Wine braised lentils

Lentils are amazing. They are great for vegetarians because they have a ton of protein and a ton of naturally occurring iron in them. They are also super cheap, especially the brown variety. Brown is the easiest to find and usually you can get a dried package for under a dollar. This recipe classes up the cheap brown lentil a little. The alcohol sort of cooks out, but if you're really worried about it you could use cooking wine, which is non-alcoholic.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup dried brown lentils

1/2 onion, diced

1 tablespoon olive oil

2 -3 cloves garlic, minced

1 tablespoon dijon mustard

1/3 cup red wine

3/4 cup veggie stock

1/2 cup spinach, cut in ribbons

1 tablespoon butter

salt and pepper, to taste

parmesan cheese to sprinkle on top

Directions:

Boil lentils in plain water for 8-10 minutes. They should still be a little hard. While they are boiling, saute onion in oil until onion is soft, about 5 minutes. Add mustard and garlic and cook a minute more. Add wine to pan and scrape the brown bits off the bottom of the pan. Add lentils and cover with veggie stock. Simmer for 20-30 minutes, adding water to the pan if it gets dry. The goal is to have most of the water absorbed but not all of it. After lentils are soft add the spinach to the pan and cook just a minute or two to wilt it. Season with salt and pepper, add butter to pan, and serve topped with parmesan cheese.

Pinto bean tacos

Yes, another taco recipe. I really do make them a lot. This is the kind that I make the most often because it is super quick and I usually have all of the ingredients on hand. The boyfriend and I planned to make dinner together and he really wanted tacos but he feels weird cooking meat at my place, despite my insistence that it is ok (he's nice like that). When he learned that all I had were pinto beans he was pretty bummed and told me they were the grossest beans. After trying them (and finishing like 5 tacos) he admitted that they were great and that he was wrong (!!!). He even said he would try changing up his standard Chipotle order because he liked the pinto beans so much.

Ingredients:

1 can pinto beans, rinsed

2/3 cup water

1-2 cloves garlic, minced

1/4 teaspoon chili powder

1/4 teaspoon cumin

1 teaspoon chopped jalapenos

corn tortillas or taco shells

onion, chopped

avocado, sliced

cilantro, cut in ribbons

lettuce, shredded

hot sauce

other toppings: shredded cheese, sour cream, salsa, chopped tomatoes, etc

Directions:

In a small sauce pot heat beans, water, garlic, chili powder, cumin, and jalapeno over medium heat until beans are soft, usually about 5-8 minutes. Mash a few of them so that the beans thicken up a bit. If using corn tortillas, soak them in water and then heat one at a time in a frying pan for about 30 seconds per side, or until they are pliable but not falling apart. Fill tortillas or taco shells with beans, top with onions, avocado, cilantro, lettuce, and hot sauce (or the toppings of your choice) and serve immediately.

Perfect pan pizza

This pizza is so good and so perfect that the boyfriend and I couldn't even wait to eat it so that we could take a picture of it. The boyfriend even said that this pizza was as good as his favorite delivery pan pizza, which is incredibly high praise since he orders one at least once a week. This pizza really needs to be baked in a cast iron skillet. If you don't have one I would really suggest buying one immediately. It will be the best $30 you will ever spend. This recipe is for a 10" skillet but I don't see any reason you couldn't use a 12" as well, your crust will just be thinner.

Ingredients:

1/2 a recipe no knead bread dough
2 tablespoons olive oil (or 1 tablespoon oil and 1 of butter)
1/2 -3/4 cup pizza sauce or spaghetti sauce
1/2 block mozzarella cheese (not the fancy fresh kind, that has too much water), shredded
1 handful freshly shredded or grated parmesan cheese
Toppings: ours included onion, tomato, spinach, green pepper, feta, half sausage (for the boyfriend), and half green olive (for me)

Directions:

Make the bread dough as directed up until the second rising. At that point place oil (or oil/melted butter) in a cast iron skillet. Allow the dough to do its second rising in the cast iron skillet. It will spread out and fill the bottom of the pan without you needing to do much work at all. Preheat the oven to 550. After it has filled the bottom and has gone through the hour of rising, poke the dough with your finger tips to release some of the air bubbles. Lift up the sides of the dough and let if flop down to release any final bubbles. Top with sauce and mozzarella then all of your toppings except parmesan. Place it in the oven and bake for 15-20 minutes or until the sides have crisped up and the cheese has melted and begins to brown just a little bit. Take it out of the oven and carefully lift up one side of the pizza to check the bottom. If it isn't as crispy and brown as you want then place it on the stove over medium-low heat for a minute or so to crisp it up a bit. Top with parmesan. Remove from heat and let it rest for a few minutes, then cut and eat.

