Tuesday, February 5, 2013

Lentil Sloppy Joes

I love the Food Network magazine and can usually find a recipe I want to make right away after I am done reading it. This sloppy joe recipe looked so perfect, and it was even low calorie because I swapped out the ground beef for ground chicken. I love comfort food and foods that remind me of being a kid, and I loved these sandwiches growing up.

Lentil Sloppy Joes Recipe from Food Network Magazine

ingredients, forgot the onion and cheese
You probably already have a lot of these ingredients, you need some ground chicken or turkey, garlic, lentils, ketchup, worcestershire sauce, oregano, green pepper, carrot, buns, cheese and some pickles. I loved the idea of a pickle on the sandwich to add a little sour to the sweetness.

chopped!
There is a lot of chopping involved, but I enjoy chopping veggies. Get everything cut up and measured.

oily
Heat up some oil and get everything staged near the stove.

this smelled so good
Add in the onion, carrot, pepper and 2 tbs of ketchup. Let this cook about 3 minutes while stirring. This combo smelled so good!

garlic in
Add in the garlic and let that cook for about 30 seconds.

liquid in
Add in the lentils and 4 cups of water, bring this to a boil. Don't worry if this seems like a lot of water, it will all be absorbed and cooked down. Reduce the heat and let this simmer for about 40-50 minutes.

thickened and reduced
Everything reduced and thickened and got deliciously combined. Taste it here and add in some salt and pepper if needed.

chicken in
Brown up your ground meat for a few minutes.

ketchup
Add in the worcestershire and the rest of the ketchup.

all combined
Stir in the lentil mixture and one more cup of water and let this cook for about 10 minutes.

Reducing into awesomeness
Everything reduces and thickens and becomes super tasty.

Lentil Sloppy Joes
I put a little grated cheese on the bottom of the bun and topped with the sloppy joe and finished with the pickle. If the pickle seems like it might be weird, trust me, it really was delicious and added a little bit of sour and crunch to balance out the sweetness of the lentil mixture. You couldn't even tell the lentils were there so this would be a great way to hide these high fiber and protein packed morels from someone who is not a fan of beans.

10 comments:

  1. Oh those do sound good. I must have missed them because I get the same magazine. In fact I was just looking at the last issue :)

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  2. What a great alternative to sloppy joes... they look tasty.

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  3. I love the idea of lentils mixed into sloppy joes. My kids adore sloppy joes and I will be making this soon.

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  4. Can you believe I have never tried sloppy joes? This looks great! I love lentils

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  5. These sound fabulous! WHat a great way to add some veggie protein into the sloppy joe mix!

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  6. I actually never liked sloppy joes growing up because my Mom bought Manwich and it was too sweet for me. I love this version! I think I'll make this for me and my SIL for lunches next week!

    Thanks for your hugs about our dog - I appreciate it!

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  7. Sloppy Joes brings me back to my childhood too, such fun memories! Great idea to go with lentils!

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  8. Very healthy! I haven't tried really good sloppy joes in my life. I need to make my own one day. I like how you used lentils!

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  9. I used to love Sloppy Joe's! Love the elevated nature of this version even more. :)

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