Hearty Lentil Quinoa Vegetarian Stew

by Lori
(Watertown, WI)

Our family lives in the "Frozen Tundra" that is Wisconsin. So we enjoy this hearty stew especially in the cold winter months.

Lentil Quinoa Stew Ingredients

• 2 Tbs Oil (I use grape seed oil)
• 1/2 Onion, chopped
• 1 Stalk Celery, chopped
• 2 Carrots, chopped
• 1 Garlic clove, minced (Or 1/8 tsp garlic powder if you don't have fresh garlic.)
• 1/2 tsp Oregano
• 1/2 tsp Cumin
• 1/4 tsp Onion powder
• 1/8 tsp Ground pepper
• 1 tsp Salt (I use Real Salt)
• 1 Bay leaf
• 5 Cups Water or Vegetable broth (I used a combination of water left from steaming broccoli and plain water.)
• 1 Tbs Tomato paste
• 1/2 Cup Quinoa, uncooked, rinsed
• 1/2 Cup Lentils, uncooked, rinsed
• 1/2 Cup green beans, lightly steamed and chopped

Lentil Quinoa Stew Instructions

1. In a large soup pot, warm the oil and raw veggies (onion, celery, carrots, garlic) for 2 minutes.
2. Add spices and stir.
3. Add water or broth, then tomato paste, then quinoa, and then lentils.
4. Stir.
5. Bring to a boil then turn down the heat to a simmer.
6. Cover and let simmer for 20 minutes with lid tilted.
7. Add green beans.
8. Turn off burner and let sit, covered, for 5 minutes.
9. Serve warm.

Suggestions

Next time, I want to see what it would be like to warm only the onion, carrots, and garlic for the 2 minutes and then add the celery when the green beans are to go in after the 20 minute simmering time. We don't like to cook our veggies until they're soft, so this may work better for us.

My mom gave me a great hint about tomato paste. When I open a can, take out what I need and immediately put the rest in a little sandwich bag and stick it in the freezer. That way, it won't go bad before I need it again!