Lentil Mushroom Sauce

Adapted from: http://foxeslovelemons.com/lentil-mushroom-ragu-weekdaysupper/

Courtesy of: Foxes Love Lemons

Made on: 01/23/2015

Yield: Probably enough for a couple meals when served as a sauce. You could eat it on its own like a stew also!

INGREDIENTS

- 2 5-oz cans of sliced mushrooms

- 4 cloves of garlic, minced

- 1 large carrot, peeled and chopped

- ½ green bell pepper, chopped

- ½ yellow onion, chopped

- 1 T bay leaf flakes

- ¼ cup balsamic vinegar

- 1 28-oz can crushed tomatoes

- 2 cups water

- 1 cup lentils, rinsed and picked through

- 2 teaspoons dried oregano

- salt and pepper, to taste

- ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes (or more)

- 1 tablespoon basil

- Grated parmesan cheese, for serving

INSTRUCTIONS

The original recipe’s instructions were designed to be cooked right away. I made a double batch of the ingredients above and froze everything to make two meals. The steps I followed are below:

1. Chop your pepper, onion, and carrot. I like to have smaller pieces of mushrooms, so I chopped those up as well. Put everything in a gallon freezer bag, and add all the other ingredients, except the water.

2. The night before you plan to eat it, put it in the fridge to allow it to thaw. Add the water and cook. I made mine in a large crockpot for probably 3 hours; you could use a pot on the stove to speed the process up. Mostly, you want to make sure your lentils are done – mine were a little undercooked. Also, I would probably use less than the full 2 cups of water, but you could just add water as needed if you watch it cook.

3. While this is cooking, prepare whatever you want to serve it on. The original recipe called for spaghetti; I went with spaghetti squash. There are crock pot and oven recipes for that as well, but I ended up using the microwave because I was running late and starving. Honestly, you could eat it as a stew and not put it over anything at all, if you are so inclined. It’s pretty filling!

4. Once everything is cooked, serve this over the spaghetti (or spaghetti squash, or whatever) and sprinkle with parmesan cheese.

Adjustments I would like to make: This made a lot. I might eat it all by itself next time (without spaghetti/squash), or divide it into more freezer bags. One bag made enough for me and my husband to have large supper-size servings, my kids to have tiny force-fed servings, and there are leftovers in the fridge.

Overall Satisfaction: Good! I love peppers, and I am always using lentils to make meals more filling, so this went over well with me. The kids really didn’t want to touch it, but what’s new? Ellie ate a bunch, even with the peppers.

Would I Make it Again? Possibly. I love finding new and different ways to serve spaghetti squash, so I will keep exploring pasta sauce options, and this one may make its way back into my kitchen.

Lentil Mushroom Sauce over spaghetti squash, served with parmesan cheese -- tasty and filling!