What's cooking?

Spicy lentil stew.  I got the recipe from a weight-watcher's cookbook several years ago, and it became a cool weather staple in our house whether we were dieting or not.  I made a double batch this time so I would have some for the freezer.  
It's really just a vegetarian chili; you can add anything you'd put in your chili (except meat, because then it wouldn't be low-fat and vegetarian).  Want beans?  Add them.  I had a lot of peppers I brought in before the frost.  Since I put diced sweet peppers in my regular chili, I knew they'd work just fine in this dish.  I have been known to chop a carrot and add that... not enough so that you taste the carrot, but it's a way to use that last carrot or two that's going to rot or shrivel up if you don't do something with it.   

SPICY LENTIL STEW

2 teaspoons margarine

1 cup diced onions, garlic if desired

1 ½ pounds (4 cups) drained cooked lentils (reserve 2 cups cooking liquid)

2 cups drained canned tomatoes, chopped

1 cup tomato juice (I use tomato sauce)

1 tablespoon chili powder, or to taste

1 teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon ground cumin

cayenne pepper, as much as you like

1 bay leaf

In 2-quart saucepan, heat margarine until bubbly and hot; add onions and saute, stirring occasionally, until tender. Add remaining ingredients and stir to combine; bring mixture to boil. Reduce heat and let simmer, stirring occasionally, until mixture thickens and flavors blend, 45 minutes to 1 hour.

Remove and discard bay leaf before serving.  By the way, I don't weigh the cooked lentils like this recipe says to do.  I cook a pound of lentils (one bag) according to directions on the package, double all other ingredients, and that works out fine.  Or cook a half-pound of lentils and use this recipe as it is.  If you read the bag you already know this, but you do not soak lentils.

The weight-watcher book suggested serving this over rice, and we do that sometimes.  Other times we eat it with crackers like you would any kind of chili.  

And now, I have to go make some brownies for Cliff to take to work; they're having a dinner to benefit Harvesters, and everybody is taking a dessert.  I was going to make an apple pie, but I decided brownies would be easier to transport.  

I love this brownie recipe; I cut it from a magazine and taped it onto a card long ago; the card is stained from spills and spatters, but as long as I can still read it, I'm happy.  

The butter I'm using was churned by me from cream contributed by Bonnie-the-Jersey-cow.


Maybe while I'm at it I'll bake some low-fat brownies for Cliff.