Tomato-Pesto Lasagna

This is probably my favorite recipe EVER. I have to double it and we still polish off both of them. It is SO GOOD.

Tomato-Pesto Lasagna

Tomato Sauce

1/2 cup olive oil

1 chopped yellow onion

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 28 oz. cans diced tomatoes

2 bay leaves

Pinch red pepper flakes

2 teaspoons oregano

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon ground pepper

Saute onion and garlic in olive oil until onion is translucent. Add tomatoes, bay leaves, red pepper flakes, oregano, salt and pepper. Simmer over medium-low heat for 15 minutes. Remove bay leaves.

Pesto (This is not a vegan pesto. For a vegan pesto recipe, click here. It can be substituted here.)

2 cloves garlic

2 tablespoon pine nuts

2 cups fresh basil, tough stems removed

2/3 cup grated parmesan cheese (or goat feta - that's what we use)

1/2 cup olive oil

1/4 teaspoon olive oil

Blend all ingredients in a blender or food processor.

9 dried lasagna noodles

Boil lasagna noodles. Tricky, eh?

Finally, combine the tomato sauce (If you timed everything well, it should still be warm. If not, reheat it.) and the pesto. Lay three cooked noodles on the bottom of a 9x13 pan. Spoon 1/3 of the tomato-pesto mixture on top. Repeat three times. Eat. And eat. And eat. You won't want to stop. I'm so not kidding. The end.

Cilantro Lime Rice

Since when is rice the most exciting part of a meal? Since I made this the other night. Holy cow.

Cilantro Lime Rice

5 cups water

2 1/2 cups wild rice/brown rice/barley blend

5 teaspoons bouillon

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 onion, chopped

1-2 large limes

1 bunch cilantro, chopped, divided

Place water, rice blend, bouillon, lime juice, garlic, onion and half of the cilantro in a sauce pan. (Make sure the bouillon is dissolved in the water before adding other ingredients.) Cover and cook 55 minutes, or as long as directed for rice. Add the rest of the cilantro when the rice is cooked. Easy peasy. And delicious. If I had known, I would have taken a picture of it for you. But I didn't. Sorry!

Pineapple Curry

Pineapple Curry

4-5 cloves garlic, minced

1 onion, chopped

2 Tbsp red or yellow curry (I always use yellow)

3 cans of coconut milk

2 peppers julienned (use different colors or several of the red, yellow and orange mini peppers)

1/2 head of cauliflower, chopped (optional)

1 can bamboo strips, drained

1 can pineapple, crushed or tidbits (I just decided last night that I prefer the crushed)

Sautee the garlic and onions in oil or water. Add curry. Add coconut milk, bamboo, pineapple, peppers and cauliflower (optional). Bring to a boil and simmer until vegetables are warm. Add salt and pepper to taste. Serve over brown rice. Yum. My three year old asked for it for breakfast this morning.

You can add chicken if you want. The original recipe called for it, but I don't do it. Not that this resembles the original recipe anymore...

Whole Wheat and Oatmeal Pancakes

Whole Wheat and Oatmeal Pancakes

1 cup whole wheat flour

1 Tbsp aluminum-free baking powder

3/4 tsp salt

1 1/2 cups rolled oats

2 cups milk (I use almond milk, but any kind will do - even water will do in a pinch)

3 eggs

1/4 cup oil

splash of cinnamon (I recommend a large splash)

dash of vanilla (once again, I appreciate not-skimpy-dashes)

fruit (berries or bananas are delicious)

Mix and cook on a greased griddle.

Make sure they are heart shaped if you make them on Valentine's Day. These have raspberries in them. My favorite. Simple and yummy. You don't need anything to put on them, but if you're going to anyway, may I suggest 100% pure maple syrup (a little goes a long way), 100% fruit spread, more fruit, or, if you insist...

Vanilla Syrup

1/2 cup honey

1/2 cup buttermilk (make by adding 1 tsp lemon juice to milk - even soy or nut milks)

1 stick butter

Bring to a boil. Make sure you use a 3 quart pan. This will cause some bubbling:

1/2 tsp baking soda

Boil for one more minute. Remove from heat. Then add:

1 tsp vanilla

Once again, a little goes a long way. This stuff tastes like caramel.

Granola!

Granola
1/2 cup whole wheat flour

4 cups regular rolled oats

7 cups assorted nuts, seeds or dried fruit of choice (such as chia seeds [they become slimy if you put them in milk, FYI, but they are so good for you, it may be worth it], hemp seeds, flax seeds, almonds, pecans, walnuts, sesame seeds, cashews, sunflower seeds, dried cranberries [Careful - most are very sugary. I found some that were sweetened with apple juice at my local health food store. They were SO GOOD!], raisins, dried coconut, etc.)

2 tsp. vanilla

4 tsp. cinnamon

2 tsp. nutmeg

1 cup honey

Mix flour, oats and assorted yumminess. Warm honey and add cinnamon, nutmeg and vanilla to the warm honey. Combine wet and dry mixtures. Spread onto large baking sheets and bake at 325 for 24 minutes, stirring every 8 minutes. Cool and store in an airtight container. Yeah right. Mine never lasts that long.

Steamed Asparagus

A week or so ago, we were at my in-laws' for dinner. My mother-in-law made steamed broccoli that was so good I could barely stand it. She said that all she did was steam the broccoli and sprinkle olive oil and garlic salt over it when it was done. She told me that she does the same thing with asparagus. Well, it is asparagus season. And we found some lovely asparagus in the store. So, we bought some and tried her trick. The first time I made it, the asparagus didn't even make it to the dinner table. The kids kept insisting that they needed to taste it. They tasted it until it was gone. I didn't complain. What mom would? The next time I made it, I timed it better and it actually made it to the table. It was met with cheers. Success!

Whole Wheat Pizza Crust

Here is my recipe for pizza. Well, pizza crust. I'll tell you what we put on it, but you can put whatever deliciousness you want on it. My kids are making dinner tonight. So, we've taken some pictures for you, too. Ignore my messy kitchen.

Super Easy Whole Wheat Pizza Crust

1 package (2 1/4 teaspoons) rapid yeast

1 cup very warm water

2 1/2 cups whole wheat flour

2 tablespoons oil

1 teaspoon salt

Dissolve yeast in water. Add remaining ingredients and stir to mix well. Knead five times. Let stand for 5 minutes in a bowl in the oven on lowest temp.

Roll dough onto cooking stone or pizza pan (we use cookie sheets and we press more than roll).

Top with whatever you want! Bake at 450 for 9-15 minutes (depending on how thin your crust is).

Here's how we top ours:

It all started when we discovered Beano's White Pizza Sauce. So yummy. It is just oil and herbs. Until our grocery store stopped carrying it. The nerve. So, we've been trying to make our own. We brush olive oil on the crust and sprinkle basil, oregano and Italian Seasoning on top.

It is almost as good, but not quite. (Their website says that another local grocery store that I never go to has some. I may have to visit...) We then top with chopped up red peppers and some goat cheese.

(My milk sensitive ones handle goat cheese fine.)

Very yummy!