Skillet Beef With Lentils

This was very good! I am really lovin the More-with-Less cookbook!!! Super easy and super good, and super healthy! ;) (sorry about all the "supers" in that sentence! ;))

The kiddos gobbled this one down as well. I fixed this with acorn and butternut squash, just to make the plate look a little bit more colorful!



Cooking the lentils in water

Frying up some onions and garlic


Added the browned hamburger (this isn't a full pound of it, but I NEVER use the full amount of meat, I always cut back a bit!)


Add the "broth"


This is how I saved my lentil water. I used the Pampered Chef strainer and bowl set. First time I've used it like this! I always use the bowls of the strainers, but never together! But you can do it however you want, as long as you save the water! :)


The somewhat cooked lentils!


Now I added the spices to the water, beef, and onions


Then I added the lentils... ;)


It's all cooked! Stir it up a bit....


And there ya go!!! :)


Here's the acorn and butternut squash cooked! I probably should've put the acorn squash in another pan, but oh well! ;) (I cut the squash in half, took the seed out, put them in the pan, put about a cup of water in the bottom of the pan, covered it with foil and cooked at 350d for 3 hours. It was done, so I just put the oven down to 200d, depending on how big your squash is, it may take longer. One more hint, I just put one little cut down the middle of the squash and pop it in the microwave for a a minute or two and I can cut it much easier! Makes the skin a bit softer!)


I know, not too yummy looking, but it is really good!


Here is our supper! The lentils and both squashes!



Skillet Beef with Lentils


Bring 1 quart water to boil in saucepan.
Add:
1 1/2 cups lentils, rinsed
Cook 20 minutes. Drain, reserving liquid.

In deep skillet saute:
2 tablespoons margarine of butter
2 medium onions, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced

Stir in:
1 pound ground beef

Brown well. Dissolve in 2 1/3 cups reserved liquid
2 beef bouillon cubes

Add liquid to meat mixture, cover and simmer 10 minutes.

Stir in:
reserved lentils
2 tablespoons long-grain rice
1 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon pepper

Bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover, and simmer 30 minutes, or until lentils and rice are tender and liquid is absorbed (add more if necessary). Check seasonings and stir in:
1 tablespoon cider vinegar

Top with parsley (dried or fresh)

*A few things I did a bit differently, go figure huh? ;)
I only used about half of the lentil, I wasn't sure how it was going to taste... I wanted to make sure the kids were going to eat it! ;) (I saved the lentils for a recipe I used the next nite!)
I used coconut oil instead of the butter or margarine
I used one onion and 2 gloves of garlic (I also chopped the garlic instead of mincing it)
I didn't use the beef bouillon
I also used 4 tablespoon rice
I also forgot to add the cider vinegar at the end (opps)
I also used the same pot for cooking it all in. My cast iron skillet doesn't have a lid, so I just cooked the lentils, then put them to the side to drain and then did everything else in that pot! (One less pot to add to the dishwasher! ;))