FlyingRhenquest 1 #1 August 11, 2013 Last week I went to make my lentil soup. I usually use chicken thighs for this (It's chicken lentil soup...) but last week Safeway only had 16 thigh packages of chicken thighs. They did have a nice pork roast for 4 bucks though, so I bought that instead. Well that turned out really well, so I decided to try to replicate my success this week. And it turned out really well again! I think pork lentil soup may end up being my MO for lentil soup from now on! I can feed myself for a week on less than $15 worth of ingredients (I add new potatoes and carrots to my lentil soup, that bumps the price up a little.)I'm trying to teach myself how to set things on fire with my mind. Hey... is it hot in here? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
oldwomanc6 60 #2 August 11, 2013 Hmmm. I could be really smart-ass, here, but Man does not live on lentil soup alone. However, not being a smart-ass by nature, I'll not be one, and say: vary your diet some! lisa WSCR 594 FB 1023 CBDB 9 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ryoder 1,590 #3 August 11, 2013 oldwomanc6 Hmmm. I could be really smart-ass, here, but Man does not live on lentil soup alone. However, not being a smart-ass by nature, I'll not be one, and say: vary your diet some! You must have missed the part about potatoes and carrots."There are only three things of value: younger women, faster airplanes, and bigger crocodiles" - Arthur Jones. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
oldwomanc6 60 #4 August 11, 2013 ryoder ***Hmmm. I could be really smart-ass, here, but Man does not live on lentil soup alone. However, not being a smart-ass by nature, I'll not be one, and say: vary your diet some! You must have missed the part about potatoes and carrots.Nope, didn't miss it at all. It sounded like he didn't want to because it would have put it over the $15 a week threshold.lisa WSCR 594 FB 1023 CBDB 9 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Bignugget 0 #5 August 11, 2013 I've never tried lentils. Wiki says: With about 30% of their calories from protein, lentils have the third-highest level of protein, by weight, of any legume or nut, after soybeans and hemp Nifty! Mind posting the recipe you use? Might give it a twirl. Can never go wrong with pork / chicken Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
FlyingRhenquest 1 #6 August 11, 2013 BignuggetI've never tried lentils. Wiki says: With about 30% of their calories from protein, lentils have the third-highest level of protein, by weight, of any legume or nut, after soybeans and hemp Nifty! Mind posting the recipe you use? Might give it a twirl. Can never go wrong with pork / chicken Sure! Note that tonight's lentil soup was paired with Oskar Blues' Imperial stout, so there may be some misspellings and/or omissions. Lentil Soup Recipe: 1 pound pork or chicken thighs (Skin on for great justice!) 1 Onion 2-3 cloves of garlic 1 16 oz bag of lentils 2 cans of diced tomatoes 3-4 New/Red potatoes 1 small bag of peeled baby carrots Salt/Pepper to taste Enough water to cover everything optional (Any or all of these ingredients may be skipped.) 1/2 pound of bacon (If you really want to bam it up a notch!) 1 tsp cumin (grind your own for great justice! And actually cumin really isn't optional...) 10-15 ground cloves 5-6 cardamon seeds (ground) 1 1/2 teaspoon chili flakes, ground 2 anise pods, ground 1 tsp of freshly ground nutmeg 1/2 stick of freshly ground cinnamon Preparation: Chuck everything in a crock pot on "high" for 4 hours. You can brown your meat if you want to (Makes somewhat "darker" flavors) but this really isn't necessary. I use a 2-blade coffee grinder to grind all my spices. Purists will insist that your spices should be toasted before ground, but I don't notice a difference, personally. You could probably swap out the lentils for split peas or red beans. It might be nice over rice that way. You want to use new potatoes instead of russets because new potatoes hold their shape better when you braise them (this is effectively a braising recipe.) I like to use chicken thighs when I'm using chicken because the bones and connective tissue produce more gelatin in your braise. This makes your braise lip-smackin' good -- much the same reason "boneless chicken wings" are an ABOMINATION! You need the bones for the gelatin! Note that this is both fantastically good and incredibly cheap. My red and green chili follow similar methodologies; they're just meat braises with tomatoes and spices. Master the braise and you need never be hungry! They're never hard-and-fast recipes, either. Forget something and you're not in bad shape. Substituting ingredients is fine. As long as you're happy (or learned something) from the outcome, it's not a failure!I'm trying to teach myself how to set things on fire with my mind. Hey... is it hot in here? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
FlyingRhenquest 1 #7 August 11, 2013 oldwomanc6 Hmmm. I could be really smart-ass, here, but Man does not live on lentil soup alone. However, not being a smart-ass by nature, I'll not be one, and say: vary your diet some! Eeh, I'll probably throw a steak, some pizza or an artichoke sub from Snarfs at some point during the week. I could just get by on Lentil soup for most of the week though. OOh and the Flight Deck will be back later this week. Their breakfast burritos and hamburgers are pretty good too!I'm trying to teach myself how to set things on fire with my mind. Hey... is it hot in here? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Bignugget 0 #8 August 11, 2013 Legit. I shall attempt this in the next week or so. Sounds damn tasty. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
oldwomanc6 60 #9 August 11, 2013 That does sound like a yummy recipe, I'll have to try it. (somehow this seems like deja vu ) lisa WSCR 594 FB 1023 CBDB 9 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Bignugget 0 #10 August 11, 2013 We could sit down and debate guns over a bowl of lentil soup! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
FlyingRhenquest 1 #11 August 11, 2013 oldwomanc6 That does sound like a yummy recipe, I'll have to try it. (somehow this seems like deja vu ) I've posted similar recipes in the past. My red chili is just beef, tomatoes, jalepino peppers, chipotle peppers, a couple kinds of dried beans. cumin and beer in the crock pot for a few hours. Recently I switched the beef out for goat ribs, which worked better than I expected it to. My green chili is pork, tomatoes, peeled roasted peppers, quartered tomatillos and cumin in a crock pot for a few hours. If you look at my pot roast recipe, which is essentially Alton Brown's Chuck Roast Recipe you might accuse me of being a one-trick pony -- Braising is my favorite trick to be sure. Alton brown pretty much taught me how to cook. His quiche is pretty good too.I'm trying to teach myself how to set things on fire with my mind. Hey... is it hot in here? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
oldwomanc6 60 #12 August 11, 2013 lisa WSCR 594 FB 1023 CBDB 9 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
