First, cook the lentils in a boiling pot of water. Remember to use a lot of water (2.5 cups of water for every 1 cup of lentils). Since they recommend 25minutes for salad-ready lentils and 45minutes for soup-ready lentils, cook the lentils for 35 minutes. Drain them afterwards with you favorite straining device, hopefully you have one that has a cool color, like pale green.
If frozen, boil the chicken for 5-10 minutes in a boiling pot of water (as opposed to a frozen pot of water). Cut into bit size pieces. Add seasoning if you are feeling brave, a little lemon pepper is always a safe bet.
Then, when mentally prepared to create the "what is smells good in here, what'cha cookin?" moment pending the arrival of your dinner guests (also works well if you go walk around the block once before you eat in case you are rocking out solo these days), add finely chopped garlic, ginger, onions to a sauce pan. Add the chicken shortly thereafter. Once the chicken is mostly cooked throughout (3-5 minutes), add the lentils and vegetable broth. This is also a good time to add harder vegetables like carrot, broccoli and cauliflower. Cover and reduce to low-medium heat. Watch it periodically. It only take 3-6 minutes at this point.
Before serving, go for a 5-10 minute walk around the block and when you get home....BAM! What'cha cooking? Smells good in here!
Ingredient List:
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 cloves garlic, diced
scant teaspoon fresh ginger (or WAY MORE!)
2 green onions, sliced
1 chicken breast
1/3 cup dry lentils, washed
2 cups broccoli heads
1 1/2 cups chunked fresh sweet potato (or REGULAR POTATO)
1 1/2 cups chicken broth (try to find the lowest sodium content you can. I prefer Organics Vegetable Broth w/ 570mg of sodium per cup or Pacific Northwest Foods Organic w/ 530mg if you can find it).
