Lentil Rice Soup Mix in a Jar

I love food gifts! These were fun to make for my friends and family this year...I hope everyone likes it. Feel free to encourage your recipients to add any kind of meat or vegetables they want.

Recipe makes one gift - Adjust as needed

Lentil Rice Soup Mix in a Jar

Ingredients:

-1 cup brown rice

-1/2 cup green lentils

-1/4 cup chicken or vegetable bouillon

-2 Tbsp. garlic powder

-3 Tbsp. parsley

Directions:

1) Layer all ingredients in a jar. Fasten lid with a square of fabric. Attach directions.

2) Directions for soup:

                A. Combine mixture with 8 cups water

                B. Bring to a boil

                C. Cover and simmer for at least one hour

Angeletti Cookies

Long time no posts! The Christmas season has been hectic as I work in online retail :-p

I made these cookies this week and got a marbled effect by halfway working in red and green dye to the dough (No pic, sorry). My family has made these for our annual Christmas party before. They are a traditional Italian cookie that puff up like little pillows. Very easy to do...and I've lightend up the recipe.

Ingredients:

-2 eggs

-3 Tbsp. light margin, melted

-1/2 cup sugar or substitute

-3/4 cup NSA applesauce

-1 tsp. vanilla extract

-3 cups Kamut flour, plus more for dusting

-1 Tbsp. baking powder

-1/2 tsp. salt

-food dye (optional)

Directions:

1) Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

2) In large mixing bowl, whisk together eggs, melted margin, sugar/sub, applesauce, and vanilla.

3) Mix in flour, baking powder, and salt. When mostly combined, transfer to floured surface. Knead dough for 3-5 minutes. Add food dye at this point if desired.

4) Roll into 50 balls. You may need to add flour as needed. The dough will be really sticky.

5) Bake in batches, 8-10 minutes. Transfer to cooling rack.

No Guilt Frosting

Fat free! And no I'm not kidding. Use any pudding mix you want. My birthday party was last week and I used it to frost my owl cupcakes :) Divine enough to frost a cupcake or brownie, but also light enough to eat by itself...I can't wait to try this in chocolate!

Serves many

Ingredients:
-2 pkgs. fat free instant pudding
-1.5 cups fat free milk
-8 oz. fat free cream cheese, softened
-1 Tbsp. agave nectar
-1/2 cup fat free cool whip

Directions:

1) In a stand mixer, beat softened cream cheese and agave nectar with the wire whisk attachment on high for 5 minutes or until fluffy.

2) In the mean time, combine pudding mix and milk (will be very thick). Add to cream cheese and continue mixing on medium for 3-5 minutes, scraping the sides as needed. Fold in the cool whip.

3) Frost away!

Baked Cocoa Apples

Had these over a month ago, but stuff has been so crazy with working 60 hrs/week now. They were yummy with cool whip, but I'm sure ice cream would be good, too.

Serves: 4

Ingredients:
-4 tart apples
-2 envelopes fat free instant cocoa
-2 Tbsp. light butter/marg.
-fat free cool whip or ice cream (optional)

Directions:

1) Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Cut apples in half and scoop out the core, leaving a small crevice.

2) Melt butter in the microwave. Mix in with hot cocoa mix.

3) Spoon mixture over apples in a baking dish. Bake for 30-35 minutes, or until apples are tender.

French Onion Potato Salad

I made this for my party this evening. When I snuck a bite, it tasted pretty good. Hopefully, people enjoy it!

Serves several

Ingredients:
-5 lbs. baked russet potatoes
-1 head celery
-8 oz. fat free sour cream
-1 envelope french onion soup mix
-1/2 tsp. minced garlic
-salt and pepper, to taste

Directions:

1) Bake potatoes wrapped in foil in a 400 degree oven for appox. 1.5 hours. Allow to cool completely (I waited over night).

2) Chop celery and cooled baked potatoes into bite-sized pieces.

3) In a large bowl, mix together the sour cream, onion soup mix, garlic, and salt/pepper. Add the potatoes and celery, stirring gently to coat completely. Cover and refrigerate until serving.

Curry Butternut Squash

Good date night dinner <3 Tom and I had this with some basmati rice (simmered with a cinnamon stick!) It takes a long time, but the crock pot does 90% of the work. By the way, squash cooks down like you wouldn't believe. It will look like a lot for 4 people at first, but it's not.

Serves 4

Ingredients:
-2 large butternut squash, cubed
-1/2 onion, chopped
-1 cup vegetable broth
-1/2 Tbsp. minced garlic
-1 Tbsp. green curry paste
-1 Tbps. curry powder
-1/2 Tbsp. cumin
-salt and pepper, to taste
-pinch of cinnamon


Directions:

1) Skin, seed, and cube the squash into bite-sized pieces. Place in a large crock pot with chopped onions.

2) In a sauce pan, combine the remaining ingredients and bring to a boil. Pour over the squash and onion.

3) Cook for 4 hours on high heat or 6 hours on low heat.

Apple Oat Muffins

Just trying to work through those two giant bags of apples. Today was the perfect rainy day to do so. Don't expect these muffins to be overly sweet. The only sugar is from fruit and honey, making it very earthy. I put some in cello bags with candy corn to give to some of my co-workers.

Makes 12 muffins

Ingredients:

1 ripe banana, mashed
-2 tsp. ginger
-1 tsp. cinnamon
-3 cups whole wheat flour
-2 tsp. baking powder
-1 tsp. baking soda
-pinch of salt
-2.5 cups water
-4 tart apples, diced

FOR TOPPING:

-1 cup rolled oats
-2 Tbsp. honey

Directions:

1) Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

2) Mash a banana in the bottom of a large bowl. Mix in ginger, cinnamon, flour, baking powder/soda, and salt.  Gradually add water. Mix in diced apple until the batter is thoroughly combined.

3) In a smaller bowl, mix together the oats and honey.

4) Prepare a muffin tin with nonstick spray. Fill up each well really full with the batter and top with oat and honey mixture.

5) Bake for 22-25 minutes.