Mushroom Barley Pilaf

Shawn really likes mushrooms, which I think is weird, but anyway I try to find ways to cook with them.  This recipe makes a nice flavorful side dish.  

recipe courtesy of Allrecipes.com

• 1/4 cup butter
• 3 cloves garlic, pressed
• 1 small onion, minced
• 2 cups sliced mushrooms
• 1/2 cup dry sherry
• 2 (13.75 ounce) cans chicken broth
• 1 cup pearl barley
• 2 teaspoons dried basil, or to taste
• salt and pepper to taste
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2. Melt butter in an oven safe large pot or Dutch oven over medium heat. Stir in garlic and onion, and cook, stirring occasionally until the onion has softened and turned translucent, about 5 minutes. Stir in the mushrooms, and cook until the mushrooms have softened and released their liquid, about 5 minutes more. Stir in the sherry, and simmer for 1 minute. Add the chicken broth, barley, and basil; bring to a boil over high heat. Season to taste with salt and pepper, and boil for 5 minutes.
3. Cover the Dutch oven, and place into the preheated oven. Bake until the barley is tender, 45 minutes to 1 hour. Stir in chopped parsley before serving.

ENJOY!

Pita's and Hummus

My sister lives in Israel (Hi Sister!) and this recipe is in honor of her.  I was a little nervous about homemade pita's, but they are delicious and really so easy.  And, hummus is just as simple.  My sister tells me that they use hummus in place of mayo on sandwhiches and I think I just might have to try that, I am sure it adds lots of flavor.

Let's start with the Hummus.  The recipe is so simple, but it does call for one ingredient that you probably don't have in your kitchen and that is Tahini.  Tahini is basically a sesame seed butter.  It is really good and adds tons of flavor, but if you don't want to buy it you can use regular peanut butter, or some sesame oil for the flavor.

1 can garbanzo beans (I reserved a little of the liquid and added later to adjust the thickness)
1-2 cloves of garlic, chopped
4 T. lemon juice (or 1 fresh lemon squeezed)
2 T. Tahini
1 tsp. salt

I just made my hummus really basic, but you can also add 1/3 cup chopped parsley (but I don't really like parsley so I left if out).  You can also blend in an avocado if you like those.  Put all the ingredients in the blender and puree until desired consistency.  To serve drizzle with olive oil on top and enjoy.

My favorite way to eat Hummus is with Pita chips.  NOT the store bought ones, those are gross.  You can use store bought pitas covered with olive oil, garlic pwd, salt, basil, oregano, and anything else you want.  Then toast them in the oven (around 425) for 8 minutes until crispy, but here is my recipe for homemade pita's.

1 T. yeast
1 1/8 cup warm water
1 T. oil
3 cups flour (you can use wheat flour also)
1 tsp. salt
pinch of sugar

Disolve yeast in water.  Stir in the flour and salt.  Stir into a ball and knead until smooth.  Divide into 6 balls and roll out in circle about 1/4 thick.  Cover with towel and let rise 45 minutes.  Flip pita's upside down onto baking sheet and bake at 500 for about 8 minutes or until browned and puffed.  They bread comes out hard, but will soften and flatten as they cool.
Enjoy!!