closely at the end, they burn quickly!

Spicy Lentil Tacos

I found this recipe online, and all the comments on it were things like, "It tastes just like meat!" or "My husband couldn't even tell the difference!" Yeah, right. People who say that are people who don't eat meat, so they don't have a point of comparison. That said, I thought this was a tasty substitute for taco meat. But it doesn't taste like meat, and my husband could most definitely tell the difference.

1 cup finely chopped onion
1 garlic clove, minced
1 teaspoon canola oil
1 cup dried lentils, rinsed
1 tablespoon chili powder
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon dried oregano
2 1/2 cups chicken broth
1 cup salsa
tortillas and your typical taco toppings

In a large nonstick skillet, saute the onion and garlic in oil until tender. Add the lentils, chili powder, cumin and oregano; cook and stir for 1 minute. Add broth; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 25-30 minutes or until the lentils are tender. Uncover; cook for 6-8 minutes or until mixture is thickened. Mash lentils slightly. Stir in salsa. Spoon about 1/4 cup lentil mixture on each tortilla and top with your favorite toppings.

I did find this a little bit too salty. I don't know if I should reduce the chili powder, broth, or salsa, all possible suspects of saltiness. Or maybe a little of all three.

Turkey and Hominy

I have a love/hate relationship with this meal. Sometimes I love it, sometimes it sounds so gross. But it is easy and filling, and sometimes tasty. I guess I have to be in the mood for it.

1 lb. ground turkey
1 onion, chopped
1 t garlic, minced
2 cans (15 oz. each) diced tomatoes
1 T chili powder
1 1/2 t cumin
1 t salt
1/2 t mustard
1/2 t thyme
1/4 t allspice
1/4 t pepper
2 cans (15 0z each) hominy, drained and rinsed

Brown the turkey, onion, and garlic in a little bit of olive oil until the meat is cooked through and the onion is soft. Add the rest of the ingredients and stir until warmed through.

Serve over rice. I usually opt for brown.

My husband said it was really good. Probably because he was starving, and I haven't made it in a year or two. 2yo loved it, especially the hominy. I must have been in the mood this time because it was pretty tasty.

Oven-fried chicken

I've had a draft of this recipe saved for a couple months, since my niece was born, because I made it when I was tending my two nephews while my brother-in-law went to pick up my sister at the hospital. When they came to pick them up I sent them home with dinner, and since my brother-in-law thinks I'm even crazier than my husband does I was amazed when he gave this chicken the thumbs up. And my sister just called me and asked me how to make it, so I will finally post it.

I frequently swap out ingredients that I don't have on hand, but I'll list my favorite first, then the others are alternatives. Also, I don't really measure. I get as much chicken as I want to cook, then keep adding more bread crumbs (that is usually what I run out of first) until I'm done.

Oven-fried Chicken

3 slices bread, pulsed in blender until crumbs (or 1/2 c bread crumbs, 3 c cornflakes crushed to 1 c crumbs)
1 t oregano (or basil, italian seasoning, thyme, sage, etc.)
2-3 lbs. chicken, boneless skinless breasts cut into strips (or any kind of chicken pieces, I always take the skin off because it grosses me out)
1/2 c plain yogurt (or beaten egg, or egg white, or melted butter, or milk)

(I like to use pie plates for each step, the sides keep it a little neater, but for easy clean-up, use paper plates)

Mix the bread crumbs and oregano, set aside. Rinse chicken, pat dry, and lightly salt and pepper. Dip the chicken in the yogurt, then bread crumbs, then arrange on a baking sheet so the pieces are not touching (but they can be very close together because it shrinks while cooking). Bake in 375 degree oven for 45-55 minutes, until chicken is cooked through and bread crumbs are golden brown. Do not turn.

Miso Soup

So of course nobody liked this, except me and my brother who came over to eat. But it was soooooooo easy to make, I think it may be the easiest thing in the world to make. And since part of the difficulty of cooking is having the right ingredients on hand when that moment comes to make dinner, it helps that miso keeps indefinitely in the fridge (according to multiple websites). And you don't have to really measure.

3 T miso paste
3 oz. tofu, in 1/2 inch cubes
2 green onions, thinly sliced
sliced mushrooms
couple inches of konbu (dried kelp), cut into small slivers (it expands a lot), or hon dashi (some sort of fish powder, actually I think it might be a powdered form of konbu?)
4 c. water

Bring miso, konbu, and water to a boil, remove from heat. Add everything else.

