Lentil Loaf

I found and slightly modified this recipe from the Six O'Clock Scramble recipe book. It is really easy and delicious...even for non-bean eaters. It is very cheesy, so picky people even enjoy it!

Ingredients:
2 cups low fat cheddar cheese
2 cups cooked lentils (see below)
1/2 small onion, finely chopped
1/4 t pepper
1/4 t dried thyme
1 c whole wheat bread crumbs
1 whole egg (or 2 egg whites)
1 T EVOO (extra virgin olive oil)
1 can tomato sauce (optional, used for topping)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray 8x8 pan or loaf pan with non stick cooking spray.
In a large bowl, mix together all ingredients except tomato sauce.
Spread mixture evenly in dish. Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 45 minutes.
Serve sliced.
We enjoy a fresh side salad with this meal!

FREEZE OPTION:
If you choose to prepare this and then freeze, follow directions as listed, but do not cook until day you desire to eat it. On day of eating, put dish in oven BEFORE you turn the oven on, then turn oven to 350 and allow to cook for 1 hr or until heated throughout.

Bread & Butter Freezer Pickles

Bread & Butter Freezer Pickles

Seeing the other pickle recipe inspired me to find a bread and butter pickle (sweet pickle) recipe that didn't require any canning (since I don't know how to do that . . . yet). Here's one that I adapted from recipezaar.com.

7 cups cucumbers, sliced
2 cups sugar
1 cup white vinegar
1 cup onion, sliced
1 teaspoon celery seed
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
½ teaspoon turmeric (this gives it that b&b “look”)
1 tablespoon mustard seed

Mix vinegar and sugar until sugar dissolves. (I had to bring it to a boiling point and boil for about 2 minutes to get it to dissolve.)

Then I added the spices to the pan and let it cool just a bit.

Place cucumbers and onions in a large bowl and pour the liquid over them. Refrigerate overnight.

Pack into freezer-safe canning jars (or other suitable containers) and freeze.

Not sure how long these last in the freezer, but I can’t imagine ours going bad before we eat them all!

I got 7 pints from this recipe.

Dill Pickles

This is from Gramma Genevieve from my family...and I'm told it is really yummy and refreshing in the summer! I'll be trying this one very soon, because my kids love pickles and I really enjoy them too!!

Ingredients:

2 quarts of water

1 cup vinegar

1/2 cup sugar

1/4 cup salt (we use less!)

pickling cucumbers

garlic cloves

dill

Directions: 

Boil water, vinegar,sugar and salt until they are dissolved (does not take too long). 

Place pickling cucumbers in mason/canning jar.  (I have a container garden and have used 3 or 4 pickling cucumber..they're about 4 inches long).  Slice, or quarter, them how you would like.  Add 3 garlic cloves (more if you would like) into the jar along with 3 sprigs of dill (we added more as well...probably 6 to 8). 

When water, vinegar, sugar, salt mixture is luke warm, pour over cucumbers/dill/garlic and refrigerate for 24 hours.

Mom used to make this and would get about 8 pints of pickles!

French Toast Casserole

I found this recipe on allrecipes.com and made it several months ago. It was definitely yummie! I used a loaf of french bread that was a few days old and prepared it the night before. That way I was able to get up, pop the casserole right in the oven and have a good breakfast in 45 minutes.

Ingredients:
5 C bread cubes (or slices)
4 eggs
1 1/2 C milk
1/4 C sugar, divided
1/2 t salt
1 t vanilla extract
1 T butter/margarine, divided
1-3 t cinnamon (I use 3t...which equals 1T, I think french toast needs a good amount of cinnamon :))

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly butter an 8x8 inch baking pan.
2. Line bottom of pan with bread cubes. In a large bowl, beat together eggs, milk, 2 tablespoons sugar, salt and vanilla. pour egg mixture over bread. Dot with margarine; let stand for 10 minutes.
3. Combine remaining 2 tablespoons sugar with 1 teaspoon cinnamon and sprinkle over the top. Bake in preheated oven about 45 to 50 minutes, until top is golden.

Make ahead Breakfast Casserole

Breakfast Casserole is a favorite at my friend Mary's house! It super easy to make at night after the kiddos are tucked in bed and then easy to pop in the oven the next day.

Ingredients:
1 lb. ground sausage

1 cup grated cheddar cheese

2 cups milk

6 eggs, whisked

1/2 tsp. pepper

1 tsp. salt

2 slices of bread (torn into pieces)

Cook and drain the sausage.
Combine all ingredients in large bowl
Pour into greased 9x13 casserole dish.
Put in fridge overnight.
In the morning, bake at 350 for 45 minutes.