Beef and Lentil Chili

I realize that I have been posting a lot of baked treats this month. My mother says it's the time of year for it so I guess it's okay. Lately, I've really been in the mood for apples, sweet potatoes, pears, cinnamon, cloves, ginger...

Anyway, before you all start thinking I'm serving my family muffins for dinner, here is an easy and delicious chili recipe for you to try.

Beans are typically the main ingredient that comes to mind when I think of making chili. The other night I was in the mood for a nice warm bowl of the stuff, but as luck would have it, I only had dried beans and not enough time to cook them up. I spotted a bag of lentils and thought they would make a perfect replacement.

Beef and Lentil Chili
by theUngourmet

Ingredients

1 lb of lean ground beef or ground turkey
2 tbsp oil
2 cloves chopped garlic
1 cup dry lentils, rinsed
1 8 oz can of tomato sauce
1 10 oz can of Rotel diced tomatoes with green chilies
2 cup chicken broth
2 tbsp chili powder
2 tsp dried basil
2tsp dried marjoram
2 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp salt
cracked pepper to taste

Garnish

sour cream
hot sauce

Brown the beef or turkey. Drain. Heat the oil in a large saucepan. Add the garlic and saute for a minute or two. Add the beef or turkey, lentils, tomatoes, broth, herbs, spices, salt and pepper. Cover and simmer for about an hour, stirring occasionally, until lentils are tender.

Garnish with a dollop of sour cream and a few dashes of your favorite hot sauce.

This is a really wonderful change from regular chili. Serve it with some yummy corn muffins. You could also wrap this chili in a tortilla with some diced tomato and avocado if you felt like it.

This should serve six comfortably.

Have a lovely week!

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Chili Lime Cilantro Mini Burgers with Lemon Cilantro Yogurt Dressing

So, I really wanted to make Kefkas but I didn't have any parsley or mint. I did have cilantro growing in my garden so I decided to go this direction instead.

First, let's talk about the dressing. Here is what I used for it:

• 1 cup plain yogurt
• 1 tsp minced garlic
• 1 tbsp chopped cilantro
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• 1 tbsp Cholula Chili Lime Seasoning

Combine ingredients in a small bowl and place in refrigerator for a bit to let the flavors come together.

Here is what I used for the Mini Burgers:

• 1lb ground beef
• 1 tsp minced garlic
• 2 tbsp chopped cilantro
• 1 tbsp Cholula Chili Lime Seasoning
• 1/2 tsp kosher salt
  
• warm flatbread
• diced tomato (I'm out and I'm too lazy to go to the store to get one right now.)
  
• shredded leaf lettuce
  

Combine the ground beef, garlic, cilantro and spice. Mix well.

Form into mini oblong patties.

Place on the grill and cook to desired temperature.

Place 1 or 2 Mini Burgers into a piece of flatbread and garnish with Lemon Cilantro Yogurt Dressing, diced tomato, and shredded leaf lettuce. My husband said these were amazing so they must be good. He doesn't just throw that out there.

Click Here for a printable version of this recipe.

~Enjoy~

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Tex-Mex Burgers

Grab your napkins kids cause your gonna need 'em!

I found a recipe similar to this one in People Magazine's Country Special addition.I knew this would be right up my husband's alley. I added in the black beans. I couldn't find any ripe avocados so I cheated a bit with the Trader Joes Guacamole.

Here is what you need for these drippy, sloppy, juicy burgers:

• 1 lb ground beef
  
• 1/2 cup black beans
• 1 4oz can of diced green chilies
• 1 tsp cumin
  
• 1 tsp minced garlic
• 1 tsp kosher salt
  
• 1 tbsp chopped cilantro
• guacamole
• jack cheese
• tomato
• leaf lettuce
• Buns
  

Place your beef, chilies, beans, cilantro, garlic and spices into a bowl and mix well.

Form into 1/4 lb patties. (The Plain Jane patty is for my son.)

Place onto a medium grill and cook to desired temperature. Turning occasionally.

Top burgers with jack cheese, tomato, lettuce and guacamole. If I were you I would have a fork handy just in case!

~Burger Love~

I also wanted to say a big thank you to Teresa for this lovely blog award! Go and visit Teresa's blog! She has a fabulous Potato Salad recipe on there right now! Don't miss it!

I would like to pass this on to a fairly new and wonderful blog I have discovered. It's called A Joyful Chaos. She is an outstanding writer. I always look forward to reading about her lovely memories from childhood.

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Fire-Roasted Spaghetti

I know it's the weekend to do a little grilling but I just wasn't in the mood for a burger or a hot dog so I decided to grill up a little spaghetti instead.

Here is what went into my spaghetti:

• 1 lb lean ground beef
• 4 slices turkey bacon
• 1 can fire roasted tomatoes with garlic
• 1 can corn, drained
• 1 red bell pepper
• 1 cup sliced mushrooms
• 1/2 cup shredded sharp cheddar
• 1 tsp chopped fresh spicy basil
  
• 2 tbsp Worcestershire
  
• 1/2 tsp kosher salt
• 1/4 tsp cracked pepper
• Tabasco to taste
• 8 oz spaghetti, cooked al dente

Blacken your bell pepper on the grill for about 10 minutes, turning occasionally. Remove from grill and dice. Set aside. (I stole a little slice off the pepper. Shhhh!)

Cook the bacon on the grill in a bit of olive oil until crisp. Drain on a paper towel.

Brown your ground beef. Add the salt, pepper and 1 tbsp of the Worcestershire.

Remove the beef and add the corn. Cook until lightly browned.

Add the mushrooms and cook for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Add in the roasted pepper. Cook again for 5 minutes.

Next, add in the beef, bacon, 1 more tbsp of Worcestershire, and Tabasco. Cook for about 10 more minutes.

Serve on a bed of spaghetti. Top with a little sharp cheddar and fresh spicy basil. This spaghetti is just bursting with smoky, fire-roasted goodness!

Click Here for printable version of this recipe.

~Enjoy!~

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Steak with Spicy Ginger Citrus Marinade

I know, I know yesterday was Cinco de Mayo! We ate our Mexican Fiesta the night before so last night I decided on Steak with a bit of an Asian flair.

I marinated the beef overnight in the following ingredients:

• 1/4 cup reduced sodium soy sauce
• 1/4 cup orange juice
• 1/4 cup olive oil
  
• 2 cloves minced garlic
  
• 1 tbsp ground ginger
• 1/2 tsp kosher salt
• several turns of cracked pepper
• 2 tbsp hot chili sauce
• 1 tbsp flat leaf parsley,chopped
  

You will also need 1 lb or so of your favorite cut of steak.

Pour all ingredients into a Ziploc bag. Add your steak and marinade overnight. Place on a hot grill and sear for about 2 or 3 minutes on each side. Turn down your grill and cook to desired temperature.

I thinly sliced the beef and served with a salad and some steamed carrots. It was a pretty easy, no fuss meal. If you added some pasta or rice this could easily feed a family of four.

The marinade gave the beef an outstanding flavor!

~Try it, you'll like it!~

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