{"id":4470,"date":"2013-03-31T16:53:36","date_gmt":"2013-03-31T21:53:36","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/realfoodhouston.com\/?p=4470"},"modified":"2018-10-25T12:33:20","modified_gmt":"2018-10-25T17:33:20","slug":"lentils-with-cheese","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.realfoodhouston.com\/wp-files\/2013\/03\/31\/lentils-with-cheese\/","title":{"rendered":"Lentils with Cheese"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\u00bd\"<\/a><\/strong><\/em>For many years, one of my family’s favorite homestyle foods has been Lentils with Cheese, but I’ve learned that to be healthier the lentils need to be soaked or sprouted, which requires a lot of preplanning and extra time.\u00a0 I lucked out recently when I found organic sprouted lentils at a local grocery store.\u00a0 I grabbed a package to find out how they would taste in our recipe.\u00a0\u00a0 Well, we all loved them, and now our lentils are easier and quicker AND healthier than ever to make.\u00a0 This simple dish takes about an hour of preparation, but there are only a few ingredients and it’s super easy.\u00a0 Here’s how I adapted our recipe to use the sprouted lentils.<\/p>\n

Ingredients<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

10 ounces organic sprouted lentils (I used truRoots Sprouted Green Lentils)
\n1 medium organic onion, diced
\n2 tablespoons butter, coconut oil, or other healthy fat (I used duck fat)
\n1 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese, divided (I probably use more than this)<\/p>\n

Preparation<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Simmer the lentils in enough water to cover until soft.\u00a0 Sprouted lentils take about 20 minutes.\u00a0 Add a little more water if the lentils become too dry, but don\u2019t add too much.\u00a0 Taste test to determine softness.\u00a0 If the lentils are done but there’s too much liquid, you can simmer them uncovered for a few minutes longer to thicken, or you can drain them.<\/p>\n

While the lentils are cooking, saut\u00e9 onion in butter until soft.<\/p>\n

When the lentils are soft, mash them with a potato masher.\u00a0 If you want smoother lentils, you can use a blender or food processor.\u00a0 Combine the mashed, or pureed, lentils with the saut\u00e9ed onions and about \u00bd cup of the shredded cheese.\u00a0 Put the mixture in a baking dish and cover the top with the remaining shredded cheese.\u00a0 I don\u2019t really measure the shredded cheese at this point, I just add enough to evenly cover the top of the lentils, usually more than another \u00bd cup.<\/p>\n

\"Owl<\/a><\/p>\n

Bake at 350 degrees F until the cheese is melted and bubbly, about 20 to 30 minutes.<\/p>\n

Lentils are a very nutritious<\/a> and budget friendly food.\u00a0 They are high in folate and thiamine and other B vitamins. They also have lots of minerals, such as manganese, iron, phosphorus, and copper.\u00a0 However, what we like most about Lentils with Cheese is how good it tastes!<\/p>\n

How do you like my cute owl bowls?\u00a0 It’s fun to see the little owl peaking over the lentils!<\/p>\n

This post is shared on Fat Tuesday<\/a> and Real Food Wednesday<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

For many years, one of my family’s favorite homestyle foods has been Lentils with Cheese, but I’ve learned that to be healthier the lentils need to be soaked or sprouted, which requires a lot of preplanning and extra time.\u00a0 I …<\/span> Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":4471,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[268,13,172,18,19,23,9],"tags":[35,61,174,127,32],"class_list":["post-4470","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-dairy","category-healthy-fats","category-nutrition","category-organic-food","category-real-food","category-recipes","category-traditional-food","tag-healthy-fats-2","tag-healthy-foods","tag-nutrition-2","tag-real-food-2","tag-recipes-2"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"http:\/\/www.realfoodhouston.com\/wp-files\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/03\/Lentils-with-Cheese.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p70SEj-1a6","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.realfoodhouston.com\/wp-files\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4470","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.realfoodhouston.com\/wp-files\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.realfoodhouston.com\/wp-files\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.realfoodhouston.com\/wp-files\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.realfoodhouston.com\/wp-files\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4470"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"http:\/\/www.realfoodhouston.com\/wp-files\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4470\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6900,"href":"http:\/\/www.realfoodhouston.com\/wp-files\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4470\/revisions\/6900"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.realfoodhouston.com\/wp-files\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4471"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.realfoodhouston.com\/wp-files\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4470"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.realfoodhouston.com\/wp-files\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4470"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.realfoodhouston.com\/wp-files\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4470"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}