Chili lentils and brown rice

We love one pot meals! Here is one of our favorite standbys with lentils, which are sometimes referred to as the “fast food” of legumes because they require no soaking. Just give them a thorough rinse in a colander. You could cut down the prep time by pulsing your veggies in a food processor until they are coarsely chopped. Also, if you have a pressure cooker, this cooks in about 15 minutes under high pressure.

• 2 T coconut oil (or your oil of choice)
• 2 small to medium carrots or 1 large carrot, diced
• 1 onion, diced
• 1 stalk of celery, diced
• 2 tsp chopped garlic
• 2 tsp chili powder
• 1 tsp cumin
• dash of cinnamon
• ½ tsp salt
• 1 bell pepper, diced
• 1 14.5z can of diced tomatoes with green chilies (or plain tomatoes and a small can of chopped green chilies)
• ¾ C plain brown rice
• ¾ C lentils (rinsed)
• 3 C gluten-free chicken broth (or 3 C water and 1 T of gluten-free bouillon)
• handful of unsalted cashew pieces (optional but very good – Trader Joes sells cashew pieces for reasonable prices)

• handful of chopped cilantro, shredded cheese and sour cream

Sauté diced onion, carrot, celery and garlic in 2 T of coconut oil over medium high heat for about 7 minutes. Stir in chili powder, cumin, cinnamon and salt and fry another minute. Stir in bell pepper and tomatoes with their juices and cook for a minute. Add rice and lentils, cashews and broth. Cover and simmer until liquid is absorbed and lentils are tender, about 1 hour. If lentils or rice are not tender enough when liquid is absorbed at the end of cooking, add about another 1/4 C water and cook a little longer.

Stir in cilantro and serve with grated cheese and sour cream if you like.