SPINACH & ARTICHOKE PIE
This recipe takes a little while

Per serving: 187 Calories (kcal); 5g Total Fat; (24% calories from fat); 11g Protein; 27g Carbohydrate; 0mg Cholesterol; 531mg ( Mostly good cholesterol) Sodium; 6g Fiber.

1 medium onion, chopped fine
2 cloves garlic, minced
12-16 ounces baby spinach (I used the pre-washed, bagged kind)
1 pound extra-firm tofu (If you eat meat, you can use what you like)
2 tbsp. nutritional yeast
1 tsp. salt, or to taste
2 tsp. dried oregano
2 tbsp. lemon juice
1 tbsp. minced Kalamata olives (optional)
pinch cayenne
1/4 tsp. ground cumin
black pepper, to taste
1 14-ounce can quartered artichokes, coarsely chopped
1/4 cup slivered almonds, slightly crushed (or toasted pinenuts)
12 sheets phyllo dough, thawed
olive oil in spray bottle
Instructions

Sauté the onion and garlic in a large, deep non-stick skillet for 3 minutes. Add the spinach and 2 tablespoons water, stir, and cover the skillet. (If you couldn’t fit all of the spinach in, wait a minute for the spinach to shrink and add more.) Cook until the spinach is completely wilted and shrunken. Set aside.
While the spinach is cooking, mash the tofu and stir in the nutritional yeast and all the seasonings, including the olives. Add the artichokes, almonds, and the spinach mixture, and mix well. Preheat the oven to 375 F and lightly spray a 9×13-inch baking dish with olive oil. Unwrap the phyllo dough and arrange it beside the baking dish as described above. Lay a sheet of phyllo over the bottom of the pan, spray it lightly with olive oil, and repeat the process until you have 6 sheets in the bottom of the pan. Make sure the remaining phyllo is covered with a damp cloth, and pour the spinach-tofu filling into the pan, spreading it to completely cover the phyllo. Repeat the phyllo process, covering the filling with six more sheets, spraying each one lightly. Make sure to spray the top sheet thoroughly, so that there are no un-oiled spots.
With a sharp knife, cut through the top layer of phyllo to form 9-12 equal pieces. (This helps to keep the phyllo from breaking when you cut it after baking).
Put it in the oven and bake for 30-35 minutes, until the top is lightly browned. Enjoy!
Preparation time: 20 minute(s) | Cooking time: 35 minute(s)

Number of servings (yield): 9

Oven-Baked Mexican Quinoa Casserole (This is very good, quick and I make it a lot, its even good cold as a dip)

Ingredients
1 tbsp vegetable oil
1 onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1 cup uncooked quinoa
796 ml (28 oz) can diced tomatoes, with liquid ( I use The garlic & onion)
½ cup water
2 tbsp nutritional yeast (optional)
1 tbsp tomato paste or ketchup
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp oregano
½ tsp chili powder (more if you like things spicy)
Salt & freshly ground pepper
540 ml (19 oz) can black beans, rinsed and drained
311 g (11 oz) can corn kernels, with liquid
3 cups baby spinach
Toppings of choice: sour cream, avocado, cilantro, cheese, etc.

Instructions
Preheat oven to 350F.
Heat 1 tbsp olive oil in a medium frying pan (or stove-top-safe 2.8 liter/3 quart casserole dish). Add onion and garlic, and saute until translucent, about 8 minutes. Remove from heat; and transfer to oven-safe casserole dish if not already using one.
Add quinoa, deced tomatoes (with juice), water, nutritional yeast, tomato paste (or ketchup), and spices. Season with salt and pepper and stir to combine.
COVER and place in oven and set timer for 30 minutes.
Caferfully remove casserole from oven and stir in drained beans and corn (with liquid). If the mixture looks dry, add a half cup of water.
Return to oven WITH LID and set timer for another 30 minutes.
Caferfully remove casserole from oven and stir in spinach. It will wilt from the heat.
Top with sour cream, diced avocado and/or cilantro and serve.
IF FREEZING: Make full recipe but leave-out the spinach and toppings. Let cool and freeze in airtight container(s). To serve: defrost fully, lightly reheat (in microwave or on stovetop), stir in spinach and add toppings of choice.

Simple dal fry

This is SUPER simple and easy, but quite tasty.

1/2 to 1 cup red lentils
twice as much water
1 onion, chopped
oil
1-2 tomatoes, chopped
1/2 - 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
salt
1-2 Tablespoons green pepper or chili pepper, chopped (optional)

Put the lentils in a pot with water. Bring to a boil then reduce to simmer. It will have a big head of foam when it first comes to a boil so be sure to turn it down before it boils over. Let lentils cook while you prepare the vegetables, and if they get to dry, add more water. They should cook down to a mush.

Heat some oil in a pan. When it's hot, add cumin seeds. When the seeds start to darken and become aromatic, add onion. Fry a bit, then add tomatoes and optional peppers. Fry until tomatoes are thoroughly cooked and mostly liquified. Add salt.

Add cooked lentils.

Serve over rice. (brown or basmati)

Thanks for inviting me to join this group, DW.

Wow, you guys have some serious cooking skills, I'm impressed.

