Summer Pasta

1/3 cup sundried tomatoes
1/4 cup firmly packed chopped mint
2 TBSP chopped walnuts
2 TBSP tomato paste
1 TBSP evoo
1 tsp lemon juice 
1clove garlic 
put all of this in a blender or food processor until smooth, then toss with pasta and 1/2 cup feta

Banana Cookies

submitted by Denise K.

Throw everything in 1 bowl, start with bananas so you can 
mash in them there easily.

2-3 ripe bananas mashed
2 cups oats
1 cup dried fruit – here is where I am experimenting
1/3 cup applesauce (add more depending on how moist you want them)
couple dashes of cinnamon 
tbsp or 2 of vanilla

Mix together and let it sit for 10-15 minutes. Then into the oven at 350 for about 22 minutes. They will come out the same shape they go in, so you can easily do numbers, letters, etc. if you want.

Snap Peas with Fresh Mint

submitted by Denise K.

add a little bit of evoo in a pan, then for saute for 3-5 mins 
peas 3/4-1 lb 
2 or 3 chopped green onions 
1 clove garlic
add a dash of salt and pepper
remove from heat and throw in a few chopped up mint leaves.

Leah’s Mujaddara

baharat ingredients:
12 paprika
12 black pepper
6 cinnamon
6 corriander
4 cumin
2 nutmeg
2 cloves
1 cardamom

mujaddara ingredients:
1 cup lentils
1 cup long grain rice
1 cup broth
3 cups water
salt
baharat
cumin
cardamom
pepper
bay leaf
olive oil
5 medium onions

directions:
1a.slice onions thinly and carmalize in 1.5T olive oil. Allow to carmalize slowly over 30-40 minutes.
1b. In 2T olive oil, fry lentils for 3-4 minutes until starts to show signs of scortching.
2. Add 1/2t salt, 1-2t baharat (to taste), 1/4t cumin, a pinch cardamom.
3. Add 1 cup water and 1cup broth, cover, bring to boil, then lower to simmer for ~20 minutes (until water is absorbed).
4. In 1T olive oil, fry rice for 3-4 minutes until the grains change color.
5. Add pinch of salt, pepper, and bay leaf.
6. Add 2 cups water, bring to boil, then lower to simmer for 7 minutes. Turn off heat, but leave on burner for about 10 minutes. Remove bay leaf.
7. Mix rice and lentils. Add carmalized onions to top. Can serve with plain yogurt.

Keri’s Granola Bars

A recipe Keri created all by herself!

Here is my recipe–mix dry and wet ingredients separately, then mix them together, press into a 9×13 glass pan and bake at 375 for 15 min. I do convection bake for everything so maybe 18 min for standard baking. I make them on Monday night since I pack a lunch for Katie and want her to have a snack to look forward to.

3 cups rolled oats
1/2 cup raw sugar
1 cup flour (can be whole wheat or white)
3/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 cup flax seeds (or more. . . they don’t change the taste and are oh so good for you)
1/4 cup sunflower seeds (make it taste slightly like peanut butter)
1/4 cup unsweetened coconut
1/4 cup wheat germ (I didn’t add this today, forgot)

Wet ingredients–beat together then add to the dry:
1 cup (two sticks) melted salted butter
1/4 cup honey
1 egg

Next time I’m going to try adding 1/2 tsp cinnamon. I think it would work really well. I think dried cranberries would be nice to try next, too. I tried raisins last week and Katie picked them all out. . . funny, I like raisins too, just like her, and hate them in baked goods, too.

Laura’s Red Beans and Rice

It’s not so much a recipe as hmm, a list of ingredients…

Anyway, you need dried kidney beans (or like 5 cans cooked beans), 2 or 3 ham hocks,1/2 a green bell pepper chopped small, 2 or 3 cloves of garlic cut up, and some onion, also chopped small. Put it all in a big pot or dutch oven, cover with plenty of water, bring to a boil, cover and turn off. Let it sit for a couple of hours, and then turn it on and simmer until dinnertime. Make sure the water doesn’t boil off because they’ll burn and be gross. If you use cooked beans you can skip the boil and soak part and just bring to a simmer. Serve over rice.

