I *heart* my crockpot

I received a crockpot as a gift months ago. I have always thought of slow-cookers as a useless appliance that only lazy people thought they needed but I had a busy day with no time for cooking... so I took it off the shelf and put it to work. It's buttons confused me, there were only two. Is this all it is, I thought. I didn't let it stop me. I chopped up some things and added some liquid and turned her on. As I left the house I took one last look at it's little light and wondered about the energy field it was creating and whether I was a bad person for leaving a running appliance on.

BUT...I went to work for a few hours, did some errands and came home to sauce. Delightful! I think I am part of the crockpot masses now. It truly is a good way to eat more beans and things without too much hassle or stove top worry. And the slow-cooking really does make flavours more intense. Welcome to the future.

This dish can be vegan if you want to stick with nutritional yeast instead of cheese (stay tuned for my nutritional yeast blurb at the end of this post). The cumin adds a smokey taste - It took a while for us to place what this dish reminded us of. All we could come up with was bean burrito on pasta...in a good way.

Lentil Pasta Sauce With Greens - crockpot style



1 cup lentils, rinsed and drained
1 medium onion, chopped fine
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tbsp red chili flakes
1 tsp cumin
salt and pepper to taste
2 cups water
about ½ cup greens (kale, rapini, chard, etc), chopped
¼ cup nutritional yeast or parmesan cheese or both
brown rice pasta of choice (about 1.5 - 2 cups)

Throw everything but the greens and nutritional yeast in the crockpot and leave on low for 6 hours or until the lentils are soft and mushable. Then add chopped greens and nutritional yeast – put cover back on and leave for another 5 minutes or until greens are wilted. Serve on pasta and sprinkle nutritional yeast or parmesan on top.

it serves about 6 - enjoy!

What is NUTRITIONAL YEAST?

Nutritional Yeast is actually grown on molasses. It comes in flakes and is incredibly high in protein (more than meat). It contains 18 amino acids, making it a complete protein. It also has B12, which is a plant rarity. It should be a vegetarian staple. It is also beneficial to diabetics as it helps to regulate blood sugar.

It adds texture to food and can be used as a substitute for cheese. It has a woody, nutty flavour. It's great on popcorn. I also love it sprinkled on top of steamed greens.