Quinoa & Red Lentil 'Porridge' with Veggies

Thoughts and Inspiration

This is another one pot meal.  As always, I wanted to make something that my husband and I could take to lunch that wouldn't require too much effort.  It is a meal in itself and you can definitely have this for dinner as well!

I use canned tomatoes in the recipe, along with some frozen veggies to save time.  This dish has got a punch of protein from the lentils, edamame and quinoa.

Red lentils cook differently (in my opinion) than green lentils.  They are definitely softer in texture and sort of melt away into the dish.  So don't expect to be biting into the lentils here, rather the quinoa and lentils combine into a porridge-like consistency.

Ingredients
1 Tbsp olive oil
1/4 red onion, diced 
1/2 cup mushrooms, sliced and diced
2 garlic cloves, chopped
*1/2 cup Trader Joes frozen Soycutash
3/4 cup Trader Joes frozen mixed bell peppers (or you can use fresh)
14.5 oz can fire roasted tomatoes (I used Hunt's)
2 cups vegetable broth
2 cups water
**3/4 cup red lentils
**1/2 cup quinoa
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp McCormick Grill Mates Roasted Garlic & Herb Seasoning
1 tsp crushed red pepper
2 tsp dry parsley
Salt and pepper to taste

In a soup pot saute onions, mushrooms and garlic in olive oil on medium heat for about 5-6 minutes.  Next, add in all frozen vegetables and saute for an additional 3-4 minutes.  Stir in tomatoes, broth, water, lentils and quinoa.  Bring this all to a simmer - once it has reached a simmer place a lid on pot and continue to simmer (not boil) for about 15 minutes.  Add in all spices mixing gently and simmer (uncovered) for 5 more minutes (try a spoonful to make sure lentils and quinoa have cooked through - if not, simmer an additional few minutes).  When serving garnish with parsley and a little crushed red pepper... and maybe even a few shavings of Parmesan!
 

*Note: You can easily substitute with 1/4 cup frozen corn + 1/4 cup frozen shelled edamame

**Red lentils and quinoa generally have similar cooking times anywhere between 12-16 minutes.

Stuffed Green Pepper

Cored bell peppers

Thoughts & Inspiration

This was a dinner I put together with a whole bunch of odds and ends I had that needed to be used up! Be creative and use leftovers to make this your own!

Cook Time: 45 minutes     Makes 4

Ingredients

4 green (or any color) bell peppers, top cut off and seeds/stem cored from inside pepper
1 tsp olive oil

2 cloves of garlic minced

1/3 cup frozen corn

1/3 cup black beans
1/3 cup diced tomatoes (fresh or canned, I used canned)

1/3 cup cooked farro
1/3 cup cooked brown rice
1/2 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp oregano
1/2 tsp Mexican chili powder

Salt to taste

1/3 cup shredded cheddar cheese

A few sprigs of scallions chopped

Place a large pot of water to boil.  Gently place bell pepper into boiling water (so that water fills the green pepper).  Allow green pepper to cook for 2 minutes and then immediately remove from water and allow to cool on towel.

In a pan, heat olive oil and add corn, black beans and garlic.  Cook for 3-4 minutes on medium flame.  Next, add tomatoes and cook for an additional 2 minutes.  Add farro and brown rice along with all of the seasoning.  Mix and cook for 3 more minutes.  Remove from heat.

Preheat oven to 350F.  

Spoon mixture into bell peppers to fill.  Place stuffed bell peppers onto an oven safe casserole dish and add 1/2-2/3 cup of water onto the bottom of the baking dish.  Bake for 7 minutes.  Next, add a little bit (or a lot!) of cheddar and scallions on top of peppers and place back into oven for an additional 5 minutes (or until the cheese has melted).  Serve immediately while still warm.

Optional: You can add a dollop of sour cream on top!