Veggie Annie's Skillet:🍋Take-It-Easy-Lemon-Squeezy🍋 The Fabulous One-Pot Lentil and Quinoa Dinner

Unusually fresh, quick-and-easy meat / vegetarian / vegan recipes for everyone.

This dish will become a superstar in your dinner rotation! Pretty much everybody likes it -  and it’s adaptable, easy, gluten-free, and entirely made of plant foods! For other options: add a handful of riced cauliflower or grated carrots or cherry tomatoes at the start of cooking for even more veggies; use different cooking greens, like Swiss chard, beet greens, mustard greens, or a mix -  OR use frozen chopped spinach or kale (Frozen greens will save you chopping time!); try a different spice mix -  use ras el hanout (decrease turmeric to 1 teaspoon), or your favorite curry powder (leave out the turmeric), or you could go for something hotter, like vindaloo powder. This dish as written has a pleasant medium-low heat level -  if you’re cooking for folks who don’t love that, I'd recommend using mild curry powder in place of garam masala and skipping the red pepper flakes. 

It’s a power-veggie bowl of protein, too -  lentils and quinoa are both full of plant protein. I don’t usually serve this with any sides, as it feels so satisfying and complete to me, but toast is a great accompaniment, if you want something extra.

DEFINITELY 🔥ARV🥕 this dish! 🔥ARV🥕 stands for Always Roast Vegetables (and freeze ‘em for future meals), but it also means double this dish and freeze the extra! Don’t put hot stuff in your fridge or freezer, though, as it will bring the temp in the whole box up to levels that aren’t safe for food storage. Cool your extra goodies at room temperature -  stir frequently to release the heat -  and then package, label, date and freeze.  

While The Fabulous One Pot Lentil and Quinoa Dinner takes longer than our target of 30 minutes for a 🍋Take-It-Easy-Lemon-Squeezy🍋 recipe, we all voted to include it anyway, as it’s SO EASY and so satisfying. And did we mention that it’s all done in one pot?! 

🍋Take-It-Easy-Lemon-Squeezy🍋 The Fabulous One-Pot Lentil and Quinoa Dinner

Makes 2 1/2 quarts, which will provide around 6 hearty servings 

Takes 40-50 minutes

2 bunches lacinato kale, washed and de-stemmed

1 medium yellow onion, chopped

1 tablespoon coconut oil

1 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons garam masala

2 teaspoons turmeric

1 teaspoon cumin

1 teaspoon ground black pepper

1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes (adjust downward or skip if you’re cooking for milder palates)

1 head garlic, cloves separated, peeled and minced, about 3 tablespoons

1 cup dry brown/green lentils

3/4 cup quinoa

6 cups vegetable broth

3 tablespoons tamari

1 14 ounce can coconut milk

2 tablespoons lime juice

Garnish options (use all, some, or just the lime wedges!)

Lime wedges (highly recommended!)

Chopped or minced fresh cilantro

Toasted cashew pieces

Toasted coconut (sweetened or unsweetened)

Sriracha

Wash the kale and de-stem it by running each leaf through your fist, pulling the leaf part off the stem. Trim off the tough ends of the stems and chop the rest into small pieces. Set aside the remaining leaves.

In a 6 quart pot, over medium heat, sauté a chopped yellow onion and the chopped kale stems in 1 tablespoon of coconut oil and 1 teaspoon of salt for 5-ish minutes, stirring occasionally, until the onion is translucent and softened.

(While this is happening, get the rest of your ingredients lined up and ready. You’re going to bloom the spices and get the garlic fragrant, but you want to be ready to incorporate the rest of the ingredients at the 1-minute mark, so the spices and garlic don’t burn.)

Once the onions are ready, clear the center of the bottom of the pot, as best you can, and add 2 teaspoons of garam masala, 2 teaspoons of turmeric, 1 teaspoon of cumin, 1 teaspoon ground black pepper, and 1/2 teaspoon of red pepper flakes, plus 1 head of minced garlic (about 3 tablespoons.) Sauté that for 1 minute only.

Add 1 cup brown/green lentils, 3/4 cup quinoa, 6 cups vegetable broth and 3 tablespoons tamari. Turn the heat to high, bring to a boil, then turn down to a decent simmer. This is medium heat on my stovetop. Simmer for 30-40 minutes, or til lentils are tender and the quinoa is cooked. (Lentil cooking time can vary, depending on how elderly your lentils are.)

While the pot is cooking, gather up the greens and slice them. You’re aiming for about 3 cups of raw greens.

You can also use the cooking time to prep any garnishes you’ll be using: slice a lime into wedges, chop up some cilantro, toast cashew pieces, toast coconut.

Stir the greens into the pot, and cover for 5 minutes, turning down the heat a bit to maintain a gentler simmer. 

Remove the lid and add 1 can coconut milk. Stir well and remove from the heat. Taste for salt. Just before serving, stir in 2 tablespoons of lime juice. 

Serve in bowls, garnished with lime wedges, minced or chopped fresh cilantro, toasted cashew pieces, toasted coconut, and / or a squiggle of sriracha.