Lentils and Italian Sausage Stew

Delicious comfort food for a cool spring evening!  You can add your leafy greens here by adding some baby spinach to the stew at the end (optional). Serve with fresh Italian bread to sop up the juices!

Ingredients:

1 tbsp (15 mL) extra-virgin olive oil + more for drizzling

1 medium white onion, diced

1 large carrot, peeled, diced

4 cloves garlic, minced

1 tomato, chopped

2 cups (500 mL) green lentils, rinsed

6 cups (1.5 L) water

6 large Italian-style sausages--spicy of course!

1/2 tsp salt

Freshly ground black pepper

Directions:

In large pot, heat 1 tbsp (15 mL) oil over medium. Add onion, carrot, celery and garlic. Cook, stirring, 5 minutes. Add tomato. Cook, stirring, 5 minutes. Add lentils. Stir until coated in oil. Add water, sausages and 1 tsp (5 mL) salt. Raise heat to high; bring to boil. Reduce heat to medium-low; cover. Simmer until lentils and sausages are cooked through, about 30 minutes.

Remove sausages to cutting board. Thickly slice on diagonal. Return to pot with any juices. Taste; season with salt and pepper.

Serve bowls of lentil stew drizzled with oil, if desired. Have a good portion of Italian bread on hand to finish off this dish!

Makes 4 to 6 servings.

Lamb Meatballs with Feta

These meatballs are such a tasty version because of the lamb and the feta! Easy to make---and if you want to make an extra batch, just freeze them for later use. Delicious!

Ingredients:

-1 lb ground lamb
-90 g feta cheese, crumbed
-2 garlic cloves, minced (or 1 tsp garlic powder)
-1/3 cup bread crumbs
-1 egg
-1 tbsp fresh chives, chopped
-1 sprig fresh rosemary, chopped
-freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 425F. Combine all ingredients in a medium bowl and combine well with hands. Form into small balls (1" diameter). Place in an oven safe baking dish (corning ware is good). Cook for 20 to 25 minutes, turning once to brown evenly. Serve with roasted cherry tomatoes or you favourite sauce and pasta.
 

Spicy Walnut Basil Pesto

This is a great little pesto recipe that you can use to top pasta, tossing it in with the tomato sauce. This is enough for 4 main pasta servings, as it packs a lot of flavour. You can easily increase the recipe to what you need. Serve with a side spinach salad for a complete meal.

Ingredients:

-1/2 cup of  packed fresh basil
-1/4 cup walnut pieces
-1 garlic clove or 1 tsp garlic powder
-1 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
-1/8 tsp salt
-1/8 tsp dried red hot chili pepper flakes
-1 heaping tbsp grated Parmesan or Romano cheese
-Whole wheat pasta and pomodoro/tomato sauce of your choice

Directions:

Place all ingredients--except the pasta and tomato sauce-- in a food processor and process until pureed, stopping the machine and scraping down the sides a couple of times. Place in a small bowl, covered until your pasta is cooked. After cooking your pasta and tossing it with tomato sauce, transfer the pasta to individual serving bowls and toss in  a tbsp of the pesto for each serving. Serve with a side spinach salad for a complete meal.

Pistachio-Crusted French Toast

This is a wonderful French toast recipe with a bit of a twist. Serve it to your mom for breakfast on mother's day for a special treat!

Makes 4 servings.

Ingredients:

• 2 large eggs
• 1 cup skim milk
• 1 1/2 tsp granulated sugar
• 1 cup finely ground pistachios or walnuts
• 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
• 4 slices whole wheat bread
• 2 Tbsp pure maple syrup
• fresh sliced bananas, along with fresh berries of your choice

Directions:

1. Mix the eggs, milk, sugar just until combined and pour onto a plate.
2. Combine the pistachios or walnuts and cinnamon and put on another plate.
3. Dip the bread in the egg mixture, soaking until just  before the bread breaks. Dip in the pistachio mixture.
4. Spray a skillet with vegetable oil and brown the bread for 4 minutes on each side or until browned.
5. Garnish with maple syrup and fresh fruit.
Preparation time: 5 minutes

Avocado Pumpkin Seed Paprika Sandwich

I wanted a snack to tide me over until dinner today and I felt like something savory, rather than sweet. I put together this sandwich with just one slice of bread---of course you can make it bigger by using two slices---it is delicious!

Ingredients:

1 slice whole grain bread
1/2 a ripe avocado, mashed
juice of 1/4 of a lemon plus one tsp of lemon zest
1 tsp garlic powder
sprinkle of salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
2 slices of tomato
1 tsp pumpkin seeds
sprinkle of  paprika

Directions:

1. Mash the avocado well in a small bowl with the lemon juice and zest, the garlic, salt and pepper. Spread mixture onto the bread. Top with the pumpkin seeds and paprika and tomato slices. Enjoy!

Banana Peanut Butter Walnut Bread

I had a few over-ripe bananas here today, so I decided to put together a recipe that will hopefully turn out well---it is still in the oven:) It has very little sugar in it and the ripe bananas are very sweet, so I am hoping that covers for the lack of sugar.

Ingredients:

3 tbsp granulated sugar
2  large eggs
1/4 cup of oil (I used 1/2 olive and 1/2 sesame oils to make a 1/4 cup)
3/4 cup all natural peanut butter (smooth or crunchy is fine)
3 medium, very ripe bananas, mashed
1 cup low fat, plain yogurt 
1 cup whole wheat flour
3/4 cup all purpose flour
2 tsp cinnamon
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
3/4 cup of walnuts, chopped (optional)
1/2 cup dried cranberries (optional) 

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350F. Lightly grease a 9x5 in loaf pan (I used a glass one---makes a difference for cooking time). 
2. In medium bowl, combine sugar, eggs, yogurt and oil. With electric mixer, beat until well blended. Beat in peanut butter and mashed bananas until smooth. 
3. In a separate bowl, add all dry ingredients and stir with a fork until combined. 
4. Using a wooden spoon, add dry ingredients to wet ingredients and stir until just combined. 
5. Scrape into greased loaf ban and bake for about 45 minutes. If it starts to over-brown, tent with foil. Loaf is ready when a tooth pick inserted in centre comes out clean. 
6. Allow to cool and then slide out using a large spatula and place on a plate to cool completely. 

Slow Cooker Lemon-Honey Lamb Shoulder

This is a delicious & easy recipe for a lamb shoulder. The slow cooker is the secret to its success. Serve with roasted sweet potatoes and green beans. Fabulous!

• Ingredients:
• 3 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
• 1 tbsp (15 mL) chopped fresh rosemary
• 1 tsp (5 mL) grated lemon zest
• 1/2 tsp (2 mL) each salt and pepper
• 1.24 kg boneless lamb shoulder roasts
• 3 tbsp (45 mL) lemon juice
• 1 tbsp (15 mL) liquid honey
• 6 shallots, quartered
• 2 tsp (10 mL) cornstarch
• Directions:
• 
  1) Combine garlic, rosemary, lemon zest, salt and pepper; rub all over lamb. Place
  in slow cooker. Whisk lemon juice with honey; pour over lamb. Add shallots. Cover and cook on low until lamb is tender, 7 to 8 hours.
  
  2) Remove lamb to cutting board; tent with foil and let stand for 10 minutes before slicing. Skim fat from cooking liquid.
  
  3) If you want to make a gravy, just whisk cornstarch with 2 tsp water; whisk into slow cooker. Cover and cook on high until thickened, about 10 minutes. Serve with lamb.