Easy Recipes

Hello!  On this page for Lake Avery Estates, you'll find some lovely recipes that you can pair with either your favorite red or white wines.  We are so often in a hurry to be or get somewhere that we have little time to actually prepare a meal or throw something together that doesn't involve a lot of preparation.  So, we searched for a few great (and quick) recipes to help you get ready for a special party or prepare to go to one!

Bon Appétit!

If you haven't cooked with pulses before then this is going to be a real treat for you!  Pulses are also known, or referred to, as 'legumes.'  Pulse is the term for the edible seeds of legumes (plants with a pod), which includes:  Dry Peas-Dry Beans-Lentils-Chick Peas.  Pulses do not include fresh green beans or peas.  Those products are related to pulses because they are also edible seeds of podded plants.  Soy beans and peanuts also differ from pulses because they have a (much) higher fat content, and pulses contain (virtually) no fat.

10 ways we eat pulses:

1. Include 1/3 C cooked black, white or cranberry beans with an omelette to add protein & fibre.
2. Add 1 C whole or pureed chickpeas to your spaghetti sauce instead of ground beef.
3. Add 1/2 C lentils to quesadillas along with other fillings you like.
4. Mix 1/2 C  black beans into 1 C of a favorite salsa (honestly, unless you just have gobs of time to hand prepare salsa, our favorite salsa is on the shelf at the grocery store-next to potato chips)!
5. Drain and Puree 1 C canned lentils with your favorite herb and use as a sandwich topping or spread or dip.
6. Add 1/2 C cooked pulses to soup.  Broth-style will work the best.
7. Add a handful of black beans to your usual favorite pizza topping – again, a great meat substitute!
8. Use a lentil puree to replace butter or oil when cooking to lower fat!
9. Include 1 C chickpeas to ANY salad!
10. Serve hummus with carrots, celery and other vegetables – yummy!

These are some of my favorite recipes – Easy to Prepare, Delicious to Eat!

Greek Lentil Salad

Serves 10, but you'll want to make more so that you don't experience, 'bowl huggers' at the dinner table – Trust me, we only got this size serving to last through four people at the dinner table!

1-19 oz. can Lentils – Rinse and drain
1/2 C Calmata Olives (yummy – get extra for the salad AND the drive home)
1/2 C Onion-Chopped
1 1/2 C Grape Tomatoes, cut in halves
1/2 C Green Peppers, chopped
1 C Cucumber, diced (I left it out the first time, but liked it better with cucumber)
1/4 C fet cheese (It's OK if you add just a little extra), crumbled
1/4 C fresh parsley, chopped
1/4 C Olive Oil – lite oil is better
1/4 C Lemon juice
1 T dried Oregano

1. In a large bowl mix up your lentils, olives, onions, tomatoes, green peppers, cucumber, feta cheese, & Parsley.
2. Whisk your oil, lemon juice, & Oregano together
3. Add your parsley to the salad and toss with the whisked dressing to coat it.
4. Eat now OR save in fridge to marinate 2 hours before served.  You can make this one day in advance.

Tip – Going extra on the ingredients is fine as long as you keep it in proportion to the other ingredients – I learned to cook from a woman who thought that everything was measured by a,  'pinch and a shake,' and my husband tells me to taste last and then finish by seasoning to taste!  He should know, he owned and operated a restaurant in a foreign country for over two years.  What a chef, that man is!  I am a lousy cook, but these dishes make me look like a hero!

Black Bean and Corn Salad

Serves 10 – Again, I would caution you that this will not make it to the 10th person – Yes, it is that good!

1 – 19 oz. can Black Beans – rinsed & drained
2 C Frozen Corn Niblets, thawed (I actually heated mine on stove – much better!)
1/4 C Fresh Cilantro, chopped
1/4 C Lime juice
2 Medium Tomatoes, chopped
1/2 C Onion, chopped (more is better – about 3/4 C-If you like onions and we do!)
1 t Ground Cumin – I just love the way this smells fresh out of the bag!
1/2 t Each of salt & pepper

• Mix it all up and have a bowl (or two!)

