Great Pumpkin Dessert

This recipe was from Quick Cooking magazine, which no longer exists. The only adaption I've made is to use less butter and walnuts, than the original. It's easy to make and freezes well too.

Ingredients:
1 can (15 oz) solid-pack pumpkin
1 can (12 oz) evaporated milk
3 eggs 1 c. sugar
4 tsp. pumpkin pie spice*
1 pkg yellow cake mix (I use Duncan Hines Moist Butter Recipe cake mix)
3/4 c. butter or margarine, melted (I use 1/2 c. most of the time)
1-1/2 c. chopped walnuts (I only use about 1/2 to 3/4 cups of chopped walnuts)
Vanilla ice cream or cool whip.

Instructions: In a mixing bowl, combine the first five ingredients. Transfer to a greased 13-in x 9-in x 2-in baking pan. Sprinkle with dry cake mix and drizzle with butter. Top with the walnuts. Bake at 350º for 1 hour or until a knife inserted near the center comes out clean. Serve with ice cream or cool whip. Yield: 12-16 servings.

*Make your own Pumpkin Spice Mix (from About.com)
1. Measure 2 teaspoons of cinnamon into a small bowl or cup
2. Add 1 teaspoon of ground ginger
3. Add 1/2 teaspoon of ground allspice or ground cloves
4. Add 1/2 teaspoon of ground nutmeg
5. Stir to blend.
6. Makes 4 teaspoons of pumpkin spice

Crockpot Barley Vegetable Soup

I found this recipe online, of course, at fatfreevegan.com, but then I made a couple of changes, since I don't like green beans and it was featuring green beans. Here's the modified version.

Ingredients:
1 c. medium pearl barley
1 bay leaf
1/2 tsp fennel seed
1 9-oz pkg baby carrots (I just used about 10-15 out of a larger bag I had)
1 onion, chopped
2 stalks of celery, chopped
3 tsp minced garlic
1 large or 2 med sweet potatoes, peeled and chopped
1 16-oz pkg frozen mixed vegetables
1 tsp salt
5-1/2 - 6 c. water with 3-4 Tbsp of McKay's Chicken-Style seasoning (or 3 14-oz cans vegetable broth)
4 c. water
2 14-oz cans diced tomatoes with herbs, undrained

Place all ingredients except tomatoes in a 5-6 quart crockpot in the order given. Do not stir. Cover crockpot and cook on low for 6-8 hours or on high for 4 hours. Stir soup and add tomatoes. Cover crockpot and cook 20-30 minutes longer until soup is hot.

Remove bay leaf before serving.

10-12 servings.

Crockpot Lentil Vegetable Stew

I found a Vegetarian Crockpot Lentil Soup recipe on About.com that sounded perfect for a cold fall day last week, so I made it, but added a couple of items and left out another to make a pot of lentil vegetable stew that was excellent, lasted all week (it makes a lot of stew), and even had enough to share with friends and family. You should try it!

Ingredients:

• 2 cups of lentils (rinsed and sorted, at least I like to)
• 4 cups of water
• 8 cups of vegetable broth or water with McKay's Chicken Style seasoning added to taste (I used about 2 teaspoons per cup)
• 3-4 med to large potatoes, diced
• 3 stalks celery, sliced
• 2 carrots, chopped
• 1 med to large onion, chopped
• 2 teaspoons minced garlic or 3-4 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp oregano
• 1 14-ounce can diced tomatoes

Stir all ingredients together in a 6-quart crockpot. Cook on low for 8-10 hours.

Serve with crackers or your favorite bread.

Sharing my love of food...

I know there are many people out there who would question my ability to enjoy food as a lacto-ovo vegetarian, but I've been a vegetarian my whole life. The few times I've tried to eat meat, I have spent the night in the bathroom regretting my decision. So, for me, a great meal consists of wonderful vegetarian food and plenty of good conversation with friends and/or family.

One of the things I enjoy is reading food blogs and collecting and trying new recipes. I've been wanting to get in on the fun of writing about food and have finally set up my own food blog! I have called it Vegetarian Country Gourmet because, of course, all of the food will be vegetarian. The "Country Gourmet" comes from growing up a farmer's daughter, (see my story at: http://www.stillafarmersdaughter.blogspot.com/ ), combined with my love of food made with a touch of the gourmet.

I look forward to sharing my love of vegetarian food and some of the great recipes I have tried in the past and will try in the future.