This recipe is really simple this week. That’s kind of where I’m at this week. With my schedule changing again, I’m not in the mood for any more complexities. Now this doesn’t mean I want a boring recipe. Some of the simplest recipes can be flat out amazing. I wanted the most bang for my buck. That’s when I found this recipe from Sharon Younan on All Recipes for Green Lentils and Rice Assyrian Style. This recipe is very simple: lentils, rice, water and onions. These are things you probably have on hand already. Not even an international spice to be found. This is the kind of recipe for someone to get their feet wet with ethnic cuisine from somewhere other than Mexico or Italy (these are so common in the US that I don’t really consider these outside the norm). I’m going to add a few more veggies to round out the vitamin profile, but not much in the way of changes this week. Here are the original stats.

Here’s what I changed:

• I replaced the white rice with brown to add fiber.
• I reduced the amount of olive oil to reduce the calories and allow for the addition of more veggies.
• I reduced the amount of servings from 8 to 5 to increase the calories per serving.
• I added red bell pepper to increase the vitamin C.
• I replace the green lentils with brown because of what I have on hand.
• I added carrot to increase the vitamin A.

Here are the final stats:

Here is the final recipe:

Green Lentils and Rice Assyrian Style

Serves 5

• 1 cup dry brown lentils
• 2 cups water
• 2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
• 1 cup brown basmati rice
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 2 red bell peppers, chopped
• 2 carrots, grated
• 1/4 teaspoon salt

1. Place the lentils into a pot and cover with the water. Bring to a rolling boil over high heat for 5 minutes, then cover and remove from heat. Meanwhile, rinse the rice in cold water until water comes out clear.
2. Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil or vegetable oil in a skillet over medium heat. Stir in the rice for about 1 minute, until the grains turn opaque and white, then stir in the lentils and water. Bring the rice mixture to a boil, then cover and reduce heat to medium-low for 5 minutes. Stir once, then cover and reduce heat further to low. Continue cooking, covered (don’t remove the lid!) until the rice is tender, about 15 minutes more.
3. Meanwhile, heat the remaining 1 tablespoons of oil in the skillet over medium heat. Stir in the onion, carrot and bell pepper; cook and stir until the onion has softened and turned translucent, about 5 minutes. Reduce heat to medium-low, and continue cooking and stirring until the onion is very tender and dark brown, 15 to 20 minutes more. When the rice is ready, stir in the caramelized vegetables and season with salt.