Lentil and Mushroom Bolognese

Alert!!! It's recipe review time. I love researching food and recipes and stumbling upon new ones. I also love testing them, and sharing the ones that I like! But the creators totally deserve their credit. I tried this recipe recently and it was awesome. SO awesome that I had to share and spread the love!

Saturdays are one of my favorite days of the week. I typically get up, do a long run and have a big yummy breakfast, relax, and eat a good dinner. This particular Saturday (although I had laryngitis), I got up and ran 6 miles in the Carolina heat... did some shopping, had fried eggs in pepper rings with a  veggie hash, and then prepped my CROCKPOT dinner. It took 6 hours; which left me plenty of time to hang by the pool!

Let's talk about lentils for a second. Now before you meat-eaters (yes, I'm one of them #omnivore) go running in the other direction, you should REALLY give this dish a change. I seriously underestimated both a. lentils, and b. veggie twists on traditional, hearty, american dishes. This was the first time I purchased/cooked with lentils, and I didn't regret a second of it. I got some green lentils at Trader Joe's for under $2.

I can't say enough about the convenience of the set-it-and-forget-it dishes. I put this together around lunch time, and planted myself at the pool for the day. I popped back in a few times to check on it and , my goodness.. the smell. It was like the heavenly tomato sauce fairies sprinkled my apartment with MAGIC. It made me drool every time I came back. I couldn't wait for the first bite!

Sometimes when I try new recipes, and I will be honest about this, I get very excited based on how they sound and I am disappointed with a certain portion of it (not to worry, I don't post anything I wouldn't make again). I was skeptical of the lentils, and I was soooo pleasantly surprised by this sauce! It had the exact same consistency as a hearty & chunky meat sauce. It made a bunch so naturally I kept some in the freezer for later!

Another benefit: red wine. This one's got it! And it just worked out WONDERFULLY that I have a surplus of wine on hand thanks to OneHope Wines!

The next lazy weekend day you have, definitely consider letting this one simmer all day! You won't be disappointed!! I paired it with pasta this time, but you could use spaghetti squash, or any form of veggie noodles!

// gluten free // dairy free // vegan

ingredients:
1 cup uncooked Trader Joe's green lentils
1 large jar of Trader Joe's tomato basil sauce
4 large carrots
1 yellow pepper
1 cup red wine - I used cabernet
1/4 cup sun-dried tomatoes
1/4 cup walnuts
8 oz. baby bella mushrooms
1/4 cup water

directions: first, add lentils to your crockpot. Blend your tomato sauce, carrots, pepper, and wine until most of the big chunks are broken down. combine this into the slow cooker by dumping it over the lentils. using the food processor again, add sundried tomatoes, mushrooms, and walnuts. pulse a few times, leaving the mixture relatively chunky. add this to the crockpot, along with the water. mix well, and cook on high for 5-6 hours.
Recipe from Fit Fork Feed