White Beans, Spinach & Tomatoes over Parmesan Toast

4 thick slices country-style whole-wheat bread
1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
4 cloves garlic, chopped
4 medium plum tomatoes, chopped
1 15-ounce can white beans, rinsed
1 10-ounce bag baby spinach
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup vegetable broth
1/4 cup sliced fresh basil, or 2 tablespoons prepared pesto

Preheat oven to 450°F.
Top bread with Parmesan, place on a baking sheet and bake until the bread is crispy and the cheese is melted, 5 to 7 minutes.
Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add garlic and cook, stirring constantly, until fragrant, 30 seconds to 1 minute. Stir in tomatoes and beans and cook, stirring often, until the tomatoes are beginning to soften and the beans are heated through, 2 to 4 minutes. Stir in spinach, pepper, salt and broth and cook, stirring constantly, until the spinach is just wilted, 2 to 3 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in basil (or pesto). Spoon the bean-and-spinach mixture over the Parmesan toasts and serve hot.

Skillet Gnocchi with Chard & White Beans

1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon extra-virgin olive oil, divided
1 16-ounce package shelf-stable gnocchi, (see Tip)
1 medium yellow onion, thinly sliced
4 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup water
6 cups chopped chard leaves, (about 1 small bunch) or spinach
1 15-ounce can diced tomatoes with Italian seasonings
1 15-ounce can white beans, rinsed
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
1/2 cup shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese
1/4 cup finely shredded Parmesan cheese

1. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium
heat. Add gnocchi and cook, stirring often, until plumped and starting
to brown, 5 to 7 minutes. Transfer to a bowl.
2. Add the remaining 1 teaspoon oil and onion to the pan and cook,
stirring, over medium heat, for 2 minutes. Stir in garlic and water.
Cover and cook until the onion is soft, 4 to 6 minutes. Add chard (or
spinach) and cook, stirring, until starting to wilt, 1 to 2 minutes.
Stir in tomatoes, beans and pepper and bring to a simmer. Stir in the
gnocchi and sprinkle with mozzarella and Parmesan. Cover and cook
until the cheese is melted and the sauce is bubbling, about 3 minutes.

Indian Peanut Stew

This is one of my favorite meatless dishes. Todd and I love it. Unfortunately the kids don't--it's an acquired taste.

2 cups uncooked brown rice
6 cups water
1 TBS olive oil
1 large white onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
3 TBS grated fresh ginger root
28 oz. can diced tomatoes with juice
1/8 tsp. cayenne pepper
1 cup chunky natural peanut butter (creamy works fine too)

1. Place rice and water in a large saucepan and bring to a boil. Cover, and reduce heat to low. Simmer until rice is tender and water is mostly absorbed.
2. Heat olive oil in a large saucepan over medium-low heat.Add onion, and cook until soft and golden, stirring frequently. Add garlic and ginger, and cook until fragrant, about 5 minutes. Stir in tomatoes, and season with cayenne pepper. Increase heat to medium, and bring to a gentle simmer. Stir in peanut butter and heat through. Then stir in the rice and heat through.

Salsa Red Beans and Rice

1 medium green pepper, chopped
1/4 chopped red onion
3 green onions, finely chopped
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 TBS olive oil
3 cups cooked brown rice
1 1/4 cups salsa
1 can (16 oz) kidney beans, rinsed and drained
1/2 teaspoon salt

1. In a large skillet, saute the green pepper, onions and garlic in oil until tender.
2. Stir in the rice, salsa, beans and salt. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered for 2-3 minutes until heated through.

Hearty Lentil Soup

2 TBS olive oil
2 c. diced onion
3 cloves garlic
salt & pepper
3 TBS tomato paste
1/3 c. diced celery
1/3 c. diced carrot
2 bay leaves
1/2 c. chopped parsley (or 3TBS dried)
1 1/2 c. lentils (sorted and rinsed)
1 TBS Dijon mustard*
1 TBS red wine vinegar *
* no substitutions. These two ingredients make the dish! In fact, I add more than the recipe calls for.

1. Heat oil in soup pot over med-high heat. Add onion and saute 5-7 min.
2. Meanwhile, mince or pound garlic with 1 tsp. salt.
3. Work tomato paste into the onion. Add garlic mixture, celery, carrot, bay leaves, and parsley. Cook for 3 minutes.
4. Add lentils, 2 quarts water, and 1/2 tsp. salt. Bring to a boil. Lower heat and simmer partially covered for 25-35 minutes.
5. Add mustard and vinegar. Add more salt and pepper if needed. Remove bay leaves.
The longer the soup sits the better.

Pomegranate Avocado Dip

Seeds of 1 ripe pomegranate
1 avocado, diced
1 tomato, chopped
1 tbsp. finely chopped onion
¼ tsp. ground coriander
½ tsp. salt
1 tbsp. lemon juice
½ tsp. Accent
1/8 tsp. cayenne pepper

Mix them all together and serve with Fritos scoops. If you don’t have those, then tortilla chips are fine. A common mistake people make is to chop the ingredients up too big or to cream up the avocados like a dip. It shouldn’t be like that, but more chunky and don’t over stir! It’s really good and you should probably double it!

from Missy Hancock

Aunt Mamie's Banana Bread

5 bananas, mashed
4 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup sugar
1 cup butter or margarine
1 tsp salt
2 tsp baking soda
4 cups flour
1 cup chopped nuts

Blend together and bake at 250 for 1 1/2 hours.

from Helen Macfarlane who got it from Kevin