Saturday, February 6, 2010

Lentil Soup

Lentil Soup
By Nadine Bailey


1 cup dry lentils
1-2 cups dry beans (optional)
1 cup chopped green pepper
2 teaspoons chicken bouillon (or 1-2 cubes)
2 teaspoons snipped fresh sage or ½ teaspoon dried sage, crushed
1/8 teaspoon ground red pepper
2 cloves garlic, minced
6 oz fully cooked smoked sausage, quartered lengthwise and sliced
Fresh chopped vegetables (optional)- can include: eggplant, sqash, zuccini, carrots
IF USING BEANS (if you’re just using lentils you can skip this step):
Soak beans: Overnight or Boil in water for 2 minutes, cover with lid and soak for at least 1 hour. Rinse and drain.
Place beans and remaining ingredients in a slow cooker or in pot. Add water until beans are just covered. Cover and cook on low 8-10 hours, high 4-6 hours, until beans are soft.
If using stove top, after adding all ingredients cover with 6-8 cups of water for every cup of lentils; Cover and cook on medium heat. Once it starts to boil, reduce heat and stir every 5 minutes or so to prevent from burning. Cook until lentils (and beans) are soft, ~ 1 hour.

Broccoli Cheddar Soup

Broccoli Cheddar Soup
By Kelly Galbraith


1 1/2 C Chicken broth
1/2 C chopped onion
1/2 C. chopped celery
1/2 C. grated carrots
2 C. chopped broccoli
2TBS butter
2T flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1 C. milk
1/2 C shredded cheddar cheese

In saucepan combine chicken broth, onion, celery, carrots, and broccole. Bring mixture to a boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer 10 mins until veggies are cooked.
In another saucepan (I always just add it to the veggie pot) melt butter. Blend flour and salt and pepper. Add the milk all at once. stir over heat until all flour lumps dissapear and then add veggie mixture. Add cheese. Cook until thoroughly heated and all cheese is melted.. (just a hint the carrots look like cheese...don't be fooled!!) Serves 3 or 4.

(I always double or triple the recipe, and the actual amounts of all things vary every time that I make this, but it is delicious and I have tricked Mike into thinking that it is super heathly.!!!

Bread (to be served with soup)

BREAD DOUGH
by Melissa Corry
2 1/2 cups Warm Water (110 degrees)
1/3 cup Oil
1/3 cup Honey
1 tbsp Yeast
1 tbsp salt
7 cups flour

DIRECTIONS
Place water in mixer. Add oil and honey and blend. (if you put the oil in first and then use the same measuring cup the honey comes out much easier) Add yeast and 1 cup of flour. Blend on low speed. While running add 3 more cups of flour. Continue blending and add salt. Continue blending and add remaining 3 cups of flour. Turn Mixer up one speed and blend for 10 minutes. Remove bowl from mixer and cover with a towel and let rise till bulging out of bowl – about 1 to 1 1/2 hours. Refer to what you want to make now.

BREAD
Dump dough onto lightly floured surface and punch down. Cut into two pieces and shape in the size of a loaf. Place in greased loaf pan and place a towel over pans. Allow to rise until double in size about an hour. Place in oven at 350 degrees for 25 to 30 minutes. Brush melted butter on the top of the loaf as soon as you take it out. Enjoy. Makes 2 loafs.

ROLLS
Dump dough onto lightly floured surface and punch down. Cut into two pieces and roll the first piece into a large circle about 16 inches in diameter. Brush melted butter across the surface of the dough. With a pizza cutter cut 12 pieces the same you would a pizza. Starting on the edge of the piece of dough, roll up each piece toward the center to make a crescent shape roll. Place on greased cookie pan or a cookie pan with a liner and make sure to tuck the loose end under. Repeat with other piece of dough. Cover with a towel and let rise until double the size, about an hour. Place in oven at 350 degrees for 15 minutes. Brush melted butter on the top of each roll as soon as you take it out. Enjoy. Makes 2 dozen rolls.

PIZZA DOUGH
Dump dough onto lightly floured surface and punch down. Cut into two pieces and roll the first piece into a large circle about 16 inches in diameter. Place on pizza pan and top as you desire. Repeat with second piece. Bake at 350 degrees for 25 to 30 minutes. Sometimes I like to make the crusts a little thinner and leave some dough for breadsticks. Roll remaining dough into snake shapes and place in a glass baking pan with melted butter in the bottom. Allow a little bit of time to rise (I normally bake them after the first pizza is done). Cover with Parmesan Cheese and Seasoning and bake for 15 minutes. I normally just stick it on the top shelf with the second pizza on the bottom shelf. Enjoy!!

SCONES
Dump dough onto very lightly floured surface and punch down. Return to bowl. Tear off a small piece of dough and stretch it in your fingers. Place in a pot of hot oil. Fry for about one minute on each side. You can cook 3 to 4 scones at a time. Serve hot with honey, butter, and powdered sugar. Enjoy!! Makes about 24 scones.

CINNAMON BUNS
Dump dough onto lightly floured surface and punch down. Roll into a large rectangle shape. Make a cinnamon roll mixture by mixing 3/4 cup brown sugar, 2 tsp cinnamon, and optional raisins and chopped nuts. Sprinkle mixture over dough. Starting on one end of the dough, roll up into a large cylinder shape. Use a knife to cut cylinder into 12 circles. Place in 9 x 13 pan and bake at 350 degrees for 25 – 30 minutes. This makes 12 very large rolls. You can make medium size ones by making two cylinders or mini’s by making three cylinders. Adjust cooking time accordingly.