Honey Roasted Pumpkin Seeds

Our toddlers really enjoy eating these as a snack.

Ingredients:
Seeds from one pumpkin
4 T honey
1/2 t salt (or to taste)
*Dash of Cinnamon or Pumpkin Pie Spice (optional), we use little if any.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  In collander, rinse fresh pumpkin seeds with hot water to remove pumpkin pulp, set aside to dry.  Lightly grease a large cookie sheet and set aside.  In a small saucepan, heat honey till hot but not boiling, stir in salt to combine.  Place pumpkin seeds in a heat proof bowl and pour hot honey over the top, mixing to fully cover with honey mixture.  Spread seeds in a single layer on cookie sheet and roast for approximately 10 minutes, stiring once about half way through, until seeds are lightly browned.  Enjoy.

Good Morning Muffins

Another delicious  four-star winning recipe from Family Fun recipes.  Again, we tailored it to work for our family and changed it a bit.  Our 3 and 4 year olds enjoyed helping make these too.  We tried out our hand wheat-grinder for this one and made up one and a half cups of somewhat coarsely ground whole wheat flour which resulted in a nutty-crispiness mixed with the moist ingredients for a wonderful texture. We also added a pinch of pumpkin-pie-spice and the marvelous aroma was especially perfect for a cool Fall morning, though it would be yummy any morning!

Yield:  12 muffins

1-1/2 bananas
1/4 c honey
1/2 c vegetable oil
2 grated apples (we left the peel on)
1 c grated carrots
1-1/2 c whole-wheat flour (coarsely ground)
1/2 c all-purpose flour
1 T baking powder
1/4 t salt
*1/2 t cinnamon (or pumpkin-pie-spice)

1.  Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.  Lightly grease a 12-muffin tin or line it with paper liners.  Set aside.

2.  In the bowl of an electric mixer, blend the bananas, honey and oil until well combined.  Stir in the grated apples and carrots.  In a separate bowl, sift the flours, baking powder, salt and cinnamon.  Blend the dry ingredients with the apple mixture until just combined.  Spoon the batter into the muffin tins and bake for 25 minutes. Makes 12 muffins.

Note:  *Due to allergies we may have to leave out the cinnamon and spice.  I think these would also work well with grated zucchini or craisins or raisins sprinkled in.

Hawaiian Haystacks or Chinese Sundaes

This recipe is known by two different names in our family to describe the same dish.  Steamy cooked rice topped with warm chicken gravy and your choice of favorite toppings.  A 'create your own favorite' recipe!  I've even tasted it with a curry gravy which is tasty too.  This recipe multiplies easily to feed large groups.  This was one of my favorites as a child and still is.  Our children love it too!

Yield:  At least 8

Some possible toppings:

Tomatoes, diced

Pineapple, crushed

Green onions, diced

Chow Mein Noodles

Celery, diced

Bell pepper, diced

*Carrots, diced

*Peas

Shredded Coconut

Sliced almonds are great for those who can eat them

Same for shredded cheese...

Use whatever tantalizes your taste buds

(* Never tried these toppings, and I imagine I'd like them steamed to tender before using them on this.  Our friend tells me she usually fixes theirs with these two toppings.)

Cooked Rice:  2 cups water to 1 cup rice;  I often cook up 3 cups rice, part of which is a wild rice mixture thrown in for flavor, aroma and texture (which I compensate for with a little more water and a little longer cook time).  If everyone is hungry there's enough rice for left-overs.  If they're not as hungry as usual, I have enough rice left over for Rice and Raisin Cereal at a breakfast soon.

Chicken Gravy:

Cream of Chicken soup thinned with a bit of water or milk works unless you avoid milk like us...we make our own now using the following ratios.

Thin: 1T butter, 1T flour, 1 1/2 c chicken broth, and salt and pepper to taste + shredded cooked chicken.

Medium: 2T butter, 2T flour, 1c chicken broth and salt and pepper to taste + shredded cooked chicken.

Thick: 3T butter, 4T flour, 1c chicken broth and salt and pepper to taste + shredded cooked chicken.

Melt butter in saucepan over low heat.  Blend in flour, salt and pepper to make a roo.  Add chicken broth all at once and whisk quickly, stirring constantly until mixture thickens and bubbles.  Add in cooked shredded chicken.  (If I use canned chicken, I usually figure the broth accompanying the chicken in the can for about 1/2 cup of what I need total and I usually make up 3 to 4 cups of gravy.)

Put it all together now: 

Layer a large scoop of steamy rice topped with creamy chicken gravy and sprinkled with your choice of favorite toppings.  Careful....all the layers pile up fast and looks like more than you had planned to eat....but it is so tasty!

