Lentil And Brown Rice Soup

Total Time: 1 hr 5 mins Preparation Time: 20 mins Cook Time: 45 mins

Ingredients

• 2 quarts water
• 3/4 cup dried lentils, rinsed
• 1/2 cup brown rice, uncooked
• 1 (1 1/4 ounce) envelope onion soup mix
• 1 (14 1/2 ounce) can diced tomatoes, undrained
• 1 medium carrot, diced
• 1/2 cup celery, diced
• 1 tablespoon parsley, fresh and minced
• 4 chicken bouillon cubes
• 1/2 teaspoon dried basil
• 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1 tablespoon cider vinegar (optional)

Recipe

• 1 in a dutch oven or stockpot, combine all ingredients except vinegar; bring to a boil. reduce heat; cover and simmer for 35-45 minutes or until lentils and rice are tender, stirring occasionally. stir in vinegar if desired.

Picadillo With Rice And Black Beans

Total Time: 40 mins Preparation Time: 15 mins Cook Time: 25 mins

Ingredients

• Servings: 6
• 1 lb lean ground beef or 1 lb ground turkey breast
• 1 1/4 cups water
• 2 1/2 cups chunky salsa, divided (mild or medium)
• 1 (15 ounce) can rinsed and drained black beans
• 1 cup quick cook brown rice
• 1 cored peeled and chopped apple (about 1/2 inch dice)
• 12 stuffed spanish olives, sliced
• 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/4 cup raisins
• 1/4 cup slivered almonds

Recipe

• 1 cook beef or turkey on medium heat in a large non-stick skillet for 5 minutes or until no longer pink; drain well.
• 2 meanwhile, combine water, 1 cup salsa and beans in a 3 quart pan.
• 3 bring to a boil over medium high heat.
• 4 add rice.
• 5 stir, cover and reduce heat to low.
• 6 cook 10 minutes and remove from heat.
• 7 to cooked meat, add remaining 1 1/2 cups salsa, apple, olives, cinnamon and raisins.
• 8 cover and cook for 7 minutes or until apples are softened and mixture is heated through.
• 9 serve picadillo with rice and beans mixture.
• 10 garnish with slivered almonds.

Peanut Butter & Jelly Waffles

Total Time: 1 hr Preparation Time: 10 mins Cook Time: 50 mins

Ingredients

• 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 3 tablespoons sugar
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 2 eggs, separated
• 1 1/4 cups milk
• 1/3 cup peanut butter
• 3 tablespoons butter, melted
• jelly, of you choice

Recipe

• 1 in a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and cinnamon. in another bowl, whisk the egg yolks, milk, peanut butter and butter; stir mixture into dry ingredients just until moistened.
• 2 in a small bowl, beat egg whites until stiff peaks form, fold into batter. bake in a preheated waffle iron according to manufacturer's directions until golden brown. serve with jelly.
• 3 to freeze waffles: arrange in a single layer on sheet pans. freeze overnight or until frozen. transfer to a resealable plastic freezer bag. waffles my be frozen for up to 2 months.
• 4 to use frozen waffles: reheat waffles in a toaster. serve with jelly.

Pia Mia's Peanut Butter Balls

Total Time: 15 mins Preparation Time: 15 mins

Ingredients

• Servings: 30
• 1/2 cup peanut butter, creamy
• 1/2 cup honey
• 1 cup nonfat dry milk powder
• 3/4 cup quick-cooking oats
• 1 1/2 cups rice krispies

Recipe

• 1 mix together the first four ingredients and 1/2 cup of the rice krispies.
• 2 shape into 1-inch balls.
• 3 place remaining cereal in zip-top plastic bag and crush to a powder with a rolling pin. place shaped balls in plastic bag and shake and allow the cereal to coat each ball evenly.
• 4 pia mia's pia nut butter balls should be stored in air tight container in the refrigerator.

Mom’s Hamburger Macaroni (or A Reasonable Facsimile)

Total Time: 25 mins Preparation Time: 15 mins Cook Time: 10 mins

Ingredients

• Servings: 8
• 3 cups macaroni, uncooked
• 1 lb lean ground beef
• 1 (28 ounce) can italian-style diced tomatoes
• 1 1/2 cups water

Recipe

• 1 cook macaroni according to directions, but boil 4 or 5 minutes and immediately drain.
• 2 cook ground meat and drain.
• 3 add macaroni to ground meat
• 4 add tomatoes and water.
• 5 simmer, stirring for 5 to 10 minutes until moisture is absorbed.

Picadillo

Total Time: 35 mins Preparation Time: 15 mins Cook Time: 20 mins

Ingredients

• Servings: 4
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 lb extra lean ground beef
• 1/4 cup sherry wine (optional)
• 1/2 teaspoon cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon oregano
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 1 pinch ground red pepper
• 1/4 cup raisins
• 1 cup diced fresh pineapple or 1 cup canned pineapple
• 1 medium green bell pepper, chopped
• 1/4 cup chopped red bell pepper

Recipe

• 1 in a large skillet over medium-high heat, brown the ground beef, onion, garlic until the onion is tender and the meat is no longer pink and the juices run clear.
• 2 drain off all fat.
• 3 add all remaining ingredients except the green and red bell peppers.
• 4 bring to a simmer and cook 5 minutes.
• 5 add green and red bell peppers and heat through.
• 6 serve with rice and bread.

Lemony Vegetable Barley Pilaf

Total Time: 30 mins Preparation Time: 5 mins Cook Time: 25 mins

Ingredients

• 3/4 cup pearl barley
• 2 cups chicken broth
• 1 small onion, fine chopped
• 1 1/2 cups asparagus, cut in 1-inch bite size pieces
• 1/2 red bell pepper, diced fine
• 2 scallions, diced fine (green parts)
• 1 tablespoon lemon zest
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1 bay leaf
• salt
• pepper

Recipe

• 1 barley -- in a medium saucepan, melt the butter on medium heat and add the onion and a little salt and pepper. saute just 4-5 minutes. add in the barley and cook another 2-3 minutes until coated with the onion butter mixture.
• 2 stir in the broth and bay leaf and bring to a boil. reduce to low, and cover. cook until just about tender, it will take about 20-25 minutes (follow the directions for cooking the barley).
• 3 vegetables -- add in the red pepper and asparagus, cover and cook another, 3-4 minutes until tender. the asparagus and red pepper do not take long to cook remove, stir in the lemon juice, zest, scallions and taste for salt and pepper, mix well, re-cover for a couple of minutes and serve.