Strikes my fancy

  Picture (and recipe) from Real Simple Ingredients 1 pound sweet Italian sausage links, casings removed and broken into pieces 1 large onion, chopped 1 28-ounce can diced tomatoes 2 tablespoons tomato paste 2 cloves garlic, chopped kosher salt and black pepper 2 large russet potatoes (about 1 pound) 1 small bunch kale, stems discarded and leaves torn (about 7 cups) 1/2 cup milk 1/2 cup olive oil, plus more for serving   Directions Combine the sausage, onion, tomatoes and their juices, tomato paste, garlic, 1 cup water, and ¾ teaspoon each salt and pepper in a 4- to 6-quart slow cooker. Nestle the potatoes in the liquid and top with the kale. Cover and cook until the potatoes are tender, on low for 7 to 8 hours or on high for 4 to 5 hours (this will shorten to...

  Picture (and recipe) from Cooking Light Ingredients: 1 (3.5-ounce) bag boil-in-bag basmati or brown rice 1 tablespoon canola oil   1 large onion, diced   1 1/2 teaspoons garam masala 2 (15-ounce) cans chickpeas, rinsed and drained 1 (15-ounce) can unsalted crushed tomatoes   1 (6-ounce) package fresh baby spinach   1/2 cup plain 2% Greek yogurt   1/2 teaspoon salt   1. Cook rice according to package directions; drain. 2. While rice cooks, heat a Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add oil to pan; swirl to coat. Add onion; sa...

So recently our church merged with another church - one that used to be a church of 2,500 people in Southeast Atlanta...the church is over 120 years old!  I had no idea there were so many rooms in the building...and there was stuff in all of them (desks, pianos, pulpits, extra pews and chairs are the most popular...I have NEVER seen that many pulpits in one place!).  I happened to come in one evening when they were cleaning out rooms....and I turned into my mother :-)  I left with 6 pieces to restore/redo and 5 are done and sold (less than a work week later!)  Here are the few I did first.  

2 cups lentils, rinsed 1 onion, finely diced 4 cloves garlic, chopped 1 (7oz) can fire roasted whole chiles 1 (14.5oz) can diced tomatoes 3 cups chopped kale 1/2 tsp kosher salt 1 tsp ground ginger 1 Tbl cumin 3 cups chicken or vegetable broth Use a 6-quart slow cooker.  Rinse lentils until the water runs clear, and then put the wet lentils into your slow cooker.  Add diced onion and the chopped garlic.  Add the entire cans of fire roasted chiles and diced tomatoes.  Add the kale, dried spices and stir in the broth.  Cover and cook on low for 5-6 hours or until the lentils are bite tender and the onion is translucent. YUM!  This will be back in the winter for sure!

Sometimes makeovers are as simple as taking one piece off a mirror....