You Asked For It

Randomly selecting recipes from cookbooks can be scary, exhilarating, fruitful, and devastating. It is one of the biggest risks a home cook makes. Hence the popularity of on-line sites with ratings, and of course, recommendations from friends.

So, here are the two recipes that you all requested:

Baked Lentils With Cheese:

Preheat oven to 375
Combine in shallow 9X13 baking dish:

1 3/4 C lentils, rinsed
2 C. water
1 whole bay leaf
2 t. salt
1/4 t. pepper
1/8 t. each marjoram, sage, thyme
2 Large onions, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 c. canned tomatoes

Cover tightly and bake 30 mins.
Uncover and stir in:
2 large carrots, sliced
1/2 C thinly sliced celery
Baked covered 40 mins. until veggies are tender. Stir in:

1 green pepper, chopped (optional)
2 T. finely chopped parsley

Sprinkle on top:

3 C shredded cheddar cheese

Bake uncovered, 5 mins. until cheese melts

This dish comes from the Less is More cookbook. Many of the foods and meals in here are vegetarian. Here is the subtitle: Recipes and suggestions by Mennonites on how to eat better and consume less of the world's limited food resources.




Another book put out by the same publishing company is Simply in Season.




(Stay away from Apple Lentil Salad. It is as nasty as it sounds.)

But, I do have some favorites from this book. Here is one for this season:

Black Bean Sweet Potato Burritos

3 Cups sweet potatoes, peeled and diced
1/2 onion, chopped

Saute' in large frypan in 1 T oil just until tender. Add water or apple juice as needed to prevent sticking.

2 C black beans
1 t. ground cumin
3/4 t ground cinnamon
1/2 t salt

Add and cook until heated through.

8 flour tortillas
1 1/2 cups cheddar cheese, shredded

Divide bean mixture and cheese among the tortillas and roll up.
Place in a 9 X 13 inch baking dish. Lightly spray with olive oil if desired. Cover pan with foil and bake at 350 for 20-25 mins. Garnish with sour cream, salsa, and fresh cilantro.

OK, my last request recipe was Cheesy Chicken Artichoke Bake:

I got it off of Cooks.com.

4-5 C of cooked, diced chicken
1 C mayo
2 cans cream of chicken soup
1/2 t. curry powder
2 (14 oz) cans artichoke hearts
Garlic powder to taste
1 T lemon juice
1 1/2 C shredded sharp cheese
1/4 C seasoned croutons
2-4 T butter
9 X 12 inch greased casserole dish

Drain and slice artichoke hearts. Preheat over to 350. Season artichoke hearts with garlic. Arrange in 9 X 12 greased dish. Put chicken on top-mix in separate bowl-soup, mayo, lemon juice, and curry-spread over chicken. Sprinkle with shredded sharp cheese and top with croutons. Bake 30 mins. or until hot.

Serves 8 or 9.