- 2 slices of bacon chopped roughly (optional, olive oil is just as good)
- 1 onion minced
- 2 small carrots diced small (for the kids mainly)
- 1 leek minced
- one bunch of kale cut up into strips
- 3 cloves garlic
- 1 bay leaf
- 2 1/2 cups stock
- 1/4 cup sherry
- 1 tsp herbs de provence
- a pinch of salt
- 1 cup french lentils, cleaned and sorted
a couple people have asked me what my kids eat. believe it or not, i have raised little foodies and for the most part they eat what we eat.
how do i get them to eat all this food that looks so kid unfriendly? i make it fun for them. i also include them in cooking everything. they both get on chairs and join me in dicing and mixing, checking and of course taste testing.
the dish above my little princess helped me make. she picked out the veg and poured in the stock. all through out the day she begged me to open the crock pot for a “taste”. at 4 we started tasting and she was in heaven. she dunked in bread and slurped up the sauce and j begged for it over pasta. smart kid. this is what we call flower pasta (hey, it works). it made your basic lentil stew into something fun for them, little did they know they are getting protein from the beans and lots of vitamins from the kale and carrots.
{crock pot} lentils and kale
- get out that crock pot and add your stock, lentils, bay leaf, sherry, and herbs de provence.
- in a skillet, add chopped bacon and saute till fat starts to render but do not let it brown (if you are not using bacon use a good olive oil). add all veg as well as a pinch of salt, cook 5-6 minutes. you want veg cooked but not browned. add to crock pot. mix.
- cook on low 4-6 hours or on high 3-4.
the kids ate this with pasta as a sauce with some broccoli and fruit on the side.
i love lentils so for me this just hit the spot. sometimes a good semi-vegetarian meal is exactly what i need.
Thanks a for including a pure-veggie option. A lot of recipes that call for bacon have only that to it to make it flavorful so it usually can't just be simply omitted. (And facon, let's face it, is /scary/ stuff. Ever read the ingredients?)
So, 'trying to use up some leeks from the CSA I work for (read: free grub as good as cash) along with some french lentils I soaked.
This should nicely do the trick.
I adore slowcooked recipes.
Cheers, thanks.
- Nailgun
facon…not a fan
a lot of my recipes, especially lately with the farmers markets, have been more vegetarian based. i can't help myself. love all these fresh summer veggies.