Yum!

We tried a lentil taco filling for Taco Night on Wednesday. It was quite yummy and passed the husband and 2-year-old taste test. The recipe is from food.com.

If you cannot tend to it the entire time, add LOTS of water. I added 2 cups of water before bed, but some of it stuck to the side of our crock pot. It still turned out fine, but next time I will add more water.

It is a good thing that dinner was healthy because I keep snacking Landes cookies sent from Ohio. We have awesome friends!

Pasta Salad

Last night I made a pasta salad with a tomato and basil from our garden. I modified a recipe from SOS! The Six O'Clock Scramble to the Rescue. This book is awesome! A friend gave me a copy, and I have liked every recipe that I've tried from the book.

Here is what I had on hand:
8oz farfalle pasta
1 large tomato (chopped)
20 small chopped basil leaves
Juice from 1 lemon
4 slices of bacon (chopped)
4 oz reduced fat feta cheese
Salt & Pepper to taste

Cook pasta and bacon, and then let them cool. Mix in other ingredients and chill before serving. Makes about 4 servings.

No Bake Cookies

This is one of the few things that I make from scratch!

Chocolate Peanut Butter No Bake Cookies

2 cups of sugar
4 tablespoons of cocoa
1 stick of butter or margarine
1/2 cup of milk
1 tablespoon of vanilla
3 cups of oatmeal
1 cup of peanut butter

In a heavy saucepan, bring the sugar, cocoa, butter, and milk to a boil. Let it boil for 1 minute. Remove from heat. Add the peanut butter, vanilla, and oatmeal. Drop my teaspoons onto wax paper and let cool.

(The exact source of the recipe is unknown. I may have received it in my 7th grade home economics class.)

Meatballs

After moving to Texas, I discovered that I like the flavor combination of sweet and spicy (mmm... mole sauce). This worked in my favor when I needed a quick dish to take to the office Christmas potluck. I put about 30 pre-made turkey meatballs (yay Costco), 1 can of cranberry sauce and 1 jar of "Grilled Pineapple and Candied Jalapeno" sauce into the crock pot. It turned out better than I expected, and my co-workers and family enjoy the results of my experiment. I started with the recipe on the back on the cranberry sauce can but changed it up a bit.