Blackberry Pie Filling and the Cools Pie Crust

While I haven't tried it, I'm sure you could use honey or a substitute sweetener for this recipe. They're berries! They're already pretty sweet.

Blackberry Pie
5 cups of blackberries
3/4 c. sugar
1/3 c. flour
Toss.
Place on already prepared 9'' double pie crust, top with more crust. Poke air holes. Bake at 375 for 45 minutes.

Pie Crust
3 c. flour
1 1/4 c. shortening (or butter if you want it healthier, it is slightly denser, though)
1 t. salt
Cut in shortening/butter.

Mix together in separate bowl:
1 egg
5 T water
1 T vinegar

Add to flour mixture. May add a tiny bit more water if needed. Roll out into 9" circles. Makes 2 double crusts. (That means 4 circles all together)

Spicy Lentil Soup

This is a recipe from my dear friend, Autumn.

Glad you liked my little soup. It's great as a meatless soup, or you can add sausage. And yes I cooked the sausage fully before putting it in the soup...you have to put the sausage in at the very last due to the fact that you puree the soup. I would add that it is spicy and I wait until the last to put the seasonings in and then just separate some out for my little munchkin. It makes enough for two meals for us and a leftover lunch, so I always freeze half of it. I started with cooking a light recipe and have modified it to my liking, so enjoy.

Spicy Lentil Soup
Ingredients:

1 tablespoon coconut oil
2 cups chopped onion
1 large parsnip, or two carrots
2 celery stalks
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 teaspoon ground red pepper
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
2 garlic cloves, minced
3 1/3 cups water
2 1/3 cups dried lentils
1/3 cup chopped fresh cilantro
42 ounces chicken or potato broth
1 (28-ounce) can diced tomatoes, undrained
Sour Cream (you can also use kefir)
Cilantro sprig (optional)

Preparation:

Soak lentils overnight, drain and rinse.
Heat oil in a large pot oven over medium-high heat. Add the vegetables; sauté for 3 minutes. Add the cumin and the next 6 ingredients (cumin through garlic); sauté for 1 minute. Add water and next 4 ingredients (water through diced tomatoes); bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer 1 hour.
Reserve 2 cups lentil mixture. Place half of remaining mixture in blender; process until smooth. Pour pureed soup into a large bowl. Repeat procedure with other half of remaining mixture. Stir in reserved 2 cups lentil mixture. Garnish with 1 tablespoon sour cream and a cilantro sprig, if desired.
11 servings. (serving size: 1 cup)

Black Bean Pie

I made this Black Bean Pie recipe that I found on marthastewart.com and added a little bit of london broil steak and cantaloupe on the side to make it complete.

Serves 6

• 4 flour tortillas
  
• 2 tablespoons oil
• 1 large onion, diced
• 1 jalapeno chile, minced, opt. (I didn't use it)
  
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
• Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper
• 2 cans (15 ounces each) black beans, drained and rinsed (or soak your own!)
  
• 1 1/2 cups water or beer
  
• 1 package (10 ounces) frozen corn
• 4 scallions, thinly sliced, plus more for garnish (I used cilantro, it was cheaper)
  
• 8 ounces cheddar cheese, shredded (2 1/2 cups)

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. With a paring knife, trim tortillas to fit a 9-inch springform pan. Use the bottom of the pan as a guide. Set aside.
2. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add onion, jalapeño, garlic, and cumin; season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, 5 to 7 minutes.
3. Add beans and water, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium; simmer until liquid has almost evaporated, 8 to 10 minutes. Stir in corn and scallions, and remove from heat. Taste and adjust for seasoning.
4. Fit a trimmed tortilla in bottom of springform pan; layer with 1/4 of the beans and 1/2 cup of cheese. Repeat three times, using 1 cup cheese on top layer. Bake until cheese melts, 20 to 25 minutes. Remove side of pan; sprinkle pie with scallions. To serve, slice into wedges.

Millet Muffins

Millet Muffins are my new fav and are much easier when you are going for an easy cornbreadish side for a smaller group.

