Lentil casserole, felted pot holder and pumpkin buns

Last night we had this lentil casserole. It is a favourite with all of us.I saute onions (and celery if we have it) in a cast iron pan and then add 1 cup of washed lentils and 4 cups of broth. I simmer until the lentils are soft (this takes 35-40 minutes). Then I add about 2 cups of my stewed tomatoes (or a jar of my tomato sauce), a spoonful of tomato paste, chili powder, cumin, garlic, salt, pepper, herbamare (and any other spices you like). I cook this for 5 more minutes and then put grated cheese on top and pop it in the oven for 10-15 minutes. We serve it with crunched nacho chips on top (and avocado, sour cream and Frank's red hot sauce if you like). This also can make a delicious taco filling if you have any leftovers.

We use our cast iron pans for almost everything we cook and so we realized that handle holders would be a good thing. I made some up before Christmas and now we can't imagine how we got on without them. I decided to make a special one for my dad; he loves hot rods. ;-) I had fun needle felting a flame "paint job" onto this one.

On the other side I needle-felted this warning. :-)

I was getting rid of some of my cookbooks when I came across an old bread-making one. Flipping through it I saw a photo of clover leaf rolls and it brought back memories. My mom used to always make clover leaf rolls and I loved them. I loved pulling them apart into their three equal bits and putting a dot of butter on each third before eating. I decided that I needed to make some. I made ours with pumpkin and they were delicious.

But, they must be eaten this way - pulled apart in thirds. My poor husband was going to just slice his in half and put butter on. Lucky for him I was there to guide him. ;-)