It’s the Monday before payday. I spent the weekend hopping around to different outdoor markets, riding my bike, attending family cookouts, and gardening. I haven’t been grocery shopping and I don’t want to go before we get paid. So what I have in my pantry is gonna have to get the job done, period. I’m tired from such an active weekend, too, so I need it to be super duper lazy food that I don’t have to fuss with. After standing in front of my panty for a few minutes, I yanked out a few of my pantry staples and threw together a really simple casserole that turned out AMAZING. Where has this been my whole life? Desperation (and tired laziness) is indeed the mother of creativity.
There are all kinds of ways you could dress this dish up- throw some spinach in there, dice some carrots and add them, or peas, or any vegetable that strikes your fancy. Diced potatoes would also be delicious. But I’m using what I’ve got, and something basic and not too elaborate was right up my alley. Once you get the onion diced, it’s just a matter of throwing everything into a casserole dish and setting the timer. Perfection. This dish is also low fat and chock-full of whole-grain goodness- barley and lentils together are real nutritional powerhouses. It’s a very economical dish, too, which is great if you’re trying to stretch your grocery budget further. Grains and legumes are so inexpensive and so good for you!
Ingredients:
1 cup pearled barley
1 pound green lentils, rinsed and picked over
1 large onion, chopped fine (I used my mini food processor)
7 cups good quality vegetable broth, brought to a boil (I used my Better than Bullion)
2 T parsley flakes
1 t powdered sage
Salt and white pepper to taste
Preheat the over to 350. Add all the ingredients to a large 9×12 casserole dish. Make sure the broth is to the boiling point when you add it; this will make it cook faster since the water won’t have to heat in the oven before it can start cooking the grains. Cover tightly with aluminum foil and cook for an hour. Stir when finished and serve with a nice crusty bread.
Barley & Lentil Casserole
Ingredients
- 1 cup pearled barley
- 1 pound green lentils rinsed and picked over
- 1 large onion chopped fine (I used my mini food processor)
- 7 cups good quality vegetable broth brought to a boil (I used my Better than Bullion)
- 2 T parsley flakes
- 1 t powdered sage
- Salt and white pepper to taste
Instructions
- Preheat the over to 350.
- Add all the ingredients to a large 9x12 casserole dish. Make sure the broth is to the boiling point when you add it; this will make it cook faster since the water won't have to heat in the oven before it can start cooking the grains.
- Cover tightly with aluminum foil and cook for an hour.
- Stir when finished and serve with a nice crusty bread.
The recipe sounds great. My son has allergy problems and this sounds like something he could eat without issues.
This looks like a healthy but tasty meal. I love trying new recipes.
That looks delicious. I love lentils.
With ground beef being so expensive, lentils are a great way to supplement them.
I just made a dish with lentils, and realized how good they are, cook fast, and inexpensive. I would love to try this I love barley, too.
I love barley. Unfortunately, it doesn’t like me very much. I’ve tried it several times.
Unfortunately, barley contains gluten so is not appropriate for celiacs or gluten sensitive people. Just mentioning it in case someone new to gluten free cooking is not aware.
I had no idea. Thanks for bringing it to my attention. My old virtual assistant made this one and I admit I never tried it because I don’t like lentils all that much. I am allergic to gluten, not celiac so I can have small amounts (leads to migraines) so I have had barley before. I have edited it out of the title. I will not promote it that way in the future!