Lentil Love
My kids are pretty good eaters. At my husband’s request, we don’t eat a lot of meat. In fact, he’d be perfectly fine if I never served meat ever again. My kids are good sports and they try most everything, and we eat some stuff that would be considered quite odd in normal households. Last night, I sat at dinner and chuckled thinking to myself what an unusual food- love I had stumbled upon. My kids devoured our dinner, asked for seconds, and thirds, and we had no leftovers. And it wasn’t chicken fingers or mac ‘n cheese; I made lentil and veggie tostadas. Little Miss asked for more lentils. And more. And more. She apparently loves lentils. And T-Rex devoured the veggies (lentils too, but he wanted more veggies) – zucchini, squash, broccoli, he was even snacking on them raw off my cutting board while I was mixing things up. I hope we are able to continue this love of healthy, not-the-norm foods as they grow older!
I would have taken a picture…but they devoured them too quickly!
lentil & veggie tostadas (from Better Homes & Gardens easy vegetarian dinners)
1 3/4 c water
3/4 dry yellow or green lentils, rinsed and drained
1/4 c chopped onions
1 to 2 tablespoons snipped fresh cilantro
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1 clove garlic, minced
4 tostada shells
2 cups assorted chopped veggies such as broccoli, tomato, zucchini and/or yellow summer squash
3/4 c shredded Monterey Jack cheese
Start to finish 40 mins, makes 4 servings
In a medium saucepan stir together ater, lentils, onion, cilantro, salkt sumin, and garlic. Bring to boiling. Reduce heat and simmer covered for 25-30 mins or until lentils are tender and most of the liquid is absorbed. Use a fork to mash the cooked lentils.
Spread the lentil mixture on tostada shells, top with vegetables and cheese. Place on a large baking sheet, Broil 3-4 inches from the heat about 2 minutes or until cheese melts. Serve immediately.
It’s really good served with fresh salsa. YUM!
Filed under Little Miss Sunshine, T-Rex, The Narrator, motherhood, recipe | Tags: cooking, dining, kids, kitchen, recipe, vegetarian | Comment (0)Rhubarb = Summer
Too bad the weather doesn’t feel like summer!
The kids picked the first of some of Great-Grandma’s rhubarb this past week, and tonight I turned it into a Rhubarb Pudding Cake that is out of this world. It went so fast, I didn’t even get a picture of it! The tangy, sweet dish was a hit with everyone. This recipe came from Meals For You, and I found it several years ago.
Rhubarb Pudding Cake
3 cups rhubarb, cut into 1 inch pieces, thawed if frozen.
1 cup flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1-2/3 cups sugar
1/2 cup skim milk
3 Tbs unsalted butter or margarine, melted
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 Tbs cornstarch
1 cup boiling water
Preheat oven to 350 F. Place rhubarb in the bottom of a buttered 9 inch square or 10 inch round cake pan or baking dish. Combine flour, baking powder, salt and half the sugar in a mixing bowl. Add milk, butter and vanilla. Using an electric mixer, beat until smooth. Spread batter over rhubarb. Combine remaining sugar and cornstarch and sprinkle over batter. Pour boiling water over mixture. Bake 45 minutes or until tester comes out clean when inserted in center.
Serves 8. Really good with whip cream on top. Or ice cream.