Roasted chickpeas

These are the perfect snack - they are crunchy, salty, and (best of all) healthy. You could really season these however you'd like, but I really like the smoky and barbecue-like flavor that paprika gives. These will keep for a few days if you put them in tupperware or a ziplock bag. The chickpea skins tend to burn a little more easily so if you're worried about burning them you may want to peel them first.

Ingredients:

1 can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 teaspoon smoky paprika (there are two kinds, get the smoky not the sweet)
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 - 1/2 teaspoon salt

Directions:

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Line a pan with sides (jellyroll pan) with aluminum foil. In a medium bowl combine your drained and rinsed chickpeas with your seasonings. Mix and massage with your hands until they are evenly coated. Pour onto the foil-lined pan and bake for 30-40 minutes total. At the 15 minute mark take them out and shake the pan to prevent sticking. At the 30 minute mark shake the pan again. Bake for increments of 5 minutes shaking after each until you've achieved your desired level of crispiness. Let them cool for a few minutes and then transfer to a dish to serve.

Tortellini tomato soup

I know a lot of people hate tomato soup, and to be honest, I don't always love it. Something about it usually tastes sort of tinny, which doesn't taste well with a creamy soup. This version of tomato soup is rich and flavorful but doesn't have any milk or cream in it. Instead, I used red wine to deepen the flavor. The alcohol cooks out so don't worry about any alcohol content in the soup. Even if you think you hate tomato soup you should try this one, it might just change your mind.

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon olive oil
1/4 large onion, diced (or 1/2 a small)
1 medium carrot, diced
1 stalk celery, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon tomato paste
5-6 cracks of black pepper
1/4 - 1/2 teaspoon italian seasoning
3/4 teaspoon sugar
1/2 cup red wine
1/2 cup crushed tomato
1 1/2 cups veggie stock
1 handful mini cheese tortellini
mozzarella cheese

Directions:

Heat oil in a medium sauce pot over medium-low heat. Add onion, carrot, and celery and cook until veggies are soft but not brown (maybe like 5-7 minutes). Add garlic, tomato paste, black pepper, italian seasoning, and sugar and cook about 1 minute more. Add wine and scrape the brown bits off the bottom of the pan. Cook until the wine has reduced just a bit, maybe about two mintues. Add crushed tomato and veggie stock and increase heat to medium-high. When the soup begins to simmer add the tortellini. Mine said to cook for 16 minutes but cook yours according to the package. If the soup is getting too thick just thin it out with a little water as it cooks. Cook until the tortellini is done making sure to stir occasionally so that nothing sticks to the bottom. Top with mozzarella cheese when you're ready to eat.

Candy canes

I will fully and readily admit that making your own candy canes is sort of a crazy thing to do. You can buy a pack of them in pretty much any flavor for about a dollar. This recipe will cost you more than that and will require much more work. All of that being said, these are still really fun to make and they are delicious. Plus there is just something sort of nice about making them from scratch and being able to control the flavor and color. I adapted this recipe from Taste of Home. Their recipe was great, but the instructions were lacking a few things that really helped the canes come together so I've done things my own way. A few suggestions: have all your equipment and ingredients ready before you start, use an accurate candy thermometer or learn how to test the temperature of candy using the cold water method, and finally pick up some latex gloves and some knit stretchy gloves and put them on before you attempt to pull the candy.

Ingredients:

1 cup sugar

1 cup corn syrup

1 cup water

1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar

1/4 - 1/2 teaspoon flavored oil (or 1 - 1 1/2 teaspoons extract) like cinnamon, vanilla, or peppermint

food coloring

Directions:

In a large, heavy bottomed pot combine the sugar, corn syrup, water, and cream of tartar together. Heat over medium-low heat and stir until the sugar is dissolved. Once dissolved, stop stirring completely. Clip a candy thermometer on the pot and heat the candy to 280 degrees (soft crack stage). Remove from heat and add flavoring. Divide the candy between two oiled cookie sheets. Add food coloring to one of the pans and stir to combine. Put on knit gloves, then put latex gloves on top of that. After the candy has cooled for about a minute or so pick up the non-colored candy and stretch and pull it for a while until it turns shiny and white. Place this back on the pan and pick up the colored candy. Stretch and pull it the same as you did for the white part. Once both have been stretched and are soft and pliable, press the colored part onto the white part and massage until they form one smooth log. Stretch and smooth that log until it forms a long, thin rope. Cut into smaller sections and twist each section so that the typical candy cane stripes appear. Cut into 4-6 inch lengths and curve the top around so that it forms a cane shape. Place on a plate and allow to dry for 24 hours before eating to prevent them from being sticky.