Mexican Lentils and Rice

Yesterday we had what seemed like NOTHING in the fridge…and very little in the pantry.  We were hungry, ready for dinner, and didn’t want to spend money on dining out.  So, I pulled out the few foods we did have:

5 carrot sticks

the inside stalks of a heart of celery

1 sweet onion

1 wrinkly jalapeno

the last of some fresh cilantro

1/2 a box of chicken broth

~1/2 cup basmati rice

~1/3 cup dry lentils

~1/4 cup leftover canned pinto beans

1/2 jar chipotle salsa

2 eggs

1/2 box Applegate frozen turkey breakfast sausages

….and combined them like this:

I chopped and sauteed the onion, celery, carrot, and jalapeno in canola oil until soft, then sprinkled the veggies with cumin, chili powder, oregano, salt, & pepper (Mexican spices, because my having jalapeno, cilantro, and salsa meant this was going to be a Mexican-inspired meal).  Then I stirred in the dry lentils, rice, salsa, broth, and beans and put a lid on the skillet so the lentils and rice would absorb the liquid.  After about 20 minutes on low heat, I saw that the liquid was absorbed, so in a separate skillet I fried the 2 eggs and heated up the frozen sausages.  And then it was time to eat!  I put a large scoop of the rice mixture in a shallow bowl and topped with a fried egg, a couple sausages, and some chopped fresh cilantro.  Tyler said it was one of his favorite recent meals.  So, you never know what you’re going to come up with on a random night with random ingredients!