September 23, 2014

Lentil Sloppy Joes

It's now officially fall but minus enjoying a few pumpkin beers, I have held onto summer as long as possible. 

However I think it's time to sadly put away my sandals and embrace the nice aspects of autumn before it gets too cold and miserable.  No, I'm not a super crazy pumpkin lady, but I have been known to devour a bag of those Mellowcreme pumpkins and candy corns each fall.  A bag or two plus one after Halloween when the candy goes on sale. 

When colder temperatures arrive I love making soups, stews, and chilis for dinner. I'm looking at incorporating more meatless meals into my dinner rotation so when I saw this Lentil Sloppy Joe recipe on Pinterest from Shape.com I was excited to try it. I used the recipe more as a guideline but am pleased to say it resulted in a hearty meal. I didn't end up blending the mixture and kept it chunky so I could eat it like a chili.  I piled it on top of a baked sweet potato for a delicious & filling dinner. 

Lentil Sloppy Joes 

(Adapted from recipe by Heidi Kristoffer)

Lentil-Sloppy-Joes


Serves: 4
Ingredients:
1 can (14.5 ounces) organic tomatoes, with liquid, divided
1/2 large yellow onion, diced 
1 clove garlic, minced
1 cup chopped carrots
1.5 tablespoons chili powder
1 teaspoon paprika
1 tablespoon oregano
1 tablespoon of brown sugar
Salt & Pepper (to taste)
1 tablespoon olive oil
14 oz of lentils, rinsed and cooked (I used bagged green lentils I boiled but you could use canned lentils to save time!)
8 oz low-sodium tomato sauce
6 oz organic ketchup

Directions:
1. Place onion, garlic,carrots, olive oil, and tomatoes in a pot over medium-high heat and sauté for 8-10 minutes, stirring constantly and adding extra water as needed. I wanted it to be chunky but if you want a smoother base you could blend the vegetable mixture with an immersion blender. 
2. Next add chili powder, paprika, oregano, brown sugar, salt & pepper to the mixture in the pot and stir well.  
3. Add lentils to vegetable mixture along with the tomato sauce and ketchup, mixing until combined.  Allow to simmer over low heat for 15-20 minutes, depending on the thickness of the you prefer. 
4. Dish lentil mixture onto buns/rolls of your choice and serve!

Let me know if you try it out! I'm thinking I need to make a pumpkin turkey chili next...

Do you have any great meatless recipes? What's your favorite cooler weather dinner?

14 comments:

  1. This recipe looks like the bees knees. If that pumpkin turkey chili works out, you'd better post that recipe too.

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  2. i have a mess of dried lentils in my pantry and am looking for ways to use them. super helpful! can't say i've ever eaten a sloppy joe - seems more american of a recipe than canadian for some reason - but maybe this is an introduction? yes to the pumpkin turkey chilli!

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    1. Definitely a weird American dinner. This is more like a chili so not a true introduction to them-but you're not missing out on the really thing! I'll be sure to post a pumpkin turkey chili recipe next week too :)

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  3. Definitely going to try this. I am trying to find meatless things for dinner rotation too so we're going to have share with each other. Thanks for sharing. :-P

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    1. Definitely-check out each other's meatless recipes since I don't have too many yet!

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  4. I am not a fan of ground beef so this would be perfect to try.

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    1. Definitely-you can cook them to get a similar texture and lentils have lots of protein!

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  5. i love lentil sloppy joes, and this recipe sounds awesome! i also like pumpkin beer; pumking by southern tier has been my obsession for weeks now.

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    1. Ah the Southern Tier Pumking is the best! I actually have about 5 bottles from last year when we stocked up and now have more for this year so I'm set for the Fall!

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  6. I have to try this recipe!! I bought lentils on a whim one day and have no idea what to do with them lol...now I do, so thanks!!

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    1. Yes please try and let me know how it is! I had a bag of lentils from a recipe I made a while ago to use up so that's how this dinner was born!

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  7. Yum! I love this idea! Great post!

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