There is nothing I like better than getting several meals/snacks out of one bout of cooking which is the premise behind batch cooking.  The problem is that I rarely get it together enough to batch cook for the whole week.  I’m trying to give myself some grace as far as that is concerned but every now and then I stumble across a recipe that I use several ways with very little effort.  For me that is like hitting the lottery because I only have to cook once and I have lots of weekday meals and snacks.  I can’t take credit for the base recipes (thank you Nutmeg Notebook) but I can take credit for how I use them and a new creation that meat and non-meat eaters alike gobbled up recently at a family get-together.  See if you can come up with another use for these recipes!  I love to hear about it!

 

Base Recipes

Chili Lentils for Tacos

Ingredients:

1 pound brown lentils, rinsed (you can use green lentils you just have to increase the cooking time)

2 tbsp water or vegetable broth

1 onion finely chopped

3 cloves of garlic, finely chopped

¼ cup chili powder (start with 2 tbsp and add more to taste)

1-2 tbsp ground cumin

1 can (15 oz) tomatoes, diced (I might even add another can if you like tomatoes)

Salt and pepper to taste

 Instructions:

1. Bring 5 cups of water and lentils to a boil in a covered 12-inch skillet. Reduce heat to medium and cook until the water is almost absorbed and the lentils are just tender about 12 minutes (green lentils took 20-25 minutes) Turn off the heat.

2. Meanwhile, heat the 2 tbsp water or broth in a Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the onions and cook until tender, about 5 minutes.  Add the garlic, chili powder, cumin and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds.  Add the cooked lentils and canned tomatoes.  Adjust the seasonings to taste.

 

 Donna’s Vegan Cheeze Sauce

 Ingredients:

2 cups white potatoes, diced large

1 cup carrots, diced large

¾ cups water

1 teaspoon Benson’s Table Tasty Salt Substitute or another favorite salt substitute

1 tbsp fresh lemon juice (or more)

½ cup Nutritional Yeast

½ tsp garlic powder

½ tsp onion powder

¾ tsp smoked paprika

Dash of cayenne pepper

 

Instructions:

1. Boil the potatoes and carrots until soft and drain.

2. Place the cooked carrots and potatoes and the rest of the ingredients in a high-powered blender until smooth.  Add more water if it is too thick.  If it’s too thin add a little more potato.  Adjust the seasoning to taste.  I often add more no salt seasoning and lemon to give it some tang.

How can I use these recipes?

• Lentil tacos- Using corn or flour tortillas treat them like you would any taco adding taco sauce, salsa, cilantro, pickled onions and of course the vegan cheeze sauce on top.

• Nachos- Create nachos using the lentils for the meat and the vegan cheeze sauce for the cheese.

• Rice and Beans- Use the Chili Lentil recipe over brown rice for a quick and easy lunch or week night meal.

• Baked potato bar- Bake potatoes and top them with lentils, broccoli, cheeze sauce or whatever you enjoy putting on your potatoes.

• Mexican Dip- My personal favorite

 Riley’s Cheezy Lentil Mexican Dip

Ingredients:

Chili Lentils

Donna’s Vegan Cheeze  Sauce

Store bought or homemade salsa

 Instructions:

1. Combine 1 cup lentils, ½ cups cheeze sauce and ½ cup salsa together in a bowl.

2. Heat for 1 minute or so in the microwave to heat through and thoroughly combine.

3. Serve with tortilla chip or corn chips warm or room temperature.