Lentils!

Max's mom is big into lentils, and she had me make a few different lentil dishes for them this week while Max was napping. Some were okay, one I really liked and ended up taking a picture of the recipe so I can make it for myself one day. But I must say, I do have quite a delicious lentil recipe courtesy of my grandmother (shout out to my mom for teaching me how to make it!). The great things about this recipe are that 1) it's super easy to make, 2) it's quite forgiving if you don't have an ingredient or want to substitute stuff, and 3) you end up making a huge pot of them, so you can feed an army or freeze it in convenient portions for later. And it's pretty much a one-pot meal, so easy cleanup too! Win all around!

Here's the picture (forgive my presentation, I know it's not quite Iron Chef- quality):

And here's the recipe in case you want to try it:

1 medium onion, chopped

2 small cans of tomato sauce

a few slices of chopped bacon (optional)

1 chopped chorizo

2 carrots, peeled and grated

½ cup rice

1 bag of lentils

Salt

Pepper

Paprika

1. Fry the bacon and chorizo together. Remove. Then add onion and carrots and brown until carrots are softened.
2. In a large pot, add lentils and enough water to cover lentils plus ½ inch. Cook on medium high heat. Make sure lentils are always covered with water. If necessary, add boiling water as needed.
3. Return the meat and add sauce to onions and carrots. Add salt, pepper, and paprika.
4. After the lentils cooked (15 minutes), add meat mixture to lentils. Add the rice and cook for 20 minutes. Add more boiling water (1 cup) to make sure that rice is completely covered. Simmer on low for 10 minutes covered, and then uncover and simmer for another 10 minutes, making sure the rice is always covered.
5. If there’s still too much liquid, take it off the heat and let it sit for a few minutes while cooling. Make sure you stir the concoction so that it doesn’t stick on the bottom.

I actually didn't have any meat at all in the house when I made it, and it came out just as delicious as a vegetarian option (although if you can get some good chorizo, I highly recommend it in this dish). I was also out of paprika so I substituted oregano and a little red pepper flakes because that's pretty much all I have in this house, and I put in 3 carrots and most of a huge can of crushed tomatoes (instead of the 2 small cans of sauce) to use up what I had lying around. Delish. See? I told you it was a forgiving recipe.