Ingredients:
1 md tomato
1 md onion
1 cucumber
16oz of plain yogurt
1 tsp ground cumin (or to taste)
1 tsp ground red pepper (or to taste)

Directions:
In a large bowl, mix yogurt, cumin and red pepper.

Dice tomato, onion and cucumber.
Add diced vegetables and mix well.

Refrigerate for at least one hour. Taste to see if more cumin or red pepper is needed.

Add cooked chick peas or cooked potatoes if desired.

Ingredients
2 cups Dal Masoor (orange lentils)
1 onion diced (md or large)
2 tbps diced garlic (or ten cloves, diced)
1 md tomato, halved and sliced thin
3 bay leaves
1 ½ tsp ground red pepper (or to taste)
3 Bay leaves
2 tbsp of Shan dal Curry Mix (or to taste)
½ cup of butter
6 cups of water

Directions:
Begin by soaking the lentils in a bowl for about 3 hours. They will absorb the water. This just makes the cooking time shorter.

In a large pot, cook (md heat) the onions in butter until translucent.
Add garlic, Shan Dal mix and tomatoes to pot. Stir until the dal mix is well distributed.
Carefully add 6 cups of water to the pot.

Drain and rinse the soaked lentils. Carefully add them to the pot.
Add bay leaves.

Turn to low heat and cover.
Cook until the lentils reach desired consistency, stirring occasionally.  Remove the lid and let dal continue to boil to assist in thickening.

Keep an eye on the mix as it may boil over if the heat is too high.

I attempted to make soup this afternoon. My goal was to come up with an easy to make recipe. I failed. Josh said it wasn’t bad, but it needed more tomato. I used V8, water, mixed vegetables and spices. The water to V8 ratio was off. I am experimenting in small batches and a 2:3 ratio of V8 to water doesn’t taste too great. So, it is back to the notepad for me. I had to post it though. For future reference.

If there is ever a time when you see a bottle of Sauer’s barbecue sauce, pick up a bottle or three. I’ve rarely found a barbecue sauce that I want to use on everything from eggs to mashed potatoes (yes, I said mashed potatoes). Sauer’s is one of them. You may find some bottles with the older style label. Don’t worry, the label doesn’t make the sauce!

Josh got me started and his parents have been our sauce enablers. While we were visiting Josh’s parents over Yule, we went on a search to bring more Sauer’s home with us. Unfortunately we were only able to procure two bottles. Hardly enough to last us a year. Thankfully Josh’s father came to our rescue when he spotted some at his local grocer. He purchased and shipped to us, five more bottles. That might last until next Yule.

Ingredients:
3 tbsp Lemon/Pepper Blend
2 tbsp minced garlic
3 tbsp honey
1-2 tbsp olive oil
1/2 cup lemon juice
1/2 cup yellow mustard

Mix all ingredients together.
If using chicken, marinate for about 20-30 minutes.

Josh got this from somewhere and I think some of it is from memory.

Ingredients:

2 ? lbs boneless chicken breast
? stick butter
3 medium potatoes
3 medium onions
28oz can diced tomatoes
28oz can butterbeans
1 ? tsp salt
1 ? tsp red pepper
1 tsp black pepper
1 tsp sugar
2 tbsp flour
16oz can corn

Cube chicken and put chicken in pot.
Cover with water and boil on High for 15 min.
Add onions, potatoes, and butter, cook on medium-low for 1 hour.
Add tomatoes and cook on medium-low for 1 hour, stir well at all times.
Add butterbeans and seasonings, and simmer on low for 3 hours 15 minutes.
Continue cooking and add corn, let corn cook for 30 minutes and turn heat off and continue stirring until served.

*The stew will boil down. When a desired thickness is reached, put the cover on and continue cooking and stirring.
Stir often. This stew is known to stick.

I don’t know where this recipe came from, but everyone seems to love it.

Ingredients:

3 (16 oz) cans chili beans
3 (16 oz) cans diced tomatoes
1 (16 oz) can of whole kernel corn
1 medium to large yellow onion
1 medium to large bell pepper (green)
1 package chili seasoning (or chili powder to taste)

Chop onion and bell pepper finely. Add to a pot of boiling water (3-4 cups). Boil until onions and bell peppers are soft. Add more water if needed. Drain with a fine colander.

Drain the can of corn.

Mix all ingredients together in large pot on medium heat. Stir often. Let reduce to desired consistency.

I find that the store brand chili beans tend to work best.

Note: Browned ground beef can be added, or any other meat you want.