Aside: Do you think it’s weird that I schlepp veggies to and from work?

OK, not a major catastrophe, but certainly it cramped my style in the kitchen. I thought about what I could throw together that incorporates the two things I wanted to get out of dinner, namely vitamins and fiber. Legumes to the rescue! Luckily I had the foresight to cook up a pot of black beans last night while I was puttering around. If you don’t have fresh black beans then canned ones will work perfectly. Lentils are one of my favorite quick fixes for many things, including salads and canned soups. They give dishes more “heft”, and are full of vitamins.

Not a Freakin’ Veggie Around

Total time: 30 minutes
Total cost per serving: approximately $6 each for two servings

1 cup dried lentils
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
2 tortillas (corn, wheat…whatever your fancy. There’s so much fiber in this meal from the beans and lentils that it’s OK to go for taste)
1/2 cup black beans (canned non-fat refried black beans or mashed up fresh black beans will work)
1/4 to 1/3 cup grated cheese (for my soul)
pico de gallo
1/2 cup chopped celery (I cheated and bought the pre-chopped stuff from the store, and it’s still only ~$1.30)
1/4 cup chopped RED onion (ditto with the pre-chopped onion. I use red onion here because I’ll be eating it raw and red onions are milder)
1 lemon
dried thyme
(all measurements are approximate, go with what tastes good to you)

1. Put the lentils in a pot and cover 1-2 inches with water. Bring to a righteous boil, then reduce the heat, cover and simmer for 15-20 minutes. I like my lentils firm, but some folks like ‘em so mushy you can’t tell that they were ever solid. If you fall into the latter category then simmer them for up to 30 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, cook the chicken in a pan over med-hi heat about 5 minutes on each side, depending on the thickness. You want to make sure it’s cooked all the way through, so check it by cutting if you’re unsure. While the chicken cooks spread the black beans on the tortillas. If you aren’t using pre-chopped onions and celery then now would be the time to chop.
3. Once the chicken is done let it cool down until you can handle it, then cut it into chunks, smaller than bite size. Sprinkle the chicken on each tortilla, then the cheese. You might not use all the chicken, but that’s OK. Just save it for another meal.
4. Put the tortillas in a toaster oven or a real oven and heat until the cheese melts. Top the tortillas with pico de gallo.
5. Once the lentils are cooked strain out the water and let them cool a minute or two. Put the celery and onion in a bowl. Grate the lemon zest off the lemon, careful not to get the bitter white part, just the zest. Add that to the bowl. Cut the lemon and squeeze the juice into the bowl. Dump the lentils in with dried thyme to taste, and mix thoroughly. Serve with grapes, which are pretty much nature’s candy right now.

To be fair, some might consider celery, onions and tomatoes veggies, but I don’t. Tomatoes are technically a fruit, there’s so little onion in this dish that it accounts for minimal nutritional value, and celery I just arbitrarily don’t consider a veggie, for no good reason. Don’t you love how I force things to fit into my description?

I want to give one more shout out to black beans and lentils. Check out the links to see how badass these are nutrition-wise. Should you be concerned about the unpleasant after-effects of eating legumes, I have one word for you: Beano. That stuff is miraculous.

Omelet on a Pita and Tomato Soup

Total time: 15-20 minutes
Total cost per serving: I didn’t calculate exactly, but I’d be surprised if more than $4-5

2 eggs
1 can of chunky tomato soup (Whole foods makes a tasty one)
1 clove garlic
Italian seasoning
1 whole wheat pita
Olive oil
1/3 cup chopped frozen spinach (eyeball it)
about 1 oz feta cheese
grapes

1. If using an oven (I use a toaster oven) pre-heat to 375 degrees. Hard boil the eggs about 10 minutes. While they are boiling, dump the soup into a pot and squish the garlic clove into the pot with a garlic press. If you don’t have a garlic press then just mince it and add it to the soup. Sprinkle in Italian seasoning to taste. Heat through on med-low heat.
2. Nuke the spinach for 45 seconds. Drizzle a little olive oil on the pita and spread it around with your fingers. Don’t be shy, olive oil is supposed to be good for your skin Squeeze out some of the water from the spinach and spread it around on the pita. Sprinkle the feta on top of the spinach and place in a toaster oven (or a regular oven). Bake at 375-400 degrees for 8-10 minutes, or until the cheese starts to melt a little and the edges of the pita brown.
3. Cool the eggs under cold running water and peel. Mash them up in a bowl with a fork and sprinkle about half on your cooked pita. Cut the pita and serve along side half the the soup with the grapes for dessert.

The cool thing about this “recipe” is that you can serve two by adding another pita and some more spinach and feta, or you can repeat tomorrow night in even less time because the eggs are ready to go.

In case you haven’t noticed, I love chopped frozen spinach. All the work is done for you and there is no worry of the spinach going bad before you can eat it all. I live alone, so bagged fresh spinach often gets all nasty before I can eat the whole bag. In this recipe in particular the chopped frozen spinach works really well, almost like a spinach spread. Is that gross? It sounds a little gross, but it’s really good, I promise! Of course you could use fresh spinach in this recipe, too. I’d tear it up and sprinkle it on the pita with the cheese and put it right into the oven.