Most of the time, we think of dahl as being made out of lentils or split peas, but other legumes can stand in too. We particularly like this mildly spicy dahl made from black eyed peas. I used the canned form to save time, but if you’ve got the time to soak and cook up the dried beans, the meal will be even more inexpensive.
Black eyed peas dahl
Ghee or mild vegetable oil
4 whole cloves
1/2 cinnamon stick
1 small onion, chopped
1 T fresh ginger, minced
6 to 8 oz plain yogurt
2 cans (15 oz) of black eyed peas
1/2 t ground …read more

There are so many variations that you can make on the basic latke, or potato cake. They can be baked instead of fried, but we really love the crispness that you can only get with pan frying. You don’t have to use tons of oil…just a smidge of olive oil will do the trick.
Potatoes can be joined by many other vegetables, and I suggest that you experiment to see what you like best, but try the basics first! Carrots, parsnips, green onions, squash, sweet potatoes, spinach, leeks, and many other veggies make good latke companions. Additionally, …read more

Grilled sandwiches are a great way to use up leftovers! Whenever I cook chicken, I try to cook up some extra so that later in the week we can have a really tasty grilled sandwich or panini. My kids have always liked chicken with hot spicy coating, served with blue cheese dressing, so I decided to put together a combo sandwich that they’d like.
Barbecue Chicken Panini
Thick sliced bread
Pre-cooked chicken, shredded
Spicy barbecue sauce, as hot as your family likes it
Chopped celery
Blue cheese dressing
Coat each slice of bread with a thin layer of blue cheese dressing. Mix the shredded …read more

Asian casserole is a hot dish of comfort food! It has lots of familiar tastes if you grew up before the time that we’d discovered a lot of now-common ethnic cuisines. This was about as exotic as my family got, back in the day, and of course we called it “Oriental Casserole” back then
The casserole is an easy thirty minute meal, and can also be made as a Once-A-Month-Cooking dish. Make a double batch, and you can have one tonight and save another for later in your freezer!
Asian Casserole
1 lb ground beef
1 stalk of …read more

Ok, it’s a stretch to claim that this is Indian food, because I made it up as a way to use up some leftover sweet potatoes. But I used my own spice mix instead of “curry powder,” so I feel somewhat justified in claiming Indian inspiration
Replace the chicken broth with vegetable broth if you’d like, and you’ve got a great vegetarian meal! Serve with some good crusty bread, and it’s a filling meal too. This is easily a thirty minute meal as long as you are using pre-cooked sweet potatoes. Whenever I make …read more

Hot or cold, this one works either way. I loaded up thick slices of whole wheat bread, wrapped them in foil, and heated them, but they are really good cold too
I’ve never measured the proportions, just mixed the ingredients together until it seemed right.
Tasty Tuna Fish
Tuna
Soy sauce
Lemon zest
Lemon juice
Mint, chopped
Sesame seeds
Greens, preferably dark like arugula
Image: Cyndi Lavin

This fruit salsa goes beautifully with any firm-fleshed fish, or it can be a nice side salad on its own. It doesn’t keep well overnight, so I recommend making and eating pretty much right away. Fortunately, there’s not much problem with that!
Fruit Salsa for Salmon
1 c fresh blueberries
1 avocado, chopped
2 scallions, chopped
1 kiwi, peeled, sliced, and quartered
1 T soy sauce
1 lime, grated zest and juice
2 T canola oil
2 t fresh ginger, grated
Parsley or cilantro (optional)
Cayenne pepper flakes, to taste
Mix all ingredients together, toss lightly and serve with fish.
Image: Cyndi Lavin

I got this recipe a million years ago from my good friend Kathy. My children never liked it much when they were little, so Mike and I only had it occasionally until they got a bit older and their tastes changed a bit. Sometimes I forgot how much I loved this dish in between times!
It’s quick and easy, wonderful for scallop lovers (that was the sticking point for our kids!), and pretty healthy to boot!
Pasta with Scallops and Wine Sauce
12 oz cooked fettucine or penne
12 oz scallops
1/2 an onion, chopped
Clove of garlic, chopped fine
1 T butter
1/2 c dry white …read more

This is a great Once-A-Month-Cooking recipe that you can double, triple, or quadruple very easily. For extra speed in preparation, you can use one of those 1.25 oz packages of taco seasoning and a can of prepared chili. Usually, I would prefer that these things be homemade, but sometimes for OAMC recipes, we’ll make an exception!
Even if you don’t get into OAMC, this is a great recipe to make ahead, either early in the day or even a couple of days ahead.
Taco Soup
2 – 15 oz cans chicken broth
15 oz can diced tomatoes
15 oz can black beans, drained …read more

This recipe appeared in the Nov/Dec 2008 issue of Eating Well magazine. The original recipe was written to serve 4, so I’m not sure why the online version was cut to 2. No matter, you can double this recipe and end up with the right proportions; just add a little more cornstarch.
I chose to use a leg cut instead of ground lamb, so I pre-cooked it for several hours in my crock pot. The meat fell apart and the little fat there was peeled right off by the time I was ready to assemble the stew. …read more