Since today marks the first of the Nine Days, I thought it would be the perfect time to share my recipe for Snobby Joe’s – aka Sloppy Joe’s, with lentils substituted for the ground beef.
Kosher on a Budget’s Snobby Joes
Serves 5-6 hungry people
Ingredients
- 1 cup dry lentils
- 4 cups water
- 1 T olive, vegetable or coconut oil
- 1 onion, chopped
- 1 green (or other color) bell pepper, chopped small
- 2-3 cloves of garlic, minced
- 1 T of chili powder (or more to taste)
- 1 t of cumin
- 1 8-oz can tomato sauce
- 1/4 c tomato paste
- 1-2 T brown sugar
- 1 T of brown mustard
Instructions
1. Pour lentils and water into saucepan and bring to a boil. Lower the temperature and simmer for 20 minutes until lentils are cooked soft.
2. About 10 minutes after you lower the temperature on the lentils, sauté onions over medium-high heat in a large saucepan until slightly softened. Add the peppers and garlic and continue sautéing until the peppers and garlic are soft and the onions are starting to get golden in color. Shake in cumin and chili powder and mix well.
3. Strain the cooked lentils and pour into the pan with the onions. Stir together.
4. Add tomato paste, tomato sauce, mustard and brown sugar and continue cooking for about 10 minutes.
5. Lower the temperature to minimal heat and keep warm until you’re ready to eat (the longer it sits, the more the flavors will meld together).
We were planning to eat these in a pita – which would have helped with the “sloppy” factor – but instead purchased Roma small hamburger buns, on sale for $1.50 per package of eight. These worked well, too, but were definitely messier.
If you are looking for more vegetarian-friendly meal ideas, you can check out these posts:
Vegetarian Menu Planning Ideas – there are loads of links within this post as well to more 9-Days Friendly Recipes
My Favorite Frugal Vegetarian Meals
Pizza is always a popular choice – we have it every Thursday! If you’re looking to fancy up your pizza nights, try using my foccacia bread recipe for the crust. YUM-O!
For those looking to avoid dairy, one of my favorite recipes is for this Peanut Noodle Pasta dish. Ohmygosh, I could eat the whole bowl!
And finally, if you think you don’t like tofu, you MUST try my crunchy sesame tofu recipe and let me know if that didn’t change your mind!
Now, it’s your turn: I’d love for you to share your favorite vegetarian or fish recipes in the comments section. If you have blogged about it, please share a link to the post.
B’tayavon!
Quinoa Burgers
These are INSANELY GOOD!!! My toddler gobbles them down. Eat them plain or add a bun with lettuce and tomato and it’s a great Veggie meal. YUMMY YUMMY YUMMY!!!
Yield: 6 large patties
1-1/2 cups vegetable broth (I used water with the powdered broth stuff because that’s what I had on hand)
1 cup quinoa, **rinsed well** (ALWAYS rinse your Quinoa- even if it says pre-rinsed- lest it taste bitter and soapy)
1 large egg, beaten (my note to the recipe- I will add 2 eggs next time to hold it all together a little better)
4 to 5 tbsp. olive oil, divided
1/4 cup onions, chopped
1/4 cup red and green peppers, chopped
2-3 cloves garlic, minced
Salt
Pepper
Herbs- (whichever, it’s a versatile recipe)(today I used dried parsley, basil and oregano and pepper) to taste
1. Bring broth to a boil. Add quinoa and stir. Simmer, covered until all liquid is absorbed, about 20 minutes. Let stand 5 minutes. Cool.
2. Add egg(s).
3. Sauté onions, peppers, and garlic in 2 tbsp. olive oil until softened and lightly browned. Add to quinoa mixture along with salt, pepper, and your favorite herbs, fresh or dried.
4. Form mixture into patties and sauté in remaining oil until browned on both sides.
They were YUMMY but they didn’t hold together very well as a burger. My theory to this is I used more veggies than called for adding some extra moisture, plus I think an extra egg would be better. But all in all it’s a super successful supper. WHOO HOO!
I love quinoa patties! Thanks for this recipe!