This is a really easy one-pot recipe for someone like me who gets really, really bushed around suppertime most days. And it's super-good-for-you.

Bring about a liter of water to boil. While it's heating up, prep a couple of potatoes and toss potato chunks into the water while it's heating. Then just add any kind of cooked beans...black beans are especially good, cooked brown rice too if you have it.

Now add any kind of veggie cut into pieces...pac choy, turnip greens, carrots, kale, whatever you have...the more different kinds the better. It's really good with molokhia, but that's not widely available...I grow it. Mustard greens are especially good too, so long as they're not too old and strong-tasting.

Dice half a small onion or so, toss that in too. Smash some garlic to taste, mince, toss it in. Fresh or dried ginger is important to balance the garlic...smash, mince and toss in. Minced hot pepper if you have it, black pepper if you don't. Fresh herbs are good, mince some parsley, basil, or oregano and toss that in too.

Add about two or three tablespoons of nutritional yeast...I use most of a coffee measuring spoon. Then spice it up with a little cumin, turmeric, powdered sage, cardamom, maybe a little dab of curry powder. I like dulse flakes for the nutrition, but they don't really help the flavor...about a teaspoon.

Add about two handsful of whole wheat macaroni...any kind. Cook it all in a pressure cooker for ten minutes, let it sit and cool down for about twenty minutes or so. Or just cook it for half an hour or so in a covered pot.

Stir in some good olive oil, couple of tablespoons, a dash of apple cider vinegar, and a smidgeon of low-salt soy sauce before serving.

The only hard part is remembering to toss everything in...I sometimes forget stuff and have to eat my mistake. It sounds simple, but it's really good. I only eat twice a day, so it has a lot of calories...adjust to suit your caloric needs. I usually eat all of it...can't decide if it's vegetable soup or vegetable stew.

Everything usually comes from my garden, so the flavor varies with the seasons. But even when it comes from the store, everything is organic. The potatoes and the beans give it body, don't leave those out altogether. If you have leek, those are really good instead of the onion. You won't need the garlic if you make it with leek.

Prep time...about a half hour or so...that's mostly peeling potatoes and chopping up veggies. Don't overspice it, the veggies need to come through in the flavor. I just love this dish. And I can make it when I'm really fatigued, not much can go wrong.

Can we have that recipe for whole wheat biscuits please Richie?

Wow, biscuits are really easy. I don't have a recipe really.

I use organic whole wheat flour from Whole Foods...it's only about a dollar a pound in the five-pound bag.

Let's see...I use a scoop for the flour...it says 1/3 cup on the handle, but I heap it up...five of them. Then about three or four generous pinches of baking soda...mix it all up well. Add just enough COLD water to make a stiff dough...pour some good oil in the water before mixing it in...maybe a tablespoon? I don't measure it. The oil should be chilled too. I use organic canola or organic olive oil. Also add just a little vinegar to the water...maybe half a teaspoon or less. That helps it bubble up.

Knead it until it's just usable, not too much. Use some oil on your hands to keep the dough from sticking. Make six little patties, rub them with a little oil and lay them on an oiled cookie sheet. I put them in a cold oven, turn it to 375 degrees F, leave them in about forty minutes. Of course the time will vary depending on your oven and how fast it heats up. Preheating the oven wastes fuel, I never do that.

They won't be as tender and fluffy as biscuits made with white flour, but they'll be tastier. They keep for some time in a plastic bag in the fridge...don't put them in the bag while they're warm or they'll get moldy.

Prep time...about fifteen minutes. Of course I've been doing this a while.

You can tell if bread or biscuits are done by taking them out of the oven, turning them over with an oven mitt, and flicking them hard with your fingernail. If the sound is a dull thud, put them right back in. When they're done, the pitch will be higher. You get a knack for this after a while. Do this very fast so the bread or biscuit doesn't cool down.

This is easy because very little can go wrong enough that you don't get something edible out of it. I have forgotten the baking powder on occasion. Wow, those were really hard biscuits....LOL...I'm talking hockey pucks. Reality is so unforgiving sometimes.

That should be baking soda, not baking powder in the last paragraph. I don't use baking powder anymore.

Lol wish me luck with those sketchy directions!

Relax, Donna...anybody can make biscuits. It's just leavening mixed into flour, then add liquid and shortening to make dough, cook in oven. That's really all there is to it.

I've known some good cooks and bakers in my life, and none of them ever used recipes...truth.

It's like making love...the only way to be good at it is to do it a lot...LOL.

Hi Richie! Welcome to this group. Oh and you have never seen my biscuits, oh boy, that will be something I'll try to do next year!! LOL.

(something special for us during difficult holidays) makes 1
Apple Pie Smoothie with Almonds and Soy
Portion size 1 1/2 cup

1 cup .....fresh apples, chopped
1/2 each banana, fresh, sliced
1 tbsp ....almonds, chopped
1/2 cup ..vanilla soy milk
1/8 tsp ...ground cinnamon
pinch .....ground nutmeg
1cup ......ice cubes

place all ingredients into a blender and puree until smooth. Serve immediately.
Note: you can use regular milk, almond milk or yogurt.

The recipes sound AWESOME... thanks for the laughs too! : )