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Italian Lentil & Vegetable Stew

April 10, 2008

I have such a hard time finding decent vegetarian recipes for my crock pot, that this one is a welcome success. It has beautiful color from the orange butternut squash, and if you use your favorite marinara sauce you know you’ll be happy with the seasoning. This is perhaps the easiest crock pot recipe you’ll ever make. You could even use frozen chopped green pepper and onion to save yourself some prep time.

I’ve mentioned before that I don’t have the best knife skills. Last time I prepped a butternut squash I must have had it in my head that the skin would be too tough to remove with a peeler — I used a knife instead. I tried the peeler this time, and it made prepping that squash so much easier! I peeled it while it was still whole, then cut it in half length-wise, scooped out the seeds, and chopped it up. I have no idea why it took me so long to figure out this much easier method.

I served this stew with challah bread. There was a minor element of “OK, what are we eating next?” after finishing, the way you sometimes feel with soup for dinner. But truthfully the stew was filling, and I wasn’t hungry. I meant to serve freshly grated Parmesan to sprinkle on top, but forgot. Adding a little cheese on top would definitely make the meal feel more substantial.

Italian Lentil & Vegetable Stew
Adapted slightly from Woman’s Day

1½ c. dried brown lentils
3 c. water
1 small butternut squash, cut in bite-size chunks
8 oz. frozen green beans (no need to defrost)
1 green pepper, cut in bite-size chunks
1 large all-purpose potato, peeled and cut in bite-size chunks
1 medium onion, diced
2 c. marinara sauce

Mix lentils and water in your slow cooker (make sure you pick through the lentils first). Then layer all remaining ingredients on top, in the order listed.

Cover and cook on LOW 4-6 hours or until the vegetables and lentils are tender.

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Filed under: Crock pot,Veggie Mains,Veggie Sides

Tags: dinner, Italian Lentil Vegetable Stew, lentils, LOW, OK, recipe, sauce, slow cooker, vegetarian, whole, Woman Day