Brussels and Beyond!

This past weekend we visited friends in Pittsburgh and as usual when away from home, we ate out quite a bit and we were both feeling it.  All I wanted was a bowl of lentils and vegetables!  So that is what I did...and maybe it wasn't as great as what I visualized but it was pretty good for making dinner quick!

Got the brown rice going (2 parts water to 1 part rice, bring to a boil, cover, and turn down heat to low until done).  Before all the way done I added some red lentils since they cook much faster than ordinary lentils.  After the lentils I added frozen vegetables.  I added frozen Brussels sprouts...however I do not recommend this!  Was not that tasty.  Spinach, peas, corn, or any fresh veggies you have would be good. 

When it was done, it just seemed lacking to me at the moment.  Although you certainly could eat that alone as a meal with some flavoring agents.  I felt I needed some more good protein and threw in a can of tuna that I drained!

To season this, lemon, dill, and some mayo would be nice.  Sort of like a tuna salad theme.  I felt I wanted tamari (soy sauce) and sriracha.  Salt and pepper of course.  Not bad.  It was healthy and that is what I wanted.


Last night I realized I still had 4 russet potatoes.  So I put them in the oven first and thought about what to do with them later (since they take quite a while to bake). 

My method of baking potatoes is easy and sure-fire: 
scrub them.
pat them dry a little.
pierce each one with a fork a few times
cover each one in olive oil
put straight in oven, no pan or foil necessary (set around 400-420 degree range)

If you are going to bake potatoes, always bake more than you need because you can re-heat for lunch the next day and baking them takes so long (some people believe you can microwave a potato to bake them... I have never had much luck with this, or at least it isn't the same as baking in the oven.  But, go for it if you like!).

I looked at my leftover rice/lentil/tuna mixture with frozen corn (I had eaten out all the Brussels sprouts), and threw it in a sauce pan with a can of Amy's tomato soup (I like Amy's because it is one of the only soups without any 'bad stuff' ie. autolyzed yeast extract, etc), with some frozen peas to add a little green to the mix!  Figured I'd ladle this on top of a buttered and peppered baked potato (didn't need salt since most soups have plenty of salt already).  I like to add cayenne pepper to mine.  It was good.  Filling and healthy.

Today for lunch there was just a little left and 1 baked potato.  I microwaved both and put sliced avocado on top.  Very good. 

Amazing how far some lentils, rice, and a can of tuna can take you!

 not sure why this picture wont turn...