Skillet Lasagna

submitted by JEN M.

lb ground meat (i use only ground turkey)
1 small onion chopped (i really use a couple onions b/c i am an onion whore )
3 cloves of garlic, minced (i use the minced jarred garlic b/c i’m lazy like that)
1 can diced tomatoes, undrained (i usually use the 28oz big can)
1 1/4C water
8oz tomato/pasta sauce ( i tend to put a bit more in, b/c i use extra veggies etc)
1T parsley
1t basil
1t oregano
1t salt
2 1/2C whole wheat pasta (i use whatever i have-usually a mix of penne and the curly kind LMAO)
1C FF ricotta (but if you aren’t doing weight loss, feel free to use regular ricotta LOL)
1/4C parm cheese
dash of basil and pepper (optional)
1 egg
shredded mozzarella 

1) in large skillet, brown meat with onions and garlic, drain if you need to

2)add diced tomatoes, water, pasta sauce, parsley, basil, oregano and salt

3)stir in uncooked pasta

4)bring to a boil, stir occasionally. 

5)reduce heat, cover and simmer 20 minutes or until pasta is done

6)combine ricotta and parm cheese

7)sprinkle in basil and pepper to taste

8)drop cheese mix by rounded T onto pasta mix. 
****i do not “drop”, i just mix it into the pasta. 
****i also do not use the egg, you can mix it into the ricotta cheese mix, but i don’t like that idea, so i never do it LOL

9)cover and cook for 5min more

10)sprinkle with mozz cheese and serve. i personally just mix a bunch of mozz in b/c i love cheese

Crock pot Greek Chicken

submitted by Kate S.

2 lbs boneless chicken breasts, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
2 14 ounce cans of italian style (basil, garlic, oregano) diced tomatoes, undrained
1.5 cups of water
2 6 ounce boxes of toasted-pine nut-flavored-couscous
feta cheese
chopped kalamata olives

Mix the water, undrained tomatoes, and chicken in the crockpot and cook for 5-6 hours on low (or 2-3 hours on high). Remove the “crock” from the crockpot (to the counter, so it’s away from the heat), stir in the couscous. Let stand for 5 minutes, then top each serving with feta and kalamata olives.

When I reheat it, I add a little bit of Greek salad dressing to make it less dry.

Strawberry Rhubarb Freezer Jam

submitted by Meg

2 1/2 c fresh or frozen strawberries, crushed
1 1/2 c finely diced fresh or frozen rhubarb
2 1/2 c sugar
1 can (8oz) crushed pineapple, undrained
1 package (3oz) strawberry flavored gelatin

In large kettle, combine strawberries, rhubarb, sugar and pinapple. Bring to a boil; reduce heat and simmer for 20 minutes. Remove from the heat; stir in gelatin until dissolved. Pour into jars or freezer containers, leaving 1/2 inch head-space. Cool. Top with lids. Refrigerate or freeze. (5 1/2 c jelly).

Munchy Oat Bars

This is a variation on Annabel Karmel’s munchy oat bars, found in The Toddler Cookbook.

Ingredients:
1.5 sticks of butter (i.e., 12 Tbsp.)
1 c. packed brown sugar
6 Tbsp. honey
3 cups quick cook oats
1/2c. dried cranberries
1/2c. raisins
1/2c. pecans (obviously this is optional)
2 medium apples, cored and chopped (not quite diced but not big pieces either)

Instructions:
Grease and line pan.  I have yet to line the pan since I don’t have wax paper.  I also use cooking spray as my grease.
Melt butter, brown sugar, and honey over low heat.
Mix together remaining ingredients in large bowl.
Pour sugar mixture into the large bowl and stir well.
Pour sticky goodness into baking pan and “mash” gently to make it even with a potato masher.
Bake at 350 for 20 minutes.
Let cool completely before attempting to cut.  I recommend refrigerating before cutting, though eating the finished product warm is quite tasty.  If they are not chilled first, they fall apart easily when cut.  Still yummy, just not good for traveling.

The original recipe calls for 8 quartered dried apricots, 1/2 c. cranberries, 1/2 c. raisins, 1/2 c. pecans OR pumpkin seeds, and 2/3 c. dried coconut.  Also, the original recipe is half of the size that I’ve posted here.  I’ve never made it with pumpkin seeds or coconut, but I did do it with apricots, cranberries and raisins.  That was fantastic.  I made it with apples, raisins, and pecans (and no cranberries) at Rosh HaShanah and was delighted.  Basically you can take any combination of dried fruits to add up to whatever the total amount is.  I don’t think you can go wrong with it.