Lentil Sloppy Joes

Ingredients
1 c. lentils
1 1/2 to 2 c. water
1 onion, chopped
2 tbsp. brown sugar
1-2 tsp. Montreal steak seasoning
1 tsp. oregano
1 c. ketchup
2 tbsp. red wine vinegar
2 tbsp. barbecue sauce
1 tbsp. Worcestershire sauce

Directions
Combine the lentils and the water in a medium saucepan.  Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer until lentils are tender. Saute the onions in a little olive oil for about 2 minutes.  Add the brown sugar, oregano, and steak seasoning.  Saute until onions are tender. Add the ketchup, vinegar, Worcestershire sauce,and  barbecue sauce. Add the lentils and cook until heated through. Serve on whole wheat buns.

UPDATE: This recipe works really well in the crockpot! Just toss the ingredients in and cook for 5-6 hours on low. I recommend going with 1 1/2 cups of water, instead of 2.

"Soysage" Gravy & Biscuits

Ingredients
3 tbsp. olive oil, divided
1/2 stick of butter (or margarine)
1/2 tube “Gimme Lean” soy sausage
1/4 c. all-purpose flour
3 c. 1% milk
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. black pepper, freshly ground
cayenne, to taste
chives, to garnish

Directions

Heat 1 tbsp. oil in a skillet. Add sausage, cook until browned. Remove sausage from pan and break up until well crumbled. Add butter and remaining 2 tablespoons oil to the pan. After butter foams, whisk in flour until combined. Whisk in milk. Add salt, pepper, and return crumbled sausage to the pan. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat. Let it simmer until it thickens.

Bombay Sloppy Joes

As always, soy or myoprotein crumbles can be substituted for the ground turkey in this recipe.

Ingredients

Sauce:
2 tbsp. vegetable oil
1 tbsp. ginger, minced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 serrano chile pepper, seeded & minced
1 tsp. garam masala
1/2 tsp. paprika
1-15 oz. can tomato sauce
Sloppy Joes:
3-4 tbsp. vegetable oil
1/4 c. raisins
1/4 c. shelled pistachios
1 tsp. cumin seeds
1 lg. white onion, finely diced
1 red bell pepper, seeded & finely chopped
1 serrano chile pepper
Kosher salt
1 lb. turkey or soy crumbles
1/2 tsp. honey
1/4 c. half-and-half
Fresh cilantro
4 sesame buns

Directions

Sauce: Heat the vegetable oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add the ginger, garlic and chile pepper and cook until the ginger and garlic brown a little, about one minute. Add the garam masala and paprika and cook 30 seconds. Add the tomato sauce and one cup water, stir and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer, uncovered, 15 minutes.

Sloppy Joes: Heat 2 tablespoons vegetable oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the raisins and pistachios and cook, stirring occasionally, until the raisins swell up and the pistachios toast slightly, about one minute. Remove from the skillet and set aside.

Return the skillet to medium heat and add the remining 1 to 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil. Add the cumin seeds and let sizzle about 10 seconds, then add the onion and bell pepper and cook until softened and starting to brown, about 5 minutes. Add the chile pepper and cook 2 more minutes, seasoning with salt. Add the turkey/soy crumbles, breaking up the big lumps, and cook until opaque, about 5 minutes.

Add the prepared sauce to the turkey/soy mixture in the skillet. Stir and bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to low and simmer until the mixture thickens slightly, about 10 minutes.

Remove the whole chile pepper and stir in the honey, half-and-half, raisins and pistachios. Taste for seasoning. Stir in the cilantro right before serving. Toast the buns and fill with the Sloppy Joe mixture.

Perfect Oven-Roasted Chicken

Ingredients
thyme
salt
ground pepper
sage
3.5 lb. roaster chicken
lemon juice
butter

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Clean, rinse and pat dry chicken. Put a few pats of butter on the chicken in a oven-safe dish. Sprinkle herbs inside and outside of bird. Bake for 2 hours (30 minutes per lb. if refrigerated until cooking). As it starts to brown, sprinkle some lemon juice over the bird.

Asian Pork Meatloaf

Sky and I recently watched an episode of Alton Brown's "Good Eats," during which he demonstrated the perfect meatloaf. Alton recommended trying a variety of different meats and vegetables, so I went HOG wild with my love of pork.

Ingredients
1 lb. ground pork
1 egg
1/2 cup bread crumbs
1/2 red onion
1/2 Granny Smith apple
a handful of baby carrots
1 tsp. garlic, minced
a few shakes of ground cayenne pepper
freshly ground black pepper, to taste
store-bought Asian dressing or dipping sauce
(a soy-sesame style would work well here)

Directions
Using Chef Tony's Ultimate Chopper (or a standard food processor), roughly chop onion, carrots and apples. Combine with remaining ingredients and mix gently with your freshly washed hands until everything is distributed evenly. Press meatloaf mixture into loaf pan and then turn over onto a baking sheet (the loaf pan is only a mold). Bake at 350 degrees for 50 minutes or until center of meatloaf measures 170 degrees. After about 35-40 minutes, glaze meatloaf with Asian sauce or dressing. Serves 4.

Savory Chocolate Barbeque Sauce

Some of you may have heard the rumor that I participated in a chocolate cookoff with Sky's family... this dark, intensely flavorful sauce won 1st place in three categories! While I served it over pork tenderloin, I'm anxiously anticipating some very special chicken wings to follow!

Ingredients
1 tbsp. butter
4 cloves garlic, minced
½ Spanish onion, diced
2 Roma tomatoes, diced small
1 ½ oz. dark brown sugar
3 tsp. chili powder
4 oz. apple cider vinegar
8 oz. of basic BBQ sauce (I used Sweet Baby Ray’s)
14 oz. vegetable stock
¼ tsp. ground cumin
¼ tsp. ground cinnamon
1/8 tsp. ground cloves
2 oz. very dark chocolate (I used 1/3 of a bar of Lindt’s 70% cocoa)
2 tbsp. fresh, chopped cilantro
¾ tsp. salt
½ tsp. fresh, ground pepper

Directions
Melt butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Add garlic and onion, and sauté until golden brown (or if you get impatient, translucent and starting to brown). Add tomatoes, stir, and sauté an additional five minutes. Add sugar and chili powder, mix well, and cook for five minutes. Add vinegar and reduce (on medium-high) for five minutes. By this point, the mixture should have a thicker, pasty consistency. Add BBQ sauce, stock, cumin, cinnamon, cloves, salt and pepper. Mix well. Bring to a boil and reduce to a slow simmer for 30 minutes. Add chocolate and cilantro and then allow to simmer for an additional five minutes. Remove from heat and let stand 10 minutes to cool. At this point, you may choose to puree the sauce, but I like it better with the chunks of tomato and onion, etc.

Transfer to a clean container and cool. For best results, allow to refrigerate 12 hours before using.