We have a lot of lentil, split peas, and dried beans from WIC so I try to come up with different ways to use them. Here is a slow cooker recipe for lentils. Great with corn bread on the side.
Ingredients:
2 c. dried lentils
1 c. water
5 c. chicken broth
1 1/2 c. diced cooked ham
4 roma tomatoes chopped
1 medium onion chopped
1 c. chopped celery
1 c. chopped carrots
1/2 t. dried basil
1/2 t. dried oregano
1/4 t. dried thyme
1/4 t. black pepper
1 bay leaf
1 T chili powder (optional)
Put everything in the crock pot and cook on low for 8 hours. The chili powder gives it a nice kick, but if you have kids that can't tolerate any spice, better to leave it out (or use less).
Sunday, April 25, 2010
Tuesday, April 20, 2010
Taco Pasta
So I got the taco pasta idea from Rachael Ray. I love how you don't have to have taco shells and eating it with pasta makes it less messy for the kids.
This is Rachael's recipe:
http://www.rachaelrayshow.com/food/recipes/taco-pasta-toss/
Here is my version of her recipe (sorry, forgot to take a picture):
Ingredients:
1 lb. medium shell pasta (I would have used whole wheat if I had it on hand)
1 lb. ground beef
1/4 c. taco seasoning or 1 packet of taco seasoning
1 medium onion chopped
2 tomatoes (or you can use 14 oz canned tomato, drained)
1 bell pepper (I used half green and half yellow), chopped (my kids don't like bell peppers so I put it in the blender with the chicken stock and puree it... and then the kids will never know! =))
1 1/2 c. chicken stock
1 c. frozen corn
salt
2 c. shredded sharp cheddar cheese
Toppings:
(you can use anything that you would put on a normal taco, but here is what we had...)
Lettuce, chopped
Tomatoes, diced
Onions, chopped
Green onions, chopped
Directions:
- Cook pasta as directed on box. Drain and set aside.
- While pasta is cooking, brown the meat.
- Then add the onions, tomatoes, and taco seasoning. Cook until the onions are tender.
- Preheat broiler.
- Puree bell pepper with chicken stock (if your family is okay with bell peppers, then just toss it in). Then add to the meat.
- Add the corn.
- Let it simmer for 2-3 minutes.
- Then add the pasta and stir to combine.
- Taste the pasta. Season with salt if needed. (I had to add some salt to mine.)
- Transfer pasta into an oven safe pan and sprinkle on the cheese.
- Put under the broiler until the cheese is melted (it took me about 4 minutes in my oven)
- Serve and top with desired toppings!
The kiddos loved it. Even though they didn't want any toppings, I knew that they were still getting some veggies from the pasta! I think our Natalie ate more than Jocelyn when we had this last night!
This heats up really well too!
This is Rachael's recipe:
http://www.rachaelrayshow.com/food/recipes/taco-pasta-toss/
Here is my version of her recipe (sorry, forgot to take a picture):
Ingredients:
1 lb. medium shell pasta (I would have used whole wheat if I had it on hand)
1 lb. ground beef
1/4 c. taco seasoning or 1 packet of taco seasoning
1 medium onion chopped
2 tomatoes (or you can use 14 oz canned tomato, drained)
1 bell pepper (I used half green and half yellow), chopped (my kids don't like bell peppers so I put it in the blender with the chicken stock and puree it... and then the kids will never know! =))
1 1/2 c. chicken stock
1 c. frozen corn
salt
2 c. shredded sharp cheddar cheese
Toppings:
(you can use anything that you would put on a normal taco, but here is what we had...)
Lettuce, chopped
Tomatoes, diced
Onions, chopped
Green onions, chopped
Directions:
- Cook pasta as directed on box. Drain and set aside.
- While pasta is cooking, brown the meat.
- Then add the onions, tomatoes, and taco seasoning. Cook until the onions are tender.
- Preheat broiler.
- Puree bell pepper with chicken stock (if your family is okay with bell peppers, then just toss it in). Then add to the meat.
- Add the corn.
- Let it simmer for 2-3 minutes.
- Then add the pasta and stir to combine.
- Taste the pasta. Season with salt if needed. (I had to add some salt to mine.)
- Transfer pasta into an oven safe pan and sprinkle on the cheese.
- Put under the broiler until the cheese is melted (it took me about 4 minutes in my oven)
- Serve and top with desired toppings!
The kiddos loved it. Even though they didn't want any toppings, I knew that they were still getting some veggies from the pasta! I think our Natalie ate more than Jocelyn when we had this last night!
This heats up really well too!
Monday, April 12, 2010
felt playhouse
So for Jocelyn's 3rd birthday I am going to make her a felt playhouse. I'm getting ideas from all over and trying to combine different ideas. I just ordered the fabric from fabric.com so hopefully it will come sometime this week. I already planned what I want on each side. It is going to fit over a card table that Jacob use to use for studying. I'm in the process of planning out how big I want everything. I'm using graph paper to plan things out and to make sure everything fits right. I finished graphing three of the sides, and only have one more to do. One side is going to be the front door with a mail slot and a pot of flowers. The other side will be a window with half a tree which will have apples to pick. Next the other side of the tree will be the next panel along with a dog house. On top of the dog house I am going to put a cat =). Natalie loves cats. Then the last side is going to be the garden. I want to have a corn plant, tomato plant, lettuce, and carrots. Hopefully the garden side will fit all of my ideas that I have. It's the last side that I haven't planned out on graph paper yet. The graph paper is nice because I can see everything in proportion to each other. I am way excited to get this all finished!
here is the site that first gave me the idea that I wanted to make one of these!
http://homemadebyjill.blogspot.com/2009/10/felt-playhouse.html
here is the site that first gave me the idea that I wanted to make one of these!
http://homemadebyjil
Thursday, April 1, 2010
Spring Photos
These are the dresses that I made for the girls. It's their new spring dress (made from fabric that I had leftover from me making dresses/ties for my family for a YW project!). The girls were so excited to wear their dresses outside! Here are some of the pictures I got of them... let me know which is your favorite!
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