Honey Baked Lentils

Lentils are a hit and miss food around here. We've had some amazing lentil dishes and some barely edible ones. This one fell into the former category! YAY! In fact, I think it will become a regular favorite!

Got the recipe from a great book that I checked our from the library so many times that my husband finally purchased it! :) I can't recommend it enough - it's not just recipes, it's a challenge to the way we consume.

A little blurb about it from the publisher:

"Twenty-five years ago, Doris Janzen Longacre compiled the first MCC-supported cookbook. Full of recipes and suggestions on how to eat better and consume less, it addressed the concern that North American were doing the opposite — consuming more and more food made up of wasteful calories and unnecessary packaging. More-with-Lessbecame an international kitchen resource for generations, an easy to read compendium of simple recipes to combat careless eating and thoughtless eating."

And you can read more about it by clicking here.

Now on the the recipe :)

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Honey Baked Lentils

Combine in Dutch oven or saucepan:
1 lb. (2 1/3 c) lentils
1 small bay leaf
5 c. water
2 t. salt

Bring to a boil. Cover tightly and reduce heat. Simmer 30 minutes. Do not drain.
Discard bay leaf.
Preheat oven to 350.

Combine separately and add to lentils:
1 t. dry mustard
1/4 t. powdered ginger
1 T. soy sauce
1/2 c. chopped onions
1 c. water

Cut in 1" pieces:
4 slices bacon

Stir most of the bacon into the lentils and sprinkle remainder on top.

Pour over all:
1/3 c. honey

Cover tightly. Bake 1 hour. Uncover last 10 minutes to brown bacon.

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Soooo yummy! The only tweaks I made were that I left out the ginger, used a dollop of dijon mustard instead of mustard powder, and decreased the water to 1/2 c. so that I could bake it for a shorter time because I pre-cooked my bacon. My husband isn't a huge fan of pork bacon in general and likes it very well done when he does eat it. Turned out perfectly! My toddler even loved it! :) Pantry success! And honestly, it would have still been fabulous without the meat!

Valentine's Day on a Dime

Yay for freebies!

The folks at Living on a Dime are at it again! They are offering their Valentine's On A Dime e-book free this month!

Click on the image above and download it! It expires Feb. 15.

And if that weren't nice enough, they are also offering a ONE DAY SALE on that great cookbook - Dining on a Dime that I gave away last year! It ends tonight at midnight, so don't miss out!!

Very First Giveaway!

******Update: this giveaway is now closed, thanks!!******

I have wanted to participate in Bloggy Giveaway's carnival for a year and am finally prepared! Are *you* ready? :)

You've read about Living on a Dime here before and I said I'd refer to that site, and specifically the Dining on a Dime cookbook a lot in the future. I received an autographed copy of the cookbook, co-authored by Tawra Kellam and Jill Cooper as a wedding present from my aunt and it remains on of our most-used gifts from that day! It really is an invaluable resource as it is full of all kinds of wisdom about cooking with what you have, saving on grocery bills, and even how to clean with items from your pantry! And of course... recipes! :) Here's a taste:

Pumpkin Cookies

1/2 cup shortening   1 tsp. vanilla
1 cup sugar    1 tsp. soda
1 cup pumpkin    1 tsp. brown sugar
1 cup raisins    1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 cup nuts    2 cups flour



Cream shortening, sugar and pumpkin in a bowl.
Add the rest of the ingredients and mix well.
Drop by small spoonfuls onto an ungreased cookie sheet.
Brush tops with milk.  Bake at 375 degrees for 8 minutes. Top with frosting.

They are good - believe me!!!

And now, Tawra Kellam has generously agreed to giveaway 5 copies of the ebook version of Dining on a Dime to my readers!!!! One of those 5 readers will also win a $20 gift certificate to Cooking.com to stock up on some of the pantry goods they will need for the meals you'll be making from the book! Cooking.com also has a great selection of everything else you need for the kitchen if you are good on food.

To enter, please leave a comment telling me what you would do with the $20 over at Cooking.com by Midnight EST on 10/30/o8.

For extra entries: subscribe to my RSS feed (on the right under my profile blurb) and tell me so in a separate comment. AND you can receive a THIRD entry by leaving another comment with a pantry-related content suggestion or question that you would like to see me blog about. That's three chances to win and there are 5 prizes to be had! Pretty good odds! :)

NOTE: Because both prizes are electronic (the gc will be delivered via email) *anyone* is welcome to enter - regardless of where you live! yay!

I will contact the winners and post them here on Halloween (Oct. 31st) so make sure you either leave me some way to contact you (blog address, email, etc.) or check back here!

And stay tuned throughout the week for some more great seasonal tips from Living on a Dime - including what to do with all those great big pumpkins you are seeing for sale besides carving them!!

More giveaways at the Bloggy Giveaways Quarterly Carnival!