French Lentil Rice Soup

French Lentil Rice Soup

Ingredients:

• 6 cups chicken or vegetable broth
• 1 cup lentils, picked over and rinsed
• 2 medium carrots, peeled and finely chopped
• 1 small onion, finely chopped
• 2 celery stalks, finely diced
• 3 tablespoons uncooked rice
• 2 tablespoons minced garlic
• 1 teaspoon Herbs de Provence
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon ground pepper
• 1 cup chopped ham (or chicken), if desired
  
• heavy cream or sour cream, if desired
  
• chopped parsley, if desired
  

Directions:

1. stir together broth, lentils, carrots, onion, celery, rice, garlic, Herbs de Provence, salt and pepper in crockpot. cover and cook on low for 8 hours or on high for 4-5 hours.

2. Remove one and a half cups soup and puree in a food processor until almost smooth. Stir pureed soup back into the crockpot. At this time add chopped ham in the soup and let simmer on " Warm" for a few minutes.

3. Serve soup in bowls, garnishing it with a dollop of sour cream or heavy cream and a little fresh parsley.

This so is so good! Everyone ate two bowls of it the night we had it, and then the boys ate it for dinner again last night. As leftovers I served the soup over some steamed rice. What was left I tossed in the Magic Bullet and pureed until smooth and then served it to the baby. This recipe is a keeper!

Made Rights (Sloppy Joes)

Made Rights (Sloppy Joes)

Ingredients:

• 2 pounds ground beef
• 12 ounce beer
• 2 tablespoons ketchup
• 2 tablespoons italian dressing
• 1 1/2 teaspoon yellow mustard
• 1 teaspoon brown sugar
• 2 pinches rosemary
• 1 pinch basil
• 1 pinch thyme
• 1 bay leaf
• Salt and Pepper, to taste

Directions:

Brown and drain the beef, using a towel to pat off excess fat. Add remaining ingredients and simmer for 10-15 minutes. Serve on hamburger buns.

Chicken Marsala

Chicken Marsala
Adapted from Pillsbury's Slow Cooker Chicken Marsala recipe.

Ingredients:

• 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
  2 tablespoons vegetable oil, divided
• 8 boneless skinless chicken breast cutlets (2-3 pounds)
• 16 ounces sliced mushrooms
• 1 cup sweet Marsala wine
• 1/4 cup water
• 2 tablespoons cornstarch
• 3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
• Salt and Pepper, to taste

Directions:

1. Saute' mushrooms and garlic in one tablespoon oil until soft.
2. Spray slow cooker with cooking spray. Add one tablespoon oil in bottom. Add chicken breasts, and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Spread mushroom and garlic mixture over the chicken. Pour the wine over the chicken.
3. Cover, cook on low for 5 hours.
4. Remove chicken from cooker, place on a plate and cover to keep warm. In a small bowl, combine cornstarch and water, making a slurry. Slowly add to the liquid in the slow cooker (you will probably not need all of it!). Turn the slow cooker on to High for 10 minutes, or until liquid thickens.
5. Return chicken to slow cooker, and cook another 5 minutes, or until chicken is hot. Serve chicken with mushroom mixute on top, and sprinkle with fresh parsley.

As a meal:

Serve Chicken Marsala with a small side of angel hair pasta and marinara sauce, and roasted broccoli and cauliflower.

Pastitsio

Pastitsio
(Recipe adapted from Family Circle's Hometown Cooking cookbook)

Prep time: about 1 hour
Serves: 6-8

Ingredients:

Meat Sauce-

• 1 pound lean ground beef
• 1 onion, finely chopped
• 8oz can tomato sauce
• 1/4 cup dry red wine
• 1 cinnamon stick

Pasta Mixture-

• 1/2 pound penne pasta
• 3/4 cup milk
• 2 eggs, lightly beaten
• 2 tablespoons butter, melted

Cream Sauce-

• 2 tablespoons butter
• 2 tablespoons flour
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon fresh ground pepper
• 1 1/2 cups milk
• 3 eggs, lightly beaten
• 1 cup shredded Kasseri (or Romano) cheese

Directions:

For the meat sauce-Brown the beef and onions, cooking until the beef is no longer pink and the onions are tender. Add the cinnamon stick, tomato sauce and wine. Simmer for 30 minutes. Remove from heat, discard cinnamon stick and set aside.

For the pasta mixture-Cook pasta according to the directions on the packaging. Drain, rinse and repeat. In a large bowl whisk together the eggs, milk and melted butter. Stir in the pasta and set the mixture aside.

For the cream sauce-In a small saucepan, melt butter. Add flour, salt and pepper and stir til smooth over medium heat, creating a roux. Slowly add the milk and stir until mixture thickens and coats the back of a wooden spoon. In another bowl whisk together three eggs. Very slowly add the hot mixture to the eggs, tempering them.

To create the dish-Layer half the pasta mixture in a prepared 11.5x8.5x2 pan. Spread meat mixture over pasta. Sprinkle with 1/3 cup of cheese. Top with remaining pasta, and sprinkle with another 1/3 cup of cheese. Pour cream sauce over all, and sprinkle with remaining cheese. Bake, covered at 350 degrees for 20 minutes. Uncover, and cook for another 15-25 minutes, or until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean. When dish is finished cooking, let stand for 15 minutes before serving.