Red Lentil & Roasted Cauliflower Tacos with Creamy Chipotle Sauce

One of my vegetarian friends had a new baby and I wanted to make a meal for her family to share. I decided on red lentil tacos. Red lentils, who knew? I loved these lentils and struggled to actually give them away (although not a hit with the family).  Lentils are high in protein AND filling. And the best part? This is quick to make!

This recipe is only a base for the versatility of red lentils. Change up the spices and make it your own! In the original recipe, I read that red lentils cook quickly because they are already split while other lentils take a long time.

Original Recipe

Red Lentil & Roasted Cauliflower with Creamy Chipotle Sauce

Feeds 4

Ingredients

Tacos:

• 1 tsp olive oil
• 1/2 red onion, diced
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1 Tbsp chili powder
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1 tsp smoked paprika (or use regular paprika)
• 1/2 tsp oregano
• 1/2 tsp ground pepper
• 1/2 tsp kosher salt
• 1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
• 1 cup dry red lentils, rinsed
• 2 cups water
• 
  

Creamy Chipotle Sauce:

   1/3 C mayonaise

    2-3 Chipotle's plus sauce from the can

    juice of 3 limes

    salt

Roasted Cauliflower:

    olive oil

    cauliflower, broken into medium florets

    salt

For Serving:

    Corn Tortillas

     Avocado

     Cilantro

     Onion

     Cheese

     Favorite Taco Toppings

Directions

Preheat the oven to 400

1a. Toss cauliflower (any color!) with olive oil until just coated and toss with salt in a rimmed baking pan. Roast 25-35 minutes until tender and browning.

1. In a medium saucepan, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add onion and cook ~5 minutes until starting to get soft

2. Add garlic and cook one minute more

3. Add all the spices and cook 30 seconds until fragrant

4. Add lentils and water. Bring to a boil and reduce heat. Simmer 15 minutes until lentils are tender. Adjust salt to taste

5. Meanwhile, in a mini blender combine all ingredients for the chipotle sauce

6. Serve lentils warm with cauliflower and desired toppings. Add Chipotle Sauce on top.

CJ'S Chewy Chocolate Dream cookies.

Have you been craving the perfect chocolate cookie lately? Well, these cookies are bound to satisfy you. Eat them right out of the oven, frozen, plain, or in a bowl of ice cream. Whatever way you eat them, there is no hiding the incredible taste and flavor of these delicious chocolate cookies.


                                CJ's Chewy Chocolate Dream Cookies

1/2 cup Brown Sugar
1/2 cup White Sugar
1/2 cup Butter
1 Egg
1/2 teaspoon Vanilla
1 cup Flour
1/2 teaspoon Salt
1/2 teaspoon Baking Soda
2/3 cup chocolate chips (for melting)
1/2 cup chocolate chips ( If you want a crunch. If you don't want that, make it just 1 cup of chocolate chips.)

Preheat oven to 350 F
Cream in electric mixer butter, and both kinds of sugar. Add egg, mixing until combined, then put in vanilla. In a separate bowl, combine flour, baking soda, and salt. Very slowly, add the flour mix to the wet mix, and combine. Put a pot of water on to boil, then find a heatproof glass bowl (or use a double boiler). When the water is boiling, put the glass bowl on top of the pot and pour the 2/3 cup chocolate chips into the glass bowl. Stir until melted. After they are melted like this:

turn the stove off, and spoon the now melted chocolate chips into the mixer fast, so they don't harden. Turn the mixer on, and mix until combined. Mix in the rest of the chocolate chips. If you wish to add nuts, add a couple handfuls of chopped walnuts. Put onto trays:

 and bake for first 8 minutes, then if they do not look done enough, bake for a minute more, and repeat until done. Serve as desired. Enjoy!