lamb, lentils, & quinoa

Whenever it gets close to an exam, I always find myself eating like a poorly nourished freshman in college again. Usually, I have some of my mother's cooking in the freezer for when I'm really busy but tragically, even that resource has now been depleted. Luckily, she also taught me how to make good meals with whatever I have in the kitchen. Yesterday, I was able to gather up some ingredients for a delicious and healthy meal, alhamdulillah. 

Lamb is hands-down my favorite meat and yes, I do think it deserves its own post (fall back, haters). I had some lamb meat in the freezer and made a lamb stew of the Indian/MiddleEastern variety in the slow cooker. I have to say that while the slow cooker may not be the sexiest appliance in the kitchen, it is one of my favorites! Seriously, after experiencing how wonderful it can be, I will never have a kitchen without it.

I will warn you, however, that using a slow cooker can be an exercise in patience and is not appropriate for the imminently hungry. BUT you can let things cook overnight or turn it on in the morning and have hot meals when you come back from work/school. It's awesome! K, I'll stop advertising now.

I had it over quinoa which I love! It's less carbs and filled with fiber and protein. 

Ingredients: Lamb meat, 1 can of crushed tomatoes, 1 can of chickpeas, cup of frozen spinach, 1/2 cup of lentils, 1 med onion, 4 cloves garlic, mint, 1 cup of water, minced ginger (2 tsps). Spices: salt to taste, cumin, red chilli powder, coriander powder, turmeric powder, cinnamon. 

Directions: Sear the lamb in olive oil on the skillet first for 5 minutes. Add lamb and all of the other ingredients except chickpeas and mint to the slow cooker. Let it cook for 4-5 hours. Add chickpeas 1 hour before finished and then garnish with mint. I literally have no idea how much of each spice I added but don't go overboard on any one spice and keep the cinnamon to a minimum.

-S