I made this dinner solo yesterday, and it was the easiest meal I’ve ever made. It took less than 10 minutes to prep. Despite the fact that it looks like brown mush, it was very good. Today for lunch the leftovers reheated well in the microwave.
The one downside is that I had to cook dinner at 8:00am. It’s a slow cooker recipe. It takes some forethought and commitment, but the slow cooker makes cooking so easy.
Slow Cooker Honey Lentils
Ingredients
| Amount | Ingredient | Preparation | Where we bought it (* Union Sq. Greenmarket) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1.5 cups | Lentils (any color) | Rinsed | Whole Foods |
| 1 cup | Dried beans (I used pinto) (or 1 can of canned beans) | Soaked overnight and rinsed | Cayuga Pure Organics * |
| 5 cups | Water | ||
| Half of 1 | Red onion | Diced | Paffenroth Gardens * |
| 1/2 cup | Shredded carrot | Shredded | Paffenroth Gardens * |
| 1/3 cup | Honey | Twin Spruce Apiaries * | |
| 2 TBsp | Soy sauce | I used Tamari | |
| 1 tsp | Kosher salt | ||
| 1 tsp | Dried mustard | A.k.a. mustard powder | |
| 1 | Dried bay leaf |
Directions
- The night before put the beans in a bowl and fill it with water. Leave to soak overnight. Be sure to go through the dried beans beforehand to pick out any pebble beans or actual pebbles (see here). If you use canned beans, skip this step and reduce the water to 3 cups.
- Using a mesh strainer, drain the beans and rinse them thoroughly. Put them in the slow cooker.
- Using a mesh strainer, rinse the lentils. Add them to the slow cooker.
- Dice the 1/2 red onion. Add to the slow cooker
- Shred the carrot. Add to the slow cooker
- Add everything else to the slow cooker, except for the bay leaf. Stir to mix.
- Add the bay leaf to the top of the mixture. (Just place it on top.)
- Put the cover on the slow cooker and set it for 6-8 hours on low or 3-5 hours on high. When it’s done you can leave it on warm for as long as you need to. I left it on warm for 2 hours before eating dinner.
10 minutes + 8 hours = a great meal!
