Justin & Meredith Winokur's Kitchen Cooking Notebook
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We made lentil soup following the same recipe as last time(in the comments). We did make a few changes including using three (instead of two) stalks of celery and carrots to make up for the fact that we were about 1/4 cup short on the lentils. Also we put a good amount of beef Better Than Bouillon in to give it a beef base. We used chicken last time. Finally, we used apple cider vinegar instead of plain white. Because we had to be somewhere, we let it simmer on the stover for a very long time which probably increased all of the flavors.
it was very good though I think I liked it more the last time (but that was almost exactly a year ago so who knows). I don't know why the color is so different from the two pictures. Note that we used regular brown lentils for both. The nutritional information is very different for different lentil types (at least that is what I remember last time I looked).
Other than the simmer time, this is an extremely easy meal. And it is enough for a meal without anything else! We will probably do this again soon!
Original Wordpress ID and Date: 1441, 2011-10-06_161857
I made just lentils similar to what I did with the lentil stuffed cabbage. Again, I do not recall all of the details, but it was lentils, a lot of really finely chopped mushrooms (important), carrots, celery, onions, a whole bunch of seasonings and finally broth. I think I had to use extra broth since there was so much more than just the lentils.
They had a subtle, but really, really good flavor. Really filling and low in points! Also, the date is not exact.
Original Wordpress ID and Date: 1906, 2012-04-05_091155
"Magic Dusted" Chicken, and Peas+lentils -- back to top
The main part of this meal was the chicken which I used with magic rub (recipe below). I tried to follow the recipe pretty closely but I had to make some changes. I didn't have kosher salt so I used half as much and just used regular. I also ran out of chili powder so I improvised. Also, I used mostly hot (but not smoked) paprika. The recipe called for doing it with pork but I used pounded out chicken.
On the note of pounded chicken, I found the easiest way to do it. I vacuum sealed the chicken and did it in there. No mess and it worked really well. Plus, I was able to reuse the bag to freeze the other pieces I wasn't using.
The chicken was pretty good. Nothing amazing, Despite cooking it on the hot pan, it didn't quite caramelize as much as I had hoped. I used the thermometer to check the temperature of the chicken, and I think I took it off at the exact right time. It wasn't overcooked or anything. The spices were a bit too heavy on cumin but not all together bad.
I also heated a pre-made peas and lentil thing as a side dish.
Magic Dust (From Serious Eats)
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Original Wordpress ID and Date: 2017, 2012-06-15_214848
Lentils and Beet Chips -- back to top
I made lentils again similar to a few othertimes. I sautéed a half of an onion, well copped mushrooms, lots of carrots and lots of celery (including leaves). After they were cooked down a bit, I added chopped garlic. I then added 1 cup of lentils and about 2.25 cups of water/broth. That is higher than the normal 1:2 ratio, but I had a lot of veggies in it. I then added garlic powder, onion powder, 21 seasoning salute and some sriracha. I let it simmer in the dutch oven uncovered. Actually, as I saw that it was going to have absorbed/cooked off all of the water before my beet chips were done, I covered it for a bit.
The lentils were so good. I think the trick is the mushrooms but I do not know for sure. All I know is they every time I made this, it tastes great. And it is all of 12 points for the ENTIRE thing. Lots of flavor and protein, for low points!
I also made beet chips. I am not going to bother copying the recipe since all I did was slice the beets on the finest setting and then bake them for about 20 minutes at 350. I used parchment paper under them but I do not know if that made a difference. They were okay. Not incredible. Some burned and some were still soft which is strange since they were all fairly uniformly cut. The recipe called for using the thinnest setting, but I think I would use a slightly thicker one next time since they shrink so much while cooking.
Original Wordpress ID and Date: 2046, 2012-06-21_084748
I made the lentils in what is now becoming pretty standard. I sautéd half an onion and added lots of veggies. I added chopped mushrooms (lots) carrots, celery and parsnips. The latter being new this time. There were so much vegetables.I then added a 1/5 cups dry lentils (about 18 points plus). Then I added about 5 cups of water (more than regular ratio) and let it cook down until it was mostly dry and the lentils were cooked. Probably about 45 minutes. Oh, and a crapload of onion and garlic powder, plus lots of other seasoning. And crushed red pepper for some heat
The thing made two HUGE portions. I would say each portion was about 10 points plus to account for anything else I added.