Rice and Raisin Cereal

This is a tasty breakfast cereal which our children especially enjoy.  We like to make it up when we have left-over unseasoned rice from a previous meal, but it could also be made up just for breakfast.

Cooked Rice
Rice Milk
Rasins
Cinnamon or Sugar, if desired

With cooked rice in saucepan, add Rice Milk to preferred consistency (we like just enough to moisten the rice).  Heat but not to boiling.  Add raisins and serve sprinkled with cinnamon and/or sugar if desired.

Lentil Soup

I read somewhere that lentil soup is a form of pottage.  Pottage...what was desired when handing over one's birthright....why?  Because it is delicious!  My sister Rachel gave me this winning recipe and each time I make it our boys ask for seconds and thirds!  If someone hasn't tried lentils before and is wary, THIS is one to try!  The picture doesn't look nearly as yummy as it tastes!  It's awesome!

1/4  lb. bacon
2 c. finely chopped yellow onions
2 carrots, peeled, finely chopped
3 large garlic cloves, peeled, minced
7 c.  chicken stock or broth
1 t. dried thyme
1/4 t. celery seeds
2 bay leaves
Salt and freshly ground pepper
1 1/2 c. brown lentils, sorted and rinsed (1-1 lb. package)

Finely chop bacon and saute' in soup pot over medium heat until crisp.  Remove bacon with slotted spoon and reserve.  Add onions, carrots, garlic and saute' in bacon fat over low heat, covered until tender and golden...about 25 minutes. 

Add the chicken or beef stock, thyme, celery seeds, bay leaves, a grinding of fresh pepper (no salt until later..since it would toughen the lentils at this point) and the lentils.  Bring to a boil, reduce heat and cover.  Simmer until lentils are very tender, about 40 minutes.

Discard bay leaves, and puree half of the soup. (An immersion blender makes this a snap.)  Return pureed soup to pot.  Taste, and correct seasoning, adding about 1 1/2 tsp. salt (I didn't add it to tonight and it was still delicious!)  Stir in reserved crisp bacon and simmer briefly before serving.  Enjoy!

One of the great things about lentils is that they don't need to be soaked before cooking yet are in the legume nutritional family.  There are lots of different kinds but brown (or green) are most easily found.  A 1/4 cup serving of cooked lentils is said to contain 11 grams of protien, %10 Potassium, %4 Calcium, 15% Iron, 10% Thiamin, 6% Riboflavin and 4% Niacin, of Daily Recommended Values.

From Wikipedia: " Nutritional Value and Health Benefits:  Lentils contain high levels of proteins, including the essential amino acids isoleucine and lysine, and are an essential source of inexpensive protein in many parts of the world for those who adhere to a vegetarian diet or cannot afford meat.[1] Lentils are deficient in two essential amino acids, methionine and cystine.[2] However, sprouted lentils contain sufficient levels of all essential amino acids, including methionine and cystine.[3]

Apart from a high level of proteins, lentils also contain dietary fiber, Folate, vitamin B1, and minerals. Red (or pink) lentils contain a lower concentration of fiber than green lentils (11% rather than 31%).[4] Health magazine has selected lentils as one of the five healthiest foods.[5] Lentils are often mixed with grains, such as rice, which results in a complete protein dish.

Lentils are one of the best vegetable sources of iron. This makes them an important part of a vegetarian diet, and useful for preventing iron deficiency. Iron is particularly important for adolescents and pregnant women, whose requirements for it are increased.[6]"

Fresh Salsa

Another winner from Dora Gonzalez!  We like to add in other things we have in the crisper, or out of the garden, like lettuce, spinach, green onions, cucumber finely diced or whatever sounds best for the dinner it's going with.  Our boys enjoy salsa but if you show them something leafy they'll cringe.  So, so long as it is finely diced and they can't see it, they'll enjoy it (though we often omit the fresh onion if we're serving them...since they're getting that in whatever we're serving salsa with usually).  However those add-ins mentioned above are best if eaten right away.  (Yield:  Enough for garnish topping or a 1-2 person appetizer) Add more of everything if you're serving a larger group. 

1     chopped Tomato
1 T. chopped Onion
1     clove Garlic, minced
Salt to taste
Fresh Cilantro!

Mix all together and squeeze in Lemon or Lime Juice.

We really like to use our little 'Kitchen Miracle' gadget to slice dice and mix this all super fast...and the boys enjoy doing the mixing (another trick we use to get them to eat good things....they made it)!