herbed lentils and rice

I am brimming with new recipes I want try after having some really good food in the past couple of weeks with different friends and relatives. This is one, though, that I stumbled on myself after searching around for a different lentil recipe. It meets all my criteria for an ideal recipe: healthy, easy, inexpensive. [Side note: lentils are not just a typical old bean, nutritionally speaking...read this!]

Here's the recipe (I left out the cheese and added a ton of vegetables):
2 2/3 cups reduced-sodium chicken broth or vegetable broth
3/4 cup dry lentils
3/4 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup uncooked brown rice
1/4 cup dry white wine, or chicken broth
1/2 teaspoon dried basil
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
1/8 teaspoon garlic powder
1/8 teaspoon pepper
1 cup shredded reduced-fat Swiss cheese, divided

In a bowl, combine the first 11 ingredients; stir in 1/2 cup cheese. Transfer to a 1-1/2-qt. baking dish coated with nonstick cooking spray. Cover and bake at 350 degrees F for 1-1/2 to 2 hours or until lentils and rice are tender and liquid is absorbed, stirring twice. Uncover; sprinkle with remaining cheese. Bake 2-3 minutes longer or until cheese is melted.

roswell weekend

We finally made it up to see our long-lost family (more than a few months is "long-lost" to me!) up in Atlanta last weekend. It was well worth the 6 hours of whining (each way) in the car to see them! This is Ryan, my favorite nephew!

I haven't worked on a puzzle in a looong time, and as soon as I sat down and looked at it I was completely sucked in. I could hardly tear myself away from it until it was finished. Poor Katie had to sit in the bumbo and watch.

Meg was in her own little dress-up paradise with her cousins Chloe and Leah (yes, she has two pairs of earrings on!).

king corn

Last night we saw the documentary King Corn. It is incredibly thought-provoking and interesting. I'll be the first to admit I don't understand anything about agriculture, where my food comes from or how it gets to my grocery store. [On road trips, Mark and I play "Guess What's Growing in That Field?" but we never know what the right answer is.] Anyway, it's amazing to realize that our food gets tampered with, from subsidizing the farmers to artificially stuffing cows with corn to genetically modifying plants.

two

Happy birthday, sweet Meg! The only way to pry your eyes off that cake was to light the candles on top. Now we have to convince you that every day is not your birthday.

the beach

st. george

We are back from the beach! Over 20 of us got together for a week at St. George Island to help my grandfather celebrate his 90th birthday. It was perfect, exhausting (my first "vacation" with 2 kids), and I'm sad it's over.