They were so good. I do not know what the main trick is, but it makes a lot of food and only 10 points! That is really not too bad
Original Wordpress ID and Date: 2111, 2012-07-12_184739
Lentils and Vegetables -- back to top
I made lentils as I have done in the past. The Kitchn calls for a 1:2
Anyway, it was pretty standard as I have done before. I used
I also used Better Than bouillon for my chicken broth. I added lots of garlic powder, onion powder, some salt, pepper and crushed red pepper. Finally, when it was all finished. I added some apple cider vinegar since I had seen vinegar added to other recipes. I need to read up on why to add that since it seemed to make them mushy. I'll investigate.
I was originally going to made other veggies but I then decided that there was more than enough in this dish.
Anyway, as usual, it was very good and very flavorful. Also, it made a ton of it. I had a huge dinner serving and a pretty big lunch. And, according to Weight Watchers, a cup of dry lentils is 12 points plus. I was doubtful of this so I looked up the information on the web and threw it into the Points Plus formula. That comes out with 13 points. Note that a lot of it is the fiber. You can count it all, but even if you don't, it is 17 points for two big servings. Not bad.
I want to investigate other meals with lentils since they are so low in points, but high in protein.
Original Wordpress ID and Date: 3083, 2013-01-16_205550
Taco Lentil Cupcakes -- back to top
I got this idea from Meredith. I made lentil tacos (and a taco wonton of sorts). I took 1 cup of dry lentils, 2 cups of water and a packet of taco seasoning. As it cooked down, I added some sautéed onions, peppers and julienned zucchini. I did the standard taco cupcake thing but I was careful to not overfill them. I had a few leftover wrappers and some lentils so I also made some wonton things.
The whole thing was pretty good but not as amazing as I had hoped. It was flavorful and relatively easy; though it took much more time than beef. I really liked the wonton thing but the wrapper-to-filling ratio is not good enough so I doubt I'll do them as the primary meal. Also, point wise, the lentils were more or less the same as had I done beef. But it did make more. Actually, with all the extra, I added some cheese and microwaved it for a bit. That was also very good.
Original Wordpress ID and Date: 3095, 2013-01-21_204815
Lentils and Roasted Cabbage -- back to top
There wasn't too much (if any) innovation in this meal. I did the lentils like last time except I kept them vegan by using Osem for the broth. I also skipped the vinegar all together. They were pretty good, though I am getting a bit tired of this "recipe." I should look for others
And the normal roasted cabbage. Again, I sliced on 3/16". I quartered them, cut out the stem and then slices with the top going into the blade first (the usual way). I couldn't find a big head so I used two little ones (one here, pictures, and one for lunch made as a separate batch)
Original Wordpress ID and Date: 3168, 2013-02-18_075758
Lentil Sloppy Joes -- back to top
I had been wanting to try this for a bit. I basically started making normal Sloppy Joes without meat. While it was going, I cooked about 2/3-3/4 cups of dry lentils covered for a bit. I let the sloppy joe sauce simmer then, after the lentils were partially cooked (partially uncovered to cook down), I added them and let it cook. I basically stayed true to the recipe but with extra mustard, a bit of honey, splenda, lots of garlic powder and a tiny tad of Dave's Insanity (to really kick up the heat). I served it with spinach on top.
I liked it a lot. It was pretty easy and I think healthier than the regular one with beef. Last time I said it was 11 for the beef. Considering this was 9 for the lentils, I guess I didn't save too much. Still different and really good.
The green beans were done with Penzeys Sandwich Sprinkle. I started with just olive oil and the sprinkle and once it was a bit blackened, I added some water, with a lid to steam it and get it to cook all the way.
Original Wordpress ID and Date: 3280, 2013-03-18_204053
Lentil Moussaka -- back to top
It's not the prettiest picture, but I made lentil moussaka. I followed my moussaka recipe (since changed to note lentils) and my post from last time. Based on the suggestions of the last lentil attempt, I cooked the lentils separately and added it to the main mixture when the time came. I also ~1.5x all of the spices. I do not think it is needed for the beer one, but the lentil one does.
A few other changes were that I cooked the eggplant on a cooling rack over the pan. It think they crisped a bit more. And I forgot the butter in the béchamel. It didn't make too much of a difference making think I can skip it.
I made it on Sunday and refrigerated it and then cooked it tonight at 375 for about 45-55 minutes (I turned off the oven at 45 and let it sit as I did some other things).
It came out really, really good. Lots of flavor and good texture. The lentils were a tad over cooked but really not bad. I would definitely consider doing it with lentils over beef again.
