I love one-pot meals. This is a nutritiously sound meal that will hopefully keep your meat-loving husband, your carb-conscious mother-in-law, and veggie-hungry aunt all happy.
And that there is a very steep order.
The Ingredients.
serves 4-6 depending on the size of the people
1 cup lentils
2 cups beef broth
1 (12-ounce) package smoked chicken or turkey sausage, sliced--your choice of flavor. I used a spicy mango chicken from Aidell's.
1 cup chopped carrots
1 (14.5-ounce) can diced tomatoes
9 ounces (or so) fresh spinach (to add at the very end)
The Directions.
Use a 6-quart slow cooker. Rinse your lentils under cold water, and place them into an empty slow cooker. Add beef broth, and sliced sausage. Add the entire can of tomatoes and a cup of chopped carrots. The broth and the seasoning from the sausage is enough to flavor this dish-- there is no need for additional spices.
Cover and cook on low for 5 hours, then stir in fresh spinach. It'll look like a lot at first, but the spinach will wilt and I promise it will all fit. Cover again and let the spinach soften for about 15 minutes. Serve in a shallow bowl with cornbread.
unless you don't like cornbread. then you really shouldn't eat it.
The Verdict.
We all ate it! I usually pick a sausage that has a bit of heat instead of the sicky-sweet sausages (think chicken apple) when I make casseroles or stews because the spice dissipates enough to not upset the kid tongues, but there is still a great amount of flavor. I am now such a fan of lentils--- they're cheap, filling, fat free, and full of fiber.
I've partnered up with DinnerTool.com, and wanted to share their new recipe and grocery list maker with you. It's completely free, and uber-easy to use. Which is good, because yesterday I spent 45 minutes at Lucky's only to walk out without the one thing I walked in for: bananas. grr.
All Hail the Lentil!
16-bean soup (I'm pretty sure there's a lentil in there somewhere)