Slow Cooker Mexican Casserole

Poached eggs over warm lentil salad with bacon

Vitals:
From Dinner with Julie
Cost:
Serves: 4
Prep Time:
Total Time:

Materials:

• 3/4 cup dried lentils (I used little green du Puy lentils)
• 4 slices bacon, chopped
• 2 leeks (white and pale green parts only), finely chopped
• 2 celery ribs, finely chopped
• 1 carrot, finely chopped
• 2 Tbsp. red wine vinegar, or to taste
• 1 cup baby spinach
• 1 Tbsp. finely chopped fresh tarragon (optional)
• salt & pepper
• 4-8 large eggs

Methods:

1. In a small saucepan, cover lentils with about twice as much water, bring to a simmer and cook uncovered for about 30 minutes, or until just tender. (You can do this ahead of time and keep them in the fridge until you’re ready for them.)
2. While the lentils are simmering, cook the bacon until crisp in a large, heavy skillet; transfer with a slotted spoon to a plate, leaving the drippings in the skillet. (If you like, pour them out and add a drizzle of canola or olive oil.) Add the leeks, celery, and carrot and cook, stirring often, for about 5 minutes. Add vinegar and cook until it’s mostly evaporated. Drain the lentils well and add them to the skillet along with the spinach and tarragon; cook, stirring, until heated through and the spinach wilts. Season with salt and pepper and stir in the bacon.
3. Meanwhile, poach your eggs. Divide the warm lentil salad among 4 plates and top with the eggs. Serves 4.

Quick Scalable Tacos

We've been making this dish every couple of weeks for the last couple of months.  It is fast, easy and scales to feed a lot of people.  Yesterday, I did all the cooking and preparation in the 20 minutes between when I got home and picked up Davis from daycare.  The only downside to the recipe is that it generates a lot of dishes, but I'm usually happy to trade off cooking time for cleaning time since that allows more time with Davis.  You can easily make more left overs by simply doubling the turkey.  I suspect this would be great with Soy Protein as well.

Vitals:

• Cost: About $11
• Serves: 2 for dinner and 1 for lunch the next day.
• Prep Time: 20 minutes
• Total Time: 20 minutes

Quick Thai Red Curry

This dish was inspired by the label on a Trader Jo's Thai Red Curry Sauce.  For about $11, your get a quick, protein rich Thai meal for two.   Next time, I would I consider throwing in cubed sweet potatoes for an easy veggie.

Most of the cooking time here is in the rice.  I started the rice when I got home from work and after picking up our son from daycare, I did the rest of the prep and cooking.  Since there is very little invoked once the chicken hits the pan, I was able to clean up the kitchen and take care of other chores while dinner simmered.

Vitals:

• Cost: About $11
• Serves: 2, no left overs
• Prep Time: 5 minutes
• Total Time: 40 minutes