Kale Chips

I've been wanting to try these for quite some time now and have just forgotten or never gotten around to it. I burnt some of mine a little so next time I won't bake them quite so long [or maybe a lower temp]. The ones that weren't burnt were tasty & kinda fun to eat. Not sure how often I'll actually make this since I learned that I actually love the taste of raw kale. For those of you who haven't had it, it tasted like broccoli but in lettuce form!

Remove thick steam from kale. Tear kale leaves into smaller pieces. Sprinkle/mist with olive oil & sprinkle with salt and/or seasonings of choice. Spread on baking sheet and bake at 400 degrees for ~10 minutes.

PS - My views on food and how/what we should eat coming soon....I just know it'll take a little longer to write so I haven't written it yet. But many people ask...which is good seeing as how I am a dietitian and all :)

Creamy Polenta with Goat Cheese

Quite simple but OBSESSED with goat cheese so I had to try!

1 cup yellow cornmeal
1 tsp salt
2 Tbsp butter
4 ounces goat cheese

Directions:
Bring 4 ½ cups water to a boil.
Add cornmeal to the water in a thin stream, whisking constantly to avoid lumps.
Reduce heat to a simmer, and cook for 15 minutes, adding salt and extra tablespoons of water as needed. [or use the instant polenta & it takes ~1 minute]
When polenta is done, stir in butter and goat cheese. Check seasonings, and add salt to taste.

Confessions

-I can't follow a recipe. I just can't. I try and try but have yet to follow a recipe exactly. Funny you may say for a girl who posts recipes on a blog huh? I try to tell you when I change stuff up if it makes it healthier or better but sometimes I just don't say anything and let you do your thing if you try something on here.

-On that note, I also make up lots of stuff. I look in my fridge and pantry and throw stuff together. Usually it turns up good, sometimes not that wonderful. And that stuff rarely makes it on the blog.

-I use Julio's Seasoning in a TON of the recipes I make and almost always when I make caramelized shallots/onions. That includes many of those on here and I've never mentioned it because I'm guessing most people don't own it. Sorry :/

-I just tried to turn down the volume on the music playing on my computer with my tv remote. Well I was confessing....

Veggie-Lentil Enchiladas

This recipe was shared (& highly recommended) by a co-worker of mine. I made it for dinner tonight and I have to agree it was pretty good. A great option for some vegetarian enchiladas with more substance!

Veggie-Lentil Enchiladas

1 ⅓ cups Water
½ cup Dry Lentils
¼ teaspoon(s) Salt
8 6-inch Flour Tortillas
2 Medium Carrots, Thinly Sliced
1 ½ teaspoon(s) Chili Powder
1 ½ teaspoon(s) Ground Cumin
1 Medium Zucchini, Quartered Lengthwise, Sliced
14 ½ ounce(s) Mexican-Stye Stewed Tomatoes
6 ounce(s) Monterey Jack Cheese, Shredded

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350℉

In a medium saucepan combine water, lentils, and salt. Bring to boiling, and then reduce the heat. Cover and simmer for 15 minutes or until tender. Drain, rinse with cold water. Set aside.

Wrap tortillas in foil, heat in oven for 10 minutes or until warm. Spray 2 quart rectangular baking dish with non-stick coating.

In a large skillet stir fly carrots, chili powder, and cumin in hot oil for about 2 minutes. Add zucchini, stir fry for 2-3 more minutes or until tender crisp. Remove from heat. Stir in the lentils, half of the undrained stewed tomatoes and half of the cheese.

Spoon vegetable/lentil mixture onto the tortillas, divide evenly. Roll tortillas, place seem side down in the prepared baking dish. Cover with foil and bake for 8 minutes. Remove foil, bake for 8-12 minutes or until heated through and tortillas are crisp.

In a small saucepan heat the remaining undrained stewed tomatoes. Spoon over the enchiladas. Top with remaining cheese and bake until cheese is melted.

Make Ahead Muffin Melts by Pioneer Woman

I saw this recipe from Pioneer Woman (found here) & I thought it looked delicious! I tried it tonight for dinner with a few substitutions (& I halved the recipe)

-For 6 eggs I used all the egg whites & only 3 egg yokes

-I used Light Miracle Whip (that's what I have in my fridge, I don't like mayo)

-Instead of bacon I used some sauteed mushroom, green pepper, and green onion

-I used a mix of pepper jack/cheddar this I bought to use in another recipe I'm trying this week [this wasn't to make it "healthier" but just stating this fact because the touch of jalepeno flavor was delish!!]

-I used a whole wheat english muffin

And I have plenty left over for breakfast tomorrow! Yum!

Lentil Chili

8 cups low-sodium vegetable broth, divided

1 medium yellow onion, chopped

1 large red bell pepper, chopped

5 cloves garlic, finely chopped

4 teaspoons salt-free chili powder

1 (16-ounce) package brown lentils (about 2 1/4 cups lentils)

2 (15-ounce) cans no-salt-added diced tomatoes

1/4 cup chopped cilantro

Bring 3/4 cup broth to a simmer in a large pot over medium-high heat. Add onion, bell pepper and garlic and cook about 8 minutes or until onion is translucent and pepper is tender. Stir in chili powder and cook 1 minute, stirring constantly. Add lentils, tomatoes and remaining 7 1/4 cups broth. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to medium-low and simmer, partially covered, 30 minutes or until lentils are almost tender. Uncover and cook 10 minutes longer. Stir in cilantro and serve.

