Graham Cracker Toffee

Ingredients

• 16 graham cracker sheets
• ½ cup brown sugar
• 1 cup butter
• 1 cup chopped pecans or almonds
• 6 oz. milk or semi sweet chocolate chips

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Line cookie sheet with foil and spray with cooking spray.
3. Cover prepared cookie sheet with whole graham cracker sheets.
4. In saucepan, bring brown sugar and butter to a boil over medium heat. Boil for four minutes stirring constantly. Pour over graham crackers and bake for 8 minutes at 350 degrees F.
5. After baking, Immediately sprinkle chocolate chips over the top of graham cracker and let sit for about two minutes. Spread melted chocolate with a knife. Sprinkle nuts over the top.
6. Let sit for about two hours and them cut and serve. Sometimes, if I am in a hurry, I will cool the cookies in the freezer for a quicker serve time.

Lentil Salad with Spinach, Walnuts and Parmesan Cheese

Serves 4 to 6

Ingredients

• 1 cup green lentils, picked over and rinsed
• salt and pepper
• 6 1/2 cups water
• 2 cups low sodium chicken broth
• 5 garlic cloves, lightly crushed and peeled
• 1 bay leaf
• 12 ounces spinach
• 5 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 3 tablespoons sherry vinegar
• 1/2 cup toasted walnuts, chopped
• 1 large shallot, minced
• 1 1/2 ounces coarsely grated Parmesan cheese + more for garnish

Directions:

1. Place lentils and 1 teaspoon salt in a bowl. Cover with 4 cups warm water (about 110 degrees) and soak for 1 hour. Drain well. (Drained lentils can be refrigerated for up to 2 days before cooking).
2. Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 325 degrees. Place drained lentils, 2 cups water, broth, garlic, bay leaf and 1/2 teaspoon salt in medium saucepan (we used a Le Creuset). Cover and bake until lentils are tender but remain intact, 40 to 60 minutes.
3. While lentils are cooking, place 12 ounces of spinach and 1/2 cup water in bowl. Cover and microwave until spinach is wilted and volume is halved, 3 to 4 minutes. Remove bowl from microwave and keep covered for 1 minute. Transfer spinach to colander; gently press to release liquid. Transfer spinach to cutting board and roughly chop. Return to colander and press again. Set aside.
4. Whisk oil and vinegar together in a large bowl. Set aside.
5. Drain lentils well; remove and discard the garlic and bay leaf. Add drained lentils, spinach, walnuts, shallot and Parmesan cheese to oil and vinegar dressing and toss to combine. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Transfer to serving dish and top with slices of Parmesan cheese (I used a vegetable peeler to get the larger slices).

Soy Sauce Chicken

From: http://thewoksoflife.com/2015/02/soy-sauce-chicken/

Ingredients

1 whole chicken, about 4 pounds (preferably free-range, never frozen)

2 teaspoons oil

7 slices ginger

2 scallions, cut into 3-inch pieces and smashed flat

3 whole star anise

1 ½ cups rose-flavored rice wine (mei kwei lu) or shaoxing wine

1 ½ cups soy sauce

1 1/4 cup dark soy sauce

1 cup sugar, plus 2 tablespoons

2 teaspoons salt

10 cups water

 

Take your chicken out of the refrigerator an hour before you plan to cook. You'll want it at room temperature when it hits the pot. Remove the giblets, and thoroughly rinse the chicken inside and out.

Grab your stock pot. It will ideally be a tall, narrow pot that will just fit the chicken, since it should be totally submerged in the cooking liquid (if you use a larger pot, you'll need to increase all the ingredients proportionally to create more cooking liquid). Put it over medium low heat, and add the oil and ginger.

Let the ginger caramelize for about 30 seconds. Then add the scallions and cook another 30 seconds. Add the star anise and rice wine, and bring to a simmer to let the alcohol cook off. Add the soy sauce, dark soy sauce, sugar, salt, and water. Bring to a simmer again and cook on low heat for another 20 minutes.

Increase the heat to bring the liquid to a slow boil (i.e. a little stronger than a simmer, but not a rolling boil). Use a large roasting fork inserted into the chicken cavity to lower the chicken slowly into the pot breast side up. Make sure any air pockets in the cavity fill up completely with liquid. The chicken should be entirely submerged at this point.

Once the chicken goes in, the cooking liquid will cool down. Let it cook for about 5 minutes at medium high heat. Next, use your large fork to carefully lift the chicken out of the water and empty the liquid inside the cavity, which will be cooler than the liquid surrounding the chicken. Lower the chicken back into the pot, making sure once again that there aren't any air pockets in the cavity. If the chicken is not completely submerged, periodically baste the exposed area with cooking liquid.

Bring the liquid back up to a lazy simmer, which should take about 10 minutes. Keep it at this slow simmer (the liquid will be about 210 degrees F) for 25 minutes. Turn off the heat, cover the pot, and let the chicken sit in the pot for another 15 minutes. Transfer the chicken to a cutting board. If you like, you can use a meat thermometer in the thickest part of the thigh to confirm it's reached 165 degrees F.

Use the sauce from the pot to occasionally baste the chicken and keep the skin moist as it cools. Serve over rice with some sauce from the pot!