Chickpea-Pasta Salad

Serves 13 – Oh no it doesn't, it's too good, so think more like serves 8 (or 6)!

4 C Cooked, corkscrew pasta – Drained and Cooled
1 – 19 oz. Can chickpeas, rinsed and drained
1 1/2 C Celery, chopped
1 1/2 C Carrot, shredded coarsely
1 1/2 C Sweet, red pepper, chopped
4 Green onions finely chopped (more, I say, but  . . . careful!)
1/4 C feta cheese, crumbled (more!)
1/3 C Light Greek Salad dressing – we made our own but there are some great choices off the shelf at the stores!  Plan ahead a bit if you need to pick up a specialty item and have to go to a specialty food store!

1. In a large bowl, combine your pasta, chickpeas, celery, carrots, red pepper, onion, & feta – toss 'lightly' to mix well.
2. Add the dressing to the pasta mix and toss to coat well.
3. OR – Keep in a fridge overnight and toss your salad with the dressing before serving it.

Although these are recipes that you do not add wine to, these three pulses recipes are not cooked with wine – they are complimented with wine.  When you are cooking with wine it is a better idea to use a nice wine in the mid-price ranges.  Personally, we use Cabernet, Chardonnay and  (my personal favorite) Pinot Grigio choices to cook with.  You may rationalize that if wine is used in cooking it will evaporate, so why spend the money on a more expensive choice.  The answer is simple.  You do lose the alcohol (alcohol evaporates in cooking), but you are left with the 'essence' of the wine flavor in your food, so you'll want to choose a wine that you enjoy so that you aren't left skimping on food flavor.  The typical standard in cooking with wine remains this:  dryer, less aromatic wines are better for cooking.  If you do cook with wine in your recipe you may prefer to use  the same or a similar wine to accompany what you used in your recipe, that way you won't have to worry about whether or not the meal you are cooking and the wine flavors served will blend together well.  By keeping your wine choices simple you will eliminate (no fun) surprises at the dinner table!

Tip: If you enjoy salmon, you might be interested in using a cedar plank soaked in wine to cook salmon on.  It gives the Salmon an interesting, flavorful, delicious unexpected taste that most people enjoy.  You'll be hounded for your 'recipe!'

We just tried this casserole last night and it was so yummy delicious – and easy – that we have to share it with you here!  My husband kept repeating, "mmmmm . . .mmmmmmmm this is good," in different variations the entire time he was eating, so the smile on my face was huge (as you can imagine!).

Chicken Casserole (Cassoulet) – Easily serves 4

• 1 C dry navy Beans
• 8-bone in chicken thighs (get the larger package to save money and use the extra pieces to make better tasting leftovers (if you have any!)
• 1-10 oz Can Tomato Juice
• 1-28 oz Can tomatoes-halved (get whole and cut them yourself)
• 1 T Worcestershire Sauce (I still can't say that word!)
• 1 t Beef or chicken bouillon granules
• 1/2 t Dried Basil
• 1/2 t Dried Oregano
• 1/2 t Paprika
• 1/2 C Carrot-Chopped
• 1/2 C Celery-Chopped
• 1/2 C Onion-Chopped
• * – 1 Medium Polish sausage is optional-Cooked

1)  Boil soaked navy beans for 10-12 minutes, Drain and set aside

2) Set skinned chicken pieces aside.  If you use the sausage option then halve it lengthwise and cut into bite size pieces.

3) In a medium bowl, mix beans, tomato juice, tomatoes, Worcestershire sauce, bouillon, basil, oregano and paprika

4) In a slow cooker, mix carrots, celery and onion.  Place chicken and sausage over those vegetables.  Pour the bean mix over your chicken and sausage.

5) Cover and cook on low setting for 10-12 hours, or high setting 6-8 hours.

Season to taste – we found a dash of salt and pepper to taste suited our taste buds better with this one.

Paired with a nice, aromatic loaf of garlic seasoned bread, light salad, fruit for dessert and your favorite white and we believe you will enjoy this as much as we did!