What to do with lentils and ground beef...

[BikeBookBread]

I have a package of lovely grass fed ground beef, frozen spinach, and a bunch of dried lentils. Anyone have a quick and easy recipe that would deliciously utilize both? FYI, my kids and DH don't care for honey baked lentils -- too sweet. Anything good and savory?

 

Thanks!

[Snickerdoodle]

Well, I wouldn't use the ground meat with lentils but what about this recipe? It's a huge hit at our house.

 

http://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2009/01/dinner-tonight-lentil-and-bacon-soup-recipe.html

 

Edited to say that I use half a pound of bacon and a whole pound bag of lentils and adjust the water. You could throw in the spinach at the very end when the lentils were soft.

Edited February 23, 2010 by Snickerdoodle

[Matryoshka]

Well, 2 of 3 are ingredients in the lentil soup I often make (I was even thinking about making it today).

 

Brown ground beef, and remove to bowl/plate.

 

Saute:

1-2 onions

2-3 carrots

3-4 potatoes, sweet potatoes or turnips (or any combination therof)

2-3 stalks celery

bunch of chopped parsley

 

Then, add back ground beef and add in rinsed lentils (~3 c. or so), and a bay leaf

 

Cover with chicken broth and/or water about 2 inches above level of ingredients, bring to boil and simmer till it's soup (I like it thick, but you can eat it as soon as the lentils have softened if you want it a bit thinner).

 

Salt and pepper to taste.

 

 

The recipe doesn't call for spinach, but I think adding the spinach would be just fine. I'm always tossing spinach into everything.

[Snickerdoodle]

What about this with the ground beef and spinach?

 

http://www.cooks.com/rec/view/0,1657,133177-252193,00.html

[BikeBookBread]

You guys are so great! Thanks!

 

I think I'm going to do a combo of a couple of these. Unusual for me, I don't have any celery or carrots on hand...just haven't been to the store in a couple of days. I do have red pepper and onion though. I bet I could throw something together with these ideas. I just needed to get the creative juices flowing!

[kewb]

I made snobby joes with lentils last night. Big hit in this house.

http://www.theppk.com/recipes/dbrecipes/index.php?RecipeID=2059

[Mergath]

Sounds like you already have tonight figured out, but if you need any more lentil recipes for the future, my favorite way to eat them is: Cook the lentils according to the package instructions. Chop up an onion, caramelize it in several tablespoons of evoo, then dump the works into the lentils when they're done cooking. The flavors go together amazingly well.

[BikeBookBread]

Everyone loved it! I did this, which was kind of a mixture of everyone's ideas:

 

browned 1/2 pound ground beef in a bit of olive oil

removed and drained on paper toweling

cooked 1 chopped yellow onion until translucent in olive oil

added 1/2 chopped red pepper

added the beef back in along with:

12 oz. dried, rinsed lentils

18 ounces of V-8 (I had this in the freezer - got this idea from a recent Cook's Illustrated minestrone soup recipe)

1 12 oz. can of tomato sauce

1 qt of water + a bit more (I didn't measure...about a cup)

garlic powder (not garlic salt)

dried thyme, basil and oregano

a few shots of Tabasco

a few shakes of red pepper flakes

lots of freshly cracked pepper

a few tsp of kosher salt

 

Simmered until really thick, about 70 minutes.

Served over jasmine rice.

 

DH LOVED IT. Even the picky twirling girlies ate it up!

[Cindy in NY]

Sounds like you already have tonight figured out, but if you need any more lentil recipes for the future, my favorite way to eat them is: Cook the lentils according to the package instructions. Chop up an onion, caramelize it in several tablespoons of evoo, then dump the works into the lentils when they're done cooking. The flavors go together amazingly well.

 

 

Yum! Majadarrah! I season mine with a little cinnamon and cumin and serve with yogurt. Comfort food at its finest.