Miles and I have been trying to consume less meat lately. No it’s not just because we’ve turned “Californian,” it’s mostly because meat is just so darn expensive. And there are health benefits to not eating as much meat. Anyway, it’s been a fun challenge trying to find yummy vegetarian recipes. I’ve actually found quite a few we like. Here are just a couple we really like and are bordering on being in love with. Not really, but you get the point.

Red Lentil and Sweet Potato Curry

This one is awesome, just ask Hope.

Ingredients:

2 tbsp vegetable oil
1 medium onion, chopped
Coarse sea salt or kosher salt
1 medium sweet potato, peeled and cut into 1 inch chunks
1 (1 inch) piece fresh ginger, peeled and chopped
 ( I used minced ginger from the jar)
1 large or 2 small garlic cloves, chopped
1 tbsp curry powder
1 bay leaf
1 ½ cups red lentils (Red lentils seem a bit hard to find so you might have to look at some sort of specialty store. They sell them near us at Wholesome Choice. Let me just tell you that red lentils are way better than your average lentils! You must give them a try to rid yourself of all your preconceived notions about this wonderful legume)

Directions:

1. In a saucepan or kettle, bring 3 ½ cups of water to a boil.

2. In a large saucepan over high heat, warm the oil. Add the onion and a pinch of salt and sauté, stirring occasionally, until the onion softens, and 3 to 4 minutes.

3. Add the sweet potato, ginger, garlic, curry powder and bay leaf and sauté until fragrant, about 1 minute. Pour in the boiling water and stir in the lentils. Reduce the heat to medium-low, cover and simmer until the lentils break down and the sweet potatoes are tender, 18 to 20 minutes. Season with salt.

4. Serve with warm pita bread. Serves 4.

The second recipe also calls for sweet potatoes, so it would be smart to include both of these meals on your menu for the weeek.

Addictive Sweet Potato Burritos

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
6 cups canned kidney beans, drained
2 cups water
3 tablespoons chili powder
2 teaspoons ground cumin
4 teaspoons prepared mustard
1 pinch cayenne pepper, or to taste
3 tablespoons soy sauce
4 cups cooked and mashed sweet potatoes (suggest peeling then boiling the potatoes. Don’t microwave them like I did—it was a mess)
12 (10 inch) flour tortillas, warmed
8 ounces shredded Cheddar cheese

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).

2. Heat oil in a medium skillet, and saute onion and garlic until soft. Stir in beans, and mash. Gradually stir in water, and heat until warm. Remove from heat, and stir in the chili powder, cumin, mustard, cayenne pepper and soy sauce.

3. Divide bean mixture and mashed sweet potatoes evenly between the warm flour tortillas. Top with cheese. Fold up tortillas burrito style, and place on a baking sheet.

4. Bake for 12 minutes in the preheated oven, and serve.

I made this apple pie for a dessert night we had in our community. I got a great compliment from a very sweet man with a foreign accent who said mine was his “favorite cake.” He made me smile.

I’ll tell you right now what made this dessert so delicious. One word. Butter. Butter in the crust. Butter in the filling. Butter in the crisp. Mmmmmm.

The recipe was my own concoction. A combination of a few recipes. Because I only had one pie crust, I improvised and used a crisp recipe for the top. And for the filling I used a recipe from allrecipes.com.

Ingredients:

1-9 inch pie crust
1/2 cup unsalted butter
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/4 cup water
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1 tablespoon cinnamon
8 Granny Smith apples – peeled, cored and sliced

Crisp Ingredients:

1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1/3 cup rolled oats
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves (optional)
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 cup butter

Directions:

Preheat oven to 425°. Peel, core, and slice apples. Set aside in large mixing bowl.

Melt the butter in a saucepan. Stir in 3 tablespoons flour to form a paste. Add water, white sugar, brown sugar, and cinnamon and bring to a boil. Reduce temperature and let simmer.

Pour sauce mixture over apples and stir to combine. Place the bottom crust in your pan. Fill with apples, mounded slightly.

In a separate bowl, combine flour, oats, brown sugar, ground cloves, and nutmeg. Cut in butter until crumbly. Sprinkle crumble mixture over the apples.

Bake 15 minutes in the preheated oven. Reduce the temperature to 350°. Continue baking for 35 to 45 minutes, until apples are soft.

Last night I made chicken taco soup for dinner in the crock-pot. About 20 minutes before we were supposed to eat, I realized I didn’t have anything to go with the soup. We usually have quesadillas, cornbread or at least tortilla chips. I remembered a little too late that we were out of cheese, which meant no quesadillas and I didn’t have the ingredients nor the time to make corn bread. All I had were plain tortillas. After putting on my creative cap, I made homemade tortilla chips. The salted variety were so good with the soup that I made more for dessert with cinnamon and sugar sprinkled overtop. Try ‘em. I think you’ll like ‘em.

Ingredients:

Tortillas (corn or flour work)
cooking spray
kosher salt or cinnamon & sugar

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350°.

Using a pizza cutter, cut tortillas into triangles. Spread in single layer on baking sheet. Spray tortilla triangles with cooking spray. Sprinkle a pinch of salt (or cinnamon & sugar) over chips to taste.

Bake in oven 10 minutes or so until chips are golden brown and crispy.

Last night while watching 24 I got a craving for something sweet. I think this happens just about every night. You’d think I was pregnant or something (which I’m not by the way. I’m very un-pregnant, which is the way we want it right now). Anyway, I wanted a goody. We didn’t have anything simple around like ice cream or cookies, so I thought I’d make this crisp. Once I got the idea in my head I couldn’t get it out. So even though it was like 9:30 I still made it. And it was good. Goodness it was good. Miles and I stayed up late talking and eating. I love those nights. Then I had the left-overs for brunch. I couldn’t help myself. I was taking pictures, and before I knew it, it was all gone. Good thing I’m running 4 miles a day!

Ingredients:

1/2 cup fresh blackberries
1/2 cup fresh raspberries
1/2 cup fresh blueberries
(or 2 cups frozen mixed berries)
2 tablespoons white sugar
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1/3 cup rolled oats
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 cup butter

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350°.

In a medium bowl, gently toss together blackberries, raspberries, blueberries, and white sugar; set aside.

In a separate bowl, combine flour, oats, brown sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Cut in butter until crumbly. Pour berries into baking dish. Sprinkle crumble mixture over the berries.

Bake in the preheated oven for 30 to 40 minutes, or until fruit is bubbly and topping is golden brown.