DIRT is ready! Oh, woops, I mean dinner is ready!

Mujaddara

Mine didn't look nearly as appetizing as this. And yes, I realize that you're all probably thinking, "You thought this looked appetizing?!"

Last week, I bought a huge bucket of lentils. Why lentils, you ask? Not sure really. I saw them at the store (and noticed that they were really high in protein) and went home to research what one actually does with lentils. I found what I thought looked like a tasty Indian meal called Mujaddara. I always tend to think of food storage in "Well, if we're starving we could eat this every day and survive" terms (Reminder: La Choy products are an exception). It definitely could have just been my lack of cooking skills--but it didn't come out that well. I actually kind of liked it, but Andrew quickly concluded that it tasted "like dirt." I wasn't offended because I could definitely see his point. It was all brown--brown rice, brown lentils, brown onions. I tried adding some soy sauce, but that just made it browner. Plus, I don't think I cooked it with nearly enough water--so it was very dry. Still, I ate it for a few days (I made WAY too much. How the heck was I supposed to know how much two cups of lentils makes? I had no idea.).

Anyway, tonight I tried a recipe that my sister gave me--Lentil Stew. Mmm, mm!! Andrew was freaking out that it was the best thing he'd ever had. It was dang good--shocking, I know. But I still have 43 lbs. of lentils...and Mujaddara is really easy and cheap to make...so dirt will have to be in our weekly rotation, I think. Does anyone have any recipes that include lentils? Please--let me know. :)

UPDATE: Here is the lentil stew recipe--

1 cup dried lentils (just rinse)

1 cup chopped onion

2 cloves garlic minced (or use equivalent amt of garlic powder or granules)

1 Tbsp. Cooking oil

1 7 1/2 ounce can tomatoes, cut up

1 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce

4 cups beef bouillon

1/4 tsp oregano

1/4 tsp pepper

1 or 2 potatoes cubed

1 (big or 2 small) yam or sweet potato cubed (boil slightly to remove skins easily)

1/2 lb fully cooked smoked sausage, slice

1 Tbsp. sugar

Rinse lentils, in big pot cook onions, garlic in hot oil till tender, not brown. Stir in lentils, beef broth, undrained tomatoes, Worcestershire sauce, oregano, pepper, potatoes, yams, bring to boil, reduce heat and cover and simmer till veggies are tender. Stir in sliced sausages. Add 2 Tbsp. of sugar.

**Now, when I made it I had three slight changes. I had mild Italian sausage (which was pretty spicy) instead of smoked, and I used canned yams (sweet potatoes) instead of the real thing. I just drained off all the syrup and put it in when I put in the sausage. And I used Italian Seasonings instead of oregano (since I didn't have any). I also doubled the recipe (and froze a bunch) since I didn't have tomatoes in a 7.5 ounce can. Really tasty, though.