Honey Baked Lentils

Another recipe from MDC that I have to search for every single time I need it: 

Honey baked lentils.

1 cup lentils
2 cups water
2 tbsp honey
2 tbsp soysauce
2 tbsp olive oil
1/2 tsp ginger
1 clove garlic
1 small onion
salt & pepper

Bake in a covered dish at 350 until tender (about an hour and a half)

Sometimes I sub 1/3 of a cup or so rice or barley for some of the lentils. I also sometimes add whatever vegitables are on hand for a one dish meal. Some that are good are carrots, celery, potatoe, yam, squash, turnip, cabbage and parsnip. Use what you have, "winter" vegitables work best.

Silhouettes

Trying to tie up a few lose ends and finish a couple of Christmas gifts. These are about to be freezer-paper stenciled onto canvas tote bags for my mother-in-law:

Things I like.

The perfect solution for our windows.

Wallpaper for the kids' room?

Ashley G and Drew- Christmas gifts, maybe?

Love these invitations and buntings!

More wallpaper- I'm imagining how awesome this would look on the little wall just inside the front door.

Pants for the kids with easy pockets that even I can handle!

A treasure list of tutorials.

Habitual: Sundress and Kimono.

And so it begins.

I don't expect that anyone will be reading this other than me, at least for now, and that's fine. I'm establishing this blog as a virtual scrapbook of sorts- a place to organize various ideas and thoughts, to make notes to myself, to keep a blogroll of the lovely blogs that I like to read for inspiration, to jot down something funny that just came out of my four year old son's mouth, somewhere to keep track of that favorite lentil chili recipe that I have to look up everytime I go to make a big steaming pot.

My family and I have lived in our new home for a year and a half now. It still needs so much work- not a single room is finished. There just never seems to be enough time, energy, or money to do the things we'd like to do. As such, it just doesn't feel like a home yet. I avoid entertaining or inviting people to our home because we don't have a comfortable spot for them to sit and relax. I'm determined, however, to brush up on my 8th grade home-economics sewing skills and to finally make curtains. I'm resolving to make our home into a warm and welcoming place to enjoy at the end of a long day.

With that, here's that recipe:

(adapted from a recipe posted in the mothering.com discussion boards a couple years ago)

Lentil Chili

2 cups lentils
7 cups water or broth
1 large onion, finely chopped
2 large bell peppers (any color), finely chopped
2 cans (14.5 ounces each) diced tomatoes
1 can (15 ounces) tomato sauce
¾ cup beer
3 tablespoons chili powder
1 tablespoon ground cumin
2 teaspoons dried oregano
1/2 teaspoons cayenne pepper (or to taste)
1 ½ teaspoons salt
sour cream
shredded cheese

In a 6- to 8- quart saucepan, over medium-high heat, combine the lentils and water. Bring to a simmer. Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer gently. Cook the lentils until tender, about 45 minutes. Add the onion, bell peppers, tomatoes with juice, tomato sauce, beer, chili powder, cumin, oregano, cayenne, and salt. Stir well. Reduce heat to low. Keep the soup at a bare simmer until the flavors meld (about 30 minutes).

Top each serving with a spoonful of sour cream and some cheese.