Easy enough for you?

Pork Medallions with Potato Pancakes from Poor Girl Eats Well

I found this blog http://poorgirleatswell.blogspot.com that features food that is cheap (as the name suggests), but it is also healthy and simple. This is the first time I have found a recipe blog that does all that. Usually, the healthy ones have you searching for unusual sometimes expensive ingredients, the simple ones call for processed unhealthy ingredients thrown in, and I just found an "eat cheap" one that had a recipe for tater tot casserole. No thank you. So far I really like this Poor Girl blog, I hope she adds many more recipes like this pork one I made last night. I used pork chops instead of loin (so I didn't have cute medallions), and I used frozen hash browns because I had some and didn't have potatoes. The glaze was delicious (although I got kind of confused as the recipe wasn't clear on what to do with it, deglaze the pan with half of it and then what? And drizzle it on top, but what do you do with the other half?) I really liked it with cilantro on top. Even my husband liked it, and as you know that doesn't happen very often. The kids liked the "pancakes," but will probably take a few more times before they are adventurous enough to try the meat. A delicious meal, and I'm excited to try more things from her blog.

Apparently her website is having trouble at the moment, so I can't get the link, but go to her blog (when it is working) and look for Pork Medallions and Balsamic Honey Glaze and Potato Pancakes.

Three Leaf Salad

So this recipe comes from my sister, who likes to start conversations and emails like it was the middle. She gave me a cute little recipe book for Christmas made by a group of her friends. I love those kinds of recipe books, although they inevitably have recipes with my forbidden ingredients. Ok, they are not forbidden, I just really dislike them and I choose not to cook with them. Like cream of chicken soup. It is not even good for you. If you like those kinds of dishes, try giving it up for awhile, and then go back and taste it. You'll see. But once you skip over recipes that call for cream of fill in the blank soups, ranch dressing used as a base instead of a condiment, boxed cake/stuffing/biscuit mix, and other unpleasant things like shortening and Karo syrup, you are left with tried and true simple recipes made by real human beings, not professional chefs with years of culinary training, every kitchen accessory ever invented, and a back kitchen staff at their disposal.

Salad recipes of course have highly-interchangable ingredients, so really this is mostly for the dressing. The onion gives it a very hearty flavor, so you don't feel like you are just nibbling on greens for dinner. And it gives it a pretty pink color. Everyone except me ate it with other dressing though. Their loss. I read in a magazine somewhere that you should always mix your greens for best flavor and nutrition, so I like that this recipe has three different kinds of lettuce.

My sister suggests using chicken instead of bacon, which is what I did (in the crockpot), since bacon is almost forbidden. I'm sure edamame would be a good substitution too, especially since it cooks in 3 minutes. She also says you can candy the almonds by frying or baking with 1/4 c. sugar, but the dressing is so sweet, I wouldn't. In fact, the original recipe called for 1 cup sugar, but I experimented and found it just as tasty with 1/2 cup. I toasted the almonds, but not necessary.

1 head red leaf lettuce, shredded
1 head green leaf lettuce, shredded
1 head romaine lettuce, shredded
8 oz. shredded mozzarella
8 oz. shredded parmesan
1 lb. bacon, crumbled
8 oz. craisins
1 pkg (vague measurement...) almonds, sliced or slivered

Dressing:
1/2 c red wine vinegar
1/2 c sugar
1/2 red onion, chopped
1 1/2 t salt
2 t mustard
1 c vegetable oil (I used canola)

Mix first 5 ingredients (all but oil) in blender. Add oil and mix again.

Toss all ingredients together, at least as much will be eaten since it doesn't store well mixed, although separate ingredients do. (It also helps keep everyone happy to assemble their own.)Extra dressing will keep for weeks in the refrigerator.

I made some cornbread to go with it, and even though some people only ate chicken and cheese, I thought it was delicious. 6YO and 2YO both ate a few mouthfuls of greens though, how often does that happen?

Now I'm going to go eat some leftover salad for lunch.

New developments: I now have made this salad three times, and it is MAGIC. When my sister gave me the recipe, her husband piped right up to tell me how good it is, and I thought, weird, boys don't usually rave about salads. They eat them sure, but salads are kind of girl stuff. Then my brother came over to babysit, and he ate some--and raved. Then my cousin came to visit, and he said he couldn't finish his enchiladas because he ate so much salad, and he doesn't even like salad. Ok, three boys who love it, this is not your typical salad.