**Note: You can also make this recipe with chicken leg quarters and reduce the cooking time accordingly, since they are easier to handle and faster to cook. Also, once you're done cooking the chicken, you can actually freeze the sauce/cooking liquid for use again later (though you may have to re-season the sauce).

Peanut butter, banana and chocolate baked oatmeal

Ingredients

• 4 cups old fashioned oats, gluten free certified if necessary
• 1½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 2¼ teaspoon baking powder
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 1-2 tsp chia seeds (optional)
• 2⅓ cup unsweetened almond milk
• ¼ cup coconut sugar or brown sugar
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• ⅓ cup pure maple syrup
• 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
• 3 mashed bananas
• ½ cup peanut butter, creamy or crunchy
• 1/2 cup chocolate chips
• Optional toppings: sliced banana, coconut whipped cream, ground cinnamon

Instructions

1. Pre-heat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. Add all of the dry ingredients to a medium sized bowl and mix.
2. In a large bowl, add the almond milk, sugar, vanilla, maple syrup and lemon juice and mix together. Next add the mashed bananas and peanut butter and carefully beat with an electric mixer until bananas and peanut butter are evenly incorporated.
3. Add the dry mixture to the wet mixture and stir until combined. Add in chocolate chips. Pour mixture into a greased 9"x13" baking dish and shake dish or use a spoon to make sure everything is evenly spread out. Bake oatmeal for 20-25 minutes, until set. Can be served immediately or re-heated each morning. Oatmeal bake will last for about 5-7 days in the refrigerator.

Crock Pot Chickpea, Butternut Squash and Red Lentil Stew

Ingredients:
1 yellow onion, chopped
1 tbsp olive or canola oil
1 large carrot, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 jalapeno, seeded and minced
2-3 tsp garam masala
1 butternut squash (about 3 lbs--average sized), peeled and chopped
1 28-oz can diced tomatoes in tomato juice
1 quart vegetable broth
1 cup red lentils
2 15-oz cans chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1-2 tsp sea salt (to taste)
fresh minced cilantro for serving

Directions:
Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Add the onion, carrot and jalapeno and saute for about six minutes. Add the minced garlic and saute for 30 more seconds, and then add the garam masala, stirring well to coat. Take off heat.

Place the chickpeas, butternut squash, canned diced tomatoes, red lentils, vegetable broth and onion mixture in your slow cooker. Turn the heat on LOW and cook for 8-10 hours...the longer you cook, the thicker your stew will be.

Season with sea salt to taste and serve. This stew freezes extremely well and will keep in the fridge for up to five days.

Time:
10 hours

Slow Cooker Shredded Chicken

• Prep time: 10 minutes
• Cook time: 3 hours
• Yield: Serves 6 to 8

Ingredients

The rub:

• 2 Tbsp chili powder
• 2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 1/2 teaspoons dried oregano, crumbled fine between your hands
• 1 teaspoon onion powder
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon allspice (can sub a scant pinch of ground cloves)
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne (optional, add more or less depending on how much heat you want)

The chicken:

• 2 pounds boneless skinless chicken thighs (do not remove excess fat)
• 6 ounces (3/4 cup) pineapple juice
• 2 Tbsp tomato paste

The rest:

• Corn tortillas
• Finely shredded cabbage
• Thinly sliced radishes
• Chopped avocado
• Cilantro
• Lime wedges

Method

1 Whisk the rub ingredients together in a bowl. Dredge the boneless skinless chicken thighs in the rub. Place the chicken thighs in a slow cooker.

2 Pour the pineapple juice over the chicken. Add the tomato paste to the juice.

3 Cover and cook in the slow cooker for 3 hours on high setting or 6 hours on low.
4 When the chicken is done, it should be fork tender. Use two forks to shred the meat completely in the slow cooker bowl.

Use the taco meat with heated and softened corn tortillas, sprinkle with lime juice, adding garnishes of finely shredded cabbage, thinly sliced radishes, avocado, and cilantro.

Read more: http://www.simplyrecipes.com/recipes/slow_cooker_shredded_chicken/#ixzz3sWiPQw2Q

Carrot, squash and ginger soup

Ingredients

• 1/2 medium butternut squash
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 onion, diced
• 1 pound carrots - peeled and diced
• 3 cloves garlic, crushed or to taste

• 1 (2 inch) piece fresh ginger, peeled and thinly sliced
• 4 cups water
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 pinch ground cinnamon
• 1/4 cup heavy cream (optional)

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Scoop seeds out of the butternut squash half, and place cut side down onto a greased baking sheet. Bake for 30 to 40 minutes, or until softened. Allow to cool, then scoop the squash flesh out of the skin using a large spoon and set aside. Discard skin.
2. Heat olive oil in a large saucepan or soup pot over medium heat. Add chopped onion and garlic, and cook, stirring until onion is translucent. Pour in the water, and add squash, carrots and ginger. Bring to a boil, and cook for at least 20 minutes, or until carrots and ginger are tender.
3. Puree the mixture in the blender, or using an immersion blender. Add boiling water if necessary to thin, but bear in mind this is meant to be a thick creamy soup. Return soup to the pan, and heat through. Season with salt, pepper and cinnamon.
4. Ladle into serving bowls, and pour a thin swirl of cream over the top as a garnish if desired.