*Diary Entry From January 2018*
It felt like forever...but I am back to our regular-ish programming.
February-March 2018 transition was full of stressful situations and running around like a beheaded chicken. It all started with "I want to be a registered dietitian". Applying to school as an "adult" is a major pain in the booty.
Can't you just take my money and let me get my education?
ISSUE #1: "Please send your transcripts by *this date*". Being the responsible person I am, I request all my transcripts (which are all coming from post-Maria-Puerto Rico) 2 months before the deadline. 1 week goes by...not there yet. 2 weeks go by...not there yet. 3 weeks go by...2/3 are there! No, wait, "sorry for our mistake, only 1 is here". 4 weeks go by...2/3 are there, the other one is nowhere to be found. Bless their souls, my mother and father had been running around between my home college, my high school, and the post office trying to get the transcripts to the two universities I am applying for.
CONCLUSION: Transcript finally arrives today.
ISSUE #2: "Please take these 3 courses before applying". When you're done, apply again." I knew that was coming since I didn't take these during undergrad. Not a huge setback. Let's register for these courses, then. "To take this course, you must have passed *this course* with a C or higher..." Piece of cake. I have passed that with flying colors plus other advanced courses as part of my degree. "...withing the last 5 years." Are you kidding me? How is a working adult supposed to pursue higher education? I clearly graduated over 5 years ago which is why I'm even doing this in the first place.
CONCLUSION: Pending. Currently working on this so I don't have to re-take frigging general chemistry.
Long story short, I have been dealing with schools and the postal office for over 6 weeks...fun.
What does this have to do with this recipe? I am mentally and physically exhausted. I need some comfort food now that I can take a break from school applications. Did I mention exhausted? I don't want to be cooking for a long time. I want a good, hearty meal that can almost make itself.
Grill a chicken breast, toss a salad, and add a hearty serving of these indian-spiced lentils to soothe the most tired of souls...or maybe you're not tired but still want a hearty, quick, and easy dish.
Ingredients:
1 cup (180 g) brown lentils; dry
1 cup (240 g) canned diced tomatoes; no sugar added
3 cup water (can also use vegetable or chicken stock)
1 (5 mL) tsp olive oil
3 cloves of garlic; minced
1 (~100 g) small white or yellow onion; chopped
1 tsp salt
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp turmeric
½ tsp ground coriander
½ tsp ground ginger
½ tsp garam masala
Directions:
Rinse lentils in cold water.
Press the SAUTE button on the Instant Pot, add olive oil in medium heat and saute garlic and onions until translucent.
Add lentils, tomatoes, spices, and cover.
Set it on MANUAL for 8 minutes and use natural release. If using a pressure cooker, "pressure time" starts after actual pressure has been built up. ***
Carefully, open the Instant Pot after full pressure release. Serve hot or cold as a main dish or side dish. Can also be served as a soup by adding more broth.
***The time of cooking for stove-top is different than the pressure cooker. For stove-top, lentils must be cooked for a minimum of 15-20 minutes.
Macros per Serving (4): 33 g of carbs | 2 g of fats | 13 g of protein
NOTE: macros are based on the ingredients I used which may vary from actual ingredients used in the making of this recipe.