2 1.2 c. flour
1/3 c. millet flour I grind mine in our coffee grinder!
1 t. baking powder
1 t. soda
1 t. salt
1 c. buttermilk I use kefir
1 egg
1/2 c. oil I use coconut oil and omit the honey because it is sweet enough with the coconut oil
1/2 c. honey

Chicken with Thai Peanut Sauce

Talk about out of my comfort zone. While my hands thrive on good ol home cooking, my pallet (and my husbands) often long for something unusual. So we decided to try out some recipes for
Chicken with Thai Peanut Sauce over Rice it was a hit! Here's the recipe we liked and had mostly what was already in the cupboard.

Blend:
4 t. oil
1/2 c. onion (minced)
2 T. garlic (minced)
1/2 t. hot chili pepper

Add:
1/3 c. peanut better
1 c. water

Simmer 10 minutes

Add:
2 T. sugar
2T. vinegar

Simmer 2 minutes.

Pour over barbecued chicken and rice.


After making this I would recommend more peanut butter and a good hard squirt of lime juice.

Pancakes and Blueberry Syrup!

Whole-Grain Pancakes with Blueberry Maple Syrup

If you can't find white whole wheat flour, feel free to substitute unbleached all-purpose flour.

2 cups of blueberries, rinsed
1/4 cup natural granulated sugar (evaporated cane sugar)
1/4 cup real-deal, PURE, maple syrup
2 tablespoons water

2 cups white whole wheat flour or unbleached all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon aluminum-free baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/3 cup natural granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon fine grain sea salt
2 1/4 cups organic buttermilk (I used kefir)
2 large organic eggs, lightly beaten
2 tablespoons butter

butter, to serve (and for pan)

To make the blueberry maple syrup put 1 cup of the blueberries, the sugar, maple syrup, and water in a medium saucepan over medium-low heat. Heat and stir until the sugar dissolves and simmer for 5 or 6 minutes or until the blueberries begin to split. Remove from heat and press the blueberry mixture through a fine strainer into a bowl. Mash the fruit to get all the juiciness extracted. Throw out the solids. Stir the remaining blueberries into the warm syrup and set aside.

To make the pancakes combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, sugar, and salt in a large bowl. Add the buttermilk, eggs, and melted butter. Stir all the ingredients until they are just combined. Don’t worry if the batter is a bit lumpy, you don't want to over mix.

(For extra fluffiness I separated the eggs and beat the whites until they peaked and then folded them into the already mixed batter)

Heat your skillet, pan, or griddle to medium-hot and brush it with a bit of butter. Test for the right temperature. If a drop of water dropped onto the pan starts to dance, you are in the ballpark. Pour about 1/3 of a cup of batter into the skillet. Wait until the pancake bottom is deep golden in color, then flip with a spatula and cook the other side until golden and cooked through. Repeat with the remaining batter.

Serve with a golden pat of butter and plenty of blueberries and syrup.
Makes about 12 large pancakes, or dozens of silver-dollars - enough to feed a small crowd.

Recipe by Heidi Swanson of 101cookbooks.com

Waffles

Waffles
Serves 6-8 (8-10)
(6) 4 eggs for added fluffiness, seperate the eggs and beat the whites until they peak and then fold it into the batter at the very end
(6) 4 c. flour
(1 ½) 1 c. oil if you use coconut oil you can omit the sugar and they taste absolutely marvelous!
(4 ¾) 3 ½ c. milk
(3) 2 T sugar
(12) 8 t. baking powder
(¾) ½ t. salt

Fiesta Grilled Chicken

My friend Tea and I are always cooking together and trying new recipes. This is one of our recent faves. You will love it!

