Hippie Joes

Whenever we walk down the organic aisle at the grocery store, Z asks - out loud - why we're in the "hippie aisle." Despite the fact that we actually buy quite a few items from the organic aisle each week (the affordable items, at least),  he still feels the need to poke fun at it. 

As a result of his teasing, I thought "hippie" was the perfect play on words for these lentil "sloppy joes." They're definitely tasty, sloppy, and incredibly filling, but they're also a "crunchy granola" version of the original dish. I came up with this recipe Friday night, after researching a bunch of different recipes online, and it was a big hit with Z and our good friend, Dave (an omnivore). 

Hippie Joes

Yields: 4 servings

-1 cup uncooked lentils

-4 cups water

-1 tablespoon olive oil

-1/2 yellow onion, diced

-6-8 jarred roasted peppers (or 1 bell pepper), chopped

-1 teaspoon minced garlic

-2 tablespoons chili powder

-1/2 teaspoon dried oregano

-Salt and black pepper, to taste

-1/4 cup ketchup

-2 tablespoons maple syrup

-1/2 teaspoon mustard

-4 hamburger buns, lightly toasted

-4 slices pepper jack cheese (optional)

-Bread and butter pickle slices, for garnish (optional)

Directions:

1.) Place lentils and water in a small sauce pan. Cover and bring to a boil. Once boiling, lower heat and simmer for about 20 minutes, or until lentils are soft. Drain and set aside.
2.) Heat the olive oil in a medium-size sauce pan over medium heat. Saute the onion until softened, about 5-7 minutes (if you're using bell pepper, add that in with the onion). Add the roasted peppers and garlic and saute one minute more. Add the cooked lentils, chili powder, oregano, salt, pepper, and ketchup; stir. Lower heat and cook for about 10 minutes.
3.) Add the maple syrup and mustard and heat through. Turn the heat off and let sit for about 5-10 minutes.

4.) Serve lentil mixture on toasted hamburger buns, garnished with pepper jack cheese and pickle slices (optional). 

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The sweet maple syrup combined with the tangy hint of mustard, salty ketchup, and spicy chili powder really helped to make these hippie joes a winning dish. I also loved the varying textures from the onions, peppers, and hearty lentils. This is also one of those meals where the leftovers are even better the next day, because the flavors have had even more time to fall in love with one another. 

Despite the fact that, all day Friday, I had this song in my head...

 

...I'd say this was one winner of a meal in our house.

(Bonus: I used the leftover lentils we had from this soup to make these Hippie Joes).

Where do you do your grocery shopping? We alternate between Shaw's and Trader Joe's.

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