I make lots of confessions on my blog it seems, so here's another one. I had never heard of lentils until I was "mature" adult, much less tasted or even cooked any. I can't remember exactly how I ever came to know about them, but now they are as much a staple in our home as beans.
Lentil facts:
- Lentils are in the legume family.
- High in fiber
- Protein-rich
- High in iron- among all the vegetarian sources of iron
- Do not require soaking before cooking.
- Quick cook time compared to beans.
- Very versatile
Lentils come in 1 lb. packages. Rinse the lentils through a colander under cold water. Place lentils in a large cooking pot and add 6-8 cups of water with bouillon added for flavor or homemade chicken/beef stock. Cook until the lentils are tender...usually about 45 minutes.
A couple of weeks ago, I cooked a package of lentils and used that pot for 3 different meals.
Here's what we did:
Lentil and Ground Turkey Tacos:
1/2 lb. of browned ground turkey
2 cups of cooked lentils
Taco seasoning- I used this homemade recipe
Prepare like regular taco filling...serve with your favorite taco shells and toppings.
These are my all-time favorite veggie burger! I just used the cooked lentils I had made and skipped that step of the recipe. I also, substituted spinach and fresh minced garlic for the onions.
Lentil Sloppy Joes
1/2 lb. of browned ground turkey
2 cups cooked lentils
1 can of sloppy joe sauce
Buns
Combine ingredients and serve on buns! Easy as that!
Some more favorite ways to serve lentils:
Lentil Stew with Dumplings
Lentil Stew with Capers--Olive Garden soup
Check out my Recipes board on pinterest for some other lentil recipes!