INGREDIENTS

• Texas Bean Salsa:
• 1 (15.5 ounce) can black beans, rinsed and drained
• 1 (15.5 ounce) can black-eyed peas, rinsed and drained
• 1 (15.5 ounce) can whole kernel corn, drained
• 1 small red onion, chopped
• 1/2 cup chopped green bell pepper
• 1 (4.5 ounce) can diced green chilies, drained
• 2 ripe tomatoes, diced and drained
• 1 cup Italian-style salad dressing
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic salt

• Chicken:
• 6 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
• 3 limes, juiced
• 1/3 cup tequila
• 3 teaspoons paprika
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 1 teaspoon pepper
• 6 Romaine lettuce leaves
• 6 sprigs cilantro leaves, for garnish (optional)
• 6 lime wedges, for garnish (optional)

DIRECTIONS

1. To make the salsa, mix the black beans, black-eyed peas, corn, red onion, bell pepper, chiles, and tomatoes together in a bowl. Toss vegetables with the Italian dressing, cilantro, garlic, and garlic salt until evenly blended. Cover, and refrigerate 6 hours or overnight.
2. Preheat a grill for medium-high heat.
3. About 45 minutes before serving time, place the chicken breasts in a baking dish and drizzle with lime juice and tequila. Sprinkle evenly with paprika, salt, and pepper. Cover the dish, refrigerate, and allow to marinate 10 minutes.
4. Remove chicken breasts from the marinade, and discard remaining marinade.
5. Cook the chicken breasts on the preheated grill until the juices run clear and the meat is no longer pink, 10 to 12 minutes.
6. To serve, place a lettuce leaf on each plate. Top with a chicken breast, and spoon Texas Bean Salsa over each, dividing evenly among servings. If desired, garnish with additional cilantro leaves and lime wedges.

Chocolate Mousse recipe

Ingredients

2 cups chilled heavy cream
4 large egg yolks
3 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
7 oz fine-quality bittersweet chocolate (not unsweetened), chopped

Garnish: lightly sweetened whipped cream
Special equipment: an instant-read thermometer

Preparation

Heat 3/4 cup cream in a 1-quart heavy saucepan until hot. Whisk together yolks, sugar, and a pinch of salt in a metal bowl until combined well, then add hot cream in a slow stream, whisking until combined. Transfer mixture to saucepan and cook over moderately low heat, stirring constantly, until it registers 160°F on thermometer. Pour custard through a fine-mesh sieve into a bowl and stir in vanilla.

Melt chocolate in a double boiler or a metal bowl set over a pan of simmering water (or in a glass bowl in a microwave at 50 percent power 3 to 5 minutes), stirring frequently. Whisk custard into chocolate until smooth, then cool.

Beat remaining 1 1/4 cups cream in a bowl with an electric mixer until it just holds stiff peaks. Whisk one fourth of cream into chocolate custard to lighten, then fold in remaining cream gently but thoroughly.

Spoon mousse into 8 (6-ounce) stemmed glasses or ramekins and chill, covered, at least 6 hours. Let stand at room temperature about 20 minutes before serving.

It is really quite good!

Scones to die for!

Cranberry Orange Scones

Makes 8 scones

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for work surface
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
2 1/2 tablespoons sugar, plus more for sprinkling
1/4 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch pieces, chilled
1/2 cup dried cranberries
1 teaspoon grated orange zest
1 large egg
5 tablespoons heavy cream, plus more for brushing on scones

Directions 1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a nonstick baking mat; set aside. 2. In a bowl, combine flour, baking powder, sugar, and salt. Add butter by pinching cubes of butter with your fingers until mixture resembles a coarse meal. Transfer mixture to a large bowl; stir in cranberries and orange zest. 3. In a small bowl, beat together egg and cream. Add to flour mixture; stir gently with a fork until mixture just comes together. If dough seems too dry, add a splash of cream; mixture should not be too sticky. 4. Transfer dough to a lightly floured work surface. Shape dough into a 6-inch circle, about 1 inch thick. Using a sharp knife, cut dough into 8 equal wedges. Place scones on prepared baking sheet; lightly brush tops with heavy cream and sprinkle with sugar. Bake until golden brown, 12 to 14 minutes. 5. Let cool slightly on baking sheet before transferring to a wire cooling rack to cool completely. Scones are best eaten the day they are made.

Finish it off with an Orange Glaze.

1 1/2 tablespoons freshly squeezed orange juice
3/4 cups confectioners' sugar
1 teaspoons freshly grated orange zest

Directions

In a medium bowl, stir together the juice, zest, and sugar until thick and shiny.