It's Delicious!

A delicious onion, lentil and rice dish.

Serves 4

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 medium onion, diced
1 cup lentil
1/2 cup basmati rice

1.    In a large (12-inch) sauté pan or skillet or a Dutch oven, warm the olive oil over medium heat. Add the onions and cook, stirring occasionally, until they are deeply caramelized, a rich shade of amber. If they’re burnt and blackened in spots, even better. This is a fairly slow process. Depending on your pan and your stove, this could take between 30 minutes and 1 hour in total. On my stove, it takes about 50 minutes.

2.    While the onions are cooking, place the lentils in a medium saucepan, add water to cover by an inch, and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce to a simmer and cook, undisturbed, for 20 minutes. Drain the lentils, and set them aside.

3.    When the onions are ready, stir in the rice. Then add the cooked lentils, along with 2 cups of water and the salt. Stir to mix well, and bring the pan to a boil. Reduce the heat to keep the pan at a slow simmer, cover, and cook. Depending on the size and shape of your pan, this last stage – cooking the onions, rice, and lentils together – could take from 20 to 40 minutes. Basically, the dish is done when the rice is done. I use a 5-quart sauté pan, which is wide and flat, so the rice cooks pretty quickly, in about 25 minutes. I used to use a Dutch oven, however, which was narrower, and the rice took 30-40 minutes to cook.

4.    After about 20 minutes, remove the lid, and give the pot a gentle stir. If there is still some liquid visible, replace the lid and keep cooking until it is fully absorbed. On the other hand, if there is no obvious liquid, take a taste. If the rice is tender, the mujadara is ready. If the rice is not yet ready, add another splash of water, replace the lid, and cook until the liquid is absorbed and the rice is cooked. The mujadara is ready to eat when the rice is tender and there is no liquid left in the pan.

5.    Serve with a nice salad on the side.

I swear this is better than anything you will ever order in a restaurant.  I am asked to bring this everywhere I go.  You are going to love this!

4 cloves garlic, roasted

10 ounces frozen spinach, thawed and drained

14 ounces canned artichoke hearts, drained and chopped

10 ounces jarred alfredo sauce

1 cup mozzarella cheese, grated

1/3 cup parmesan cheese, grated

8 ounces cream cheese, softened

Preheat oven to 350.

Mix everything together and place in an 8×8 baking dish.

Cover and bake for 20-30 minutes or until cheeses are melted and bubbly.

Serve warm with tortilla chips, fresh crusty bread, or crunch veggies.

Cheesey Roasted Eggplant & Pasta Bake

2 whole eggplant, diced
1 pound cherry tomato
1 large onion, diced
6 cloves garlic, minced
1 serving Pam
1 pound pasta
1 jar pasta sauce
3 ounces chevre cheese
1 ounce parmesan cheese, grated
3 tablespoons bread crumbs

1.    Heat oven to 425.  Toss eggplant, cherry tomatoes, onion and garlic in some pam and roast in oven roughly 40 minutes or until eggplant is tender and tomatoes are popping open.

2.    Cook pasta until just shy of al dente

3.    Toss drained pasta, roasted veggies, jar of pasta sauce and chevre together until completely mixed.

4.    Place pasta mixture into a greased large casserole dish, top with bread crumbs and grated parmesan and place in a 350 oven for about 30 minutes.

This week I was tearing through the internet to try and figure out what to do with all these pears I bought from Costco (that I honestly thought would be eaten by people here).  I found several recipes that paired (pun lol) them with some creamy dulce de leche sauces that sounded amazing.  Then when I stumbled upon this pie recipe I knew this was the one to go for.

It was delicious.  It was so rich and decadent that you only need a small slice.  I paired it up with my first SoCo Egg Nog of the season and was in dessert heaven!

Asian Lettuce Wraps

Serves 6

Ingredients:

2 heads butter lettuce
1 pound lean ground beef
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1 large onion, minced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon low sodium soy sauce
1/4 cup hoisin sauce
2 teaspoons pickled ginger, minced
1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar
1 teaspoon asian chile pepper sauce, optional
8 ounces canned waterchestnut, drained and finely chopped
1 bunch green onions, chopped
2 teaspoons sesame oil

Directions:

1.    Rinse whole lettuce leaves and pat dry, being careful not tear them. Set aside.

2.    In a medium skillet over high heat, brown the ground beef in 1 tablespoon of oil, stirring often and reducing the heat to medium, if necessary. Drain, and set aside to cool. Cook the onion in the same pan, stirring frequently. Add the garlic, soy sauce, hoisin sauce, ginger, vinegar, and chile pepper sauce to the onions, and stir. Stir in chopped water chestnuts, green onions, and sesame oil, and continue cooking until the onions just begin to wilt, about 2 minutes.

3.    Arrange lettuce leaves around the outer edge of a large serving platter, and pile meat mixture in the center. To serve, allow each person to spoon a portion of the meat into a lettuce leaf. Wrap the lettuce around the meat like a burrito, and enjoy!

Nutritional Info:

Calories 294, fat 20g, sodium 331mg, carbs 13g, fiber 2g, protein 15g