Our Bone Broth Marathon will continue through Valentine’s Day. Look for the posts every Wednesday.
This is one of the many variations of sloppy joes that has appeared in the Menu Mailer since it began in 2007. The sloppy joe recipes always get great reviews and moms love it because it’s a food their kids recognize as ‘normal.’ It’s often classified as junk food, too, so that’s an added bonus to have a nutritious meal that makes you happy but your kids consider a treat.
We cook down the stock to concentrate it, so the sloppy joes still come out loaded with stock but aren’t wet and messy. Cooking down stock is always a good strategy to get nutrition into your kids without having soup to the point that they complain and refuse to eat it. I use this method to get stock into almost every meal that I serve.
Red lentils don’t work in this recipe because they dissolve when you cook them. For this recipe to hold together, you need the lentils to come out whole.
I like using molasses in tomato-based sauces. It has more trace minerals than rapadura, and the kids don’t notice.
If you like recipes like this, consider subscribing to the Menu Mailer. There are many recipes like this in the Mailer. Traditional Foods doesn’t have to be expensive or forbiddingly foreign. You can have nourishing, creative, filling and kid-pleasing meals without resorting to French cooking or having your family hate everything you fix.
From the Menu Mailer
Hands-on: 20 minutes
Hands-off: 20 minutes
1 cup lentils- any color except red
2 cups warm water
2 Tbs vinegar
3-4 or more cups of beef or chicken stock (or 2 cups if you wish to skip this step)
2 Tbs coconut oil, butter, ghee, red palm oil or other fat
1 onion, diced
1 rib celery, diced
1-2 carrots, grated
1 (6-ounce) can tomato paste
1 Tbs rice or white vinegar
1 Tbs molasses
2 Tbs prepared mustard
1 tsp salt
¼ tsp each garlic powder and pepper
¼ tsp chili powder
Dash oregano
5 drops Concentrace, optional
Ketchup, optional
In a bowl, combine the lentils, warm water and vinegar. Cover and allow to soak for 8-10 hours. Drain and rinse thoroughly.
Place the stock in a saucepan or stockpot and cook over medium heat until reduced to two cups. Whisk in the lentils, bring back to a boil, cover and reduce heat to low. Cook until the lentils are tender, about 25-40 minutes, until tender. Cooking time will depend on your type of lentil and how tender you like them. Drain if needed.
Meanwhile, in a skillet heat the coconut oil over medium heat. Add the onion, celery, and carrot and sauté for 5-8 minutes or until tender (if you are adding ground meat to this recipe, add it here and cook until no longer pink). Stir in the remaining ingredients and add the lentils once they are done. Simmer until the desired consistency is reached, or add ketchup if a saucier texture is desired.
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I’ve never thought to reduce stock down before. What a great idea!
I’ve started cooking my rice in chicken stock to get extra flavour and nutrition into our dinners. It comes out wonderfully.
Emma – Craving Fresh recently posted..The hard days
Holy cow, Carrie Ann, I made these last night, all the while keeping the kids out of the kitchen, because they just don’t respond well to meatless dinners. They loved it! They told me I should definitely make it again. I doubled the recipe, a family of five ate their fill and we have enough left over to do add it to our options on fend for yourself night.
Yay! My kids love it, too. It’s a regular meal in our cold weather rotation here.
Oh, I do have a question though, is soaking the lentils 8-10 hours in vinegar water a substitute for sprouting them?
Yes, it is. Just like with grains, you have the option of soaking or sprouting.