Lentil Stew

Please know that this was thrown together, and I might not remember exactly how it was done.

2 cups lentils
4 cups water
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 teaspoon Adobo with cumin
2 teaspoons Better than Bouillion (vegetarian)
1/2 teaspoon thyme
1 bay leaf
1 large carrot, chopped into small pieces
1 parsnip, quartered and slivered
1/2 onion, minced--OR 2 shallots minced
2 ribs celery*, chopped
1/2 cup chopped collared greens (I used frozen; I keep it on hand for my turtle's salads, haha)
1/2 stick butter (real stuff, if you can eat it)
Sea salt to taste
freshly ground pepper to taste (the more, the better, imo!)

Throw it all in a small crock pot. Cook on low for 5-6 hours. You can kick start it a bit if you cook it on high for an hour or two in the beginning, then turn it down for another couple hours. If it's too rich, stir in some freshly cooked rice.

* Don't toss the leaves out--chop them up and throw those in the pot too!

Yummy squash stew

My guests really liked this. I did too! I recommend some kind of bread or biscuit to go with this.

You'll need:
To start:
1 spaghetti or butternut squash, peeled*, scooped out, and chopped into chunks
2 parsnips chopped into chunks
2 large carrots chopped into chunks OR a couple handfuls of baby carrots (use what you've got)
1 28 ounce can diced tomatoes, drained
1 15.5 ounce can chick peas, drained and rinsed (or use dried ones you've cooked, whatever)
1 chopped yellow onion
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon sweet paprika
1/4 teaspoon turmeric
2 teaspoons fresh or jar ginger
2 teaspoons garlic (or 2 cloves)
freshly ground pepper (as much as you like)
1 or more teaspoons sea salt (as much as you like--taste and adjust before serving!)
2 cups vegetable stock (I use "Better than Bouillion" to make mine)
2 tablespoons lemon juice

Put all of the above into a crock pot. Let it cook for about 5 or 6 hours.

About half an hour before serving, put in the following:
1/2 cup green beans (frozen or fresh)
1/2 cup peas (frozen, NOT canned)
1/2 cup chopped dried apricots and golden raisins (proportions up to you)

Stir it up before serving; there's a LOT of stuff in this to mix together. If you use spaghetti squash, it will disintegrate slightly. That's normal and okay.

If you don't have a HUGE crock pot, by the way, you may want to halve this recipe!

* I've found a regular vegetable peeler works well for these two squashes. It's harder to use it on an acorn squash because of the ridges, but smooth-skinned squashes are no trouble