Original Wordpress ID and Date: 6702, 2013-09-23_070701
Mexican Night: Lentil Tacos, Home Made Guac, Sweet Potato Fritters, and Roasted Artichokes -- back to top
This was quite the meal. Emily wanted mexican so this is what we came up with. In no particular order:
I had read a few sites on artichokes and decided to simply cut it in half, trim the stem, coat with garlic and small slice of lime. I roasted them for about 40 minutes at about 400. I had to take them out because they were burning.
When we tried to eat them, they were still too undercooked. We couldn't get to the meat of the artichoke. I microwaved them for 5 minutes which helped a bit but not really enough.
I like the idea of using dry heat but it just didn't seem to cook them enough. I will look into steaming them and_then_ roasting. Or, I saw something that used a foil packet. Maybe, I simply need a lower temperature.
Meredith made the dips too. They were both fat-free greek yogurt based. One was honey mustard where she mixed mustard and honey (duh) into the yogurt.The other was tequila-lime (which tasted a bit like margaritas). Both were good though the honey mustard was more popular.
These were based on the recipe below. The idea is that you boil sweet potatoes and then press them (smash them?) flat. However, it became clear pretty early on that they were not smashing well. I do not know if they were too big or if I had done something else wrong, but they weren't really working. So, we microwaved them a bit more and mashed them. Then, we used the seasoning mix (doubled) and coated both sides. We baked them for about 25 minutes at 400.
They came out really good. The sweet potatoes themselves had a lot of flavor and the seasoning mix was spot-on. We will do them again
Meredith made the guac and it was absolutely amazing. She can come back and comment on exactly what she did, but it had some different ingredients than usual. Most notably, I very finely chopped some onion, cilantro and jalapeño peppers. I do not know what other seasonings she used but it was amazing!
I made the taco filling. First, I cooked lentils like I do for the moussakka. I separately sautéd an onion and a whole container of finely chopped mushrooms. I combined them all. I used taco seasoning but I also added garlic powder, pepper and crushed red pepper to the mix. I let it all cook down together.
We served it with chopped onion, cilantro, FF greek yogurt (as sour cream), cheese, low-carb tortillas (gummy. Would not rush to get again) and mini tomatoes.
Everything was very good except the chewy artichokes. The meal was a lot of work but it was fun. There was lots of collaboration and everyone (Emily was there too) working together.
Crash Hot Sweet Potatoes (from The Creek Side Cook)
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Original Wordpress ID and Date: 6763, 2013-10-14_230214
Lentil Taco Stew -- back to top
Really nothing special. I made the regular lentiltaco stew. Followed the recipe without really any changes except maybe that I used red onions and went heavy on the zucchini. I also topped it with cheese
Original Wordpress ID and Date: 7536, 2014-03-01_200852
Lentil Egg and Spring rolls -- back to top
I made lentil egg rolls and spring rolls. I used the recipe on the back of the egg-roll wrappers (see photo from last time) with a few modifications. First of all, I used lentils instead of meat. I cooked 3/4 cup lentils in 1.5 cups water for 10 minutes and drained. Meanwhile, I finely chopped and sautéd mushrooms which gave the whole dish a lot of flavor. The only other changes were to go heavy on the ginger (also like last time), heavy on the oyster sauce, and add some soy sauce, sriracha and a bit of rice vinegar. I used half of a small head of cabbage while last time, it was a quarter of a large head.
The recipe doesn't say much about after adding the sauce. I kept it going until it all cooked down nicely. I also didn't let it cool before filling.
I decided to cook it hotter at 425°F for 15 minutes. As you can see from the photos, I did 6 egg rolls and 6 spring rolls. Two of the spring rolls were the large ones and they were too big. I had to eat it with a fork and knife. Also, the eggs rolls really were much better when it comes to heating/warming the rolls. But, the wrappers are a lot less healthy compared to the rice paper.
The rolls were very, very good! They tasted like regular egg rolls but fresher and less greasy inside. I will certainly do these again. They are "almost vegetarian" but I used real oyster sauce. If I want to do them fully vegetarian, I could use the vegan oyster sauce from 2013-06-17(the wrappers have egg in them so they won't be vegan).
Also, while I was cutting the carrot, it was a strange shape so I used my hands with the pan to go to the finger guard as I got closer. It would have been a fine plan had my hand not slipped. I took off a nice chuck of my thumb. Oops!
Original Wordpress ID and Date: 7609, 2014-03-12_205604