Per serving : 120 calories (5 from fat), 0g total fat, 0g saturated fat, 0mg cholesterol, 180mg sodium, 21g total carbohydrate (7g dietary fiber, 6g sugar), 6g protein

Recipe from: Whole Foods

**********

Yum, yum!! Love this recipe and I've been eating it all week! Not sick of it at all yet. I used green lentils and they worked just fine. Major note - it took MUCH longer than the recipe states to cook. Probably ~1 hr. I also used one of those 28oz cans of tomatoes and next time I make it I'll double the red pepper.

Homemade Yogurt - Posted by Valerie Barber

Homemade Yogurt

http://www.utahdealdiva.com/2010/09/frugal-recipe-homemade-yogurt.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+UtahDealDiva+%28Utah+Deal+Diva%29

Ingredients:
1/2 gallon whole milk
6-8 oz yogurt, to use as a starter {I love using Greek yogurt as it makes it a lot thicker!}
1/3 cup powdered milk
1 TBSP vanilla {optional}
1/3 cup sugar {optional}
fruit, as an addition once it's made {optional}

You'll also need a crock pot, heavy towel, candy thermometer and a cookie sheet.

First I'll summarize the basics steps involved, then I'll detail out the crock pot method and a short-cut crock pot method.

1. Slowly bring milk up to 180 degrees. Add powdered milk and whisk to dissolve.
2. Cool milk down to 110 degrees.
3. Whisk in starter yogurt, sugar and vanilla, if you choose. {I personally like it better without!}
4. "Incubate" yogurt in a well-insulated place for 8-10 hours. {An oven works great!}
5. Transfer yogurt to smaller containers, if necessary. Refrigerate until set, about 12 hours.
6. Enjoy by iteself or with added fruit!

_____________________________________________________

Crock Pot Method: {Learned from A Year of Slow Cooking, with a few alterations}

Step 1: Plug in your crockpot and turn to low. Add an entire half gallon of milk. Cover and cook on low for 2.5 hours. When 2.5 hours is up, add the powdered milk and whisk to combine.

Step 2: Unplug your crockpot. Leave the lid on and let it sit for 3 hours.

Step 3: When 3 hours have passed, turn your oven on 170 degrees.

Step 4: Scoop out 2 cups of the warmish milk and put it in a bowl. Whisk in 1/2 cup of store-bought live/active culture yogurt. Add sugar and vanilla, if you'd like. Then dump the bowl contents back into the crockpot. Whisk to combine.

Step 5: Put the lid back on your crockpot. Remove the crock and wrap a heavy bath towel all the way around it for insulation. Place it on a cookie sheet in the oven. Turn oven off.

Step 6: Go to bed, or let it sit for 8 hours.

Step 7: In the morning, the yogurt will have thickened! Transfer it to the container{s} of your choice and refrigerate.

{The pic above is some yogurt I made using regular plain yogurt as a starter. It was very creamy, but a lot thinner than the yogurt I've made using Greek yogurt as a starter.- see pic farther below.}

When it comes time to try it out, you can add fresh fruit, jam or a bit of sugar. As I said before, I like to thin mine out a bit with juice and drink it! It's also great with granola. If you prefer, freeze it in 1 cup measurements to use in recipes.

Your fresh yogurt will last 7-10 days. Save 1/2 cup as a starter to make a new batch.

_____________________________________________________

Short-Cut Crock Pot Method {as improvised by me, with the help of these 2 articles on making homemade yogurt on the stove.}

Essentially, this method shaves about 5 hours off the time it takes to make yogurt using the crock pot method. It does require some "hands on" effort, but in my opinion, it's worth it. This is my preferred method!

Step 1: Plug in your crockpot and turn to low.

Step 2: Get out a large saucepan and place it on medium temp on the stove. Add an entire half gallon of milk. When the milk begins to feel warm, add the powdered milk and whisk to dissolve. Leaving the burner on medium, you want to slowly bring the milk up to 180 degrees. You don't have to babysit it constantly, just stir it every once in a while to make sure nothing is collecting on the bottom. Mine took 40 minutes and I stirred it about once every 10 minutes.

Step 3: Before the milk is heated to 180 degrees, turn your oven on 170 degrees. Also fill your sink part way with col water and ice.

Step 4: When milk has reached 180 degrees, remove the pot from the burner and place it in the cold water. Make sure water isn't high enough to go in the pot. Mine covered the bottom 2-3 inches of the pot and it worked great. Cool milk down to 110 degrees. Mine took about 6-7 minutes to drop temps.

Step 5: After it has cooled, scoop out 2 cups of the warmish milk and put it in a bowl. Whisk in 1/2 cup of store-bought live/active culture yogurt. Add sugar and vanilla, if you'd like. Then dump the bowl contents into the crockpot. Whisk to combine.

Step 6: Put the lid on your crockpot. Remove the crock and wrap a heavy bath towel all the way around it for insulation. Place it on a cookie sheet in the oven. Turn oven off.

Step 7: Go to bed, or let it sit for 8 hours.

{The yogurt above was made with Greek yogurt. It's so much thicker! I did use a whisk to make it creamier as this batch turned out with a grainy texture initially. See below for more info on that.}

Step 8: In the morning, the yogurt will have thickened! Transfer it to the container{s} of your choice and refrigerate.