Beef & Lentil Tacos

"Old El Paso" taco shells & seasoning packs are usually what I turn to for a Mexican dinner around here. When I really think about it though, who knows what's in that little magic seasoning pack? Lots of stuff that I probably wouldn't want to sprinkle into a dish I'm making! Ignorance really is bliss, but these beef tacos are so easy, it isn't hard to make them instead.

A couple years ago, I found this recipe in a cookbook I had taken out of the library called, "The Ultimate Slow Cooker Cookbook". Unfortunately, I made this once and then returned the book, not remembering to write down the recipe or even to remember the name of the book. I can't tell you how many times I have tried to find this recipe, realizing what a great dish it was to have for quick weeknight dinners. I finally found it on a quick run into the library, without the kids. It was amazing how many great books I found in the cookbook section, when I had the chance to concentrate on something other than keeping the kids quiet in that unnaturally silent area known as "non-fiction"!

One of the things I love about this dish is the fact that it contains lentils. Come to think of it, when I made it the first time, Gavin kicked up a fuss because I had used what were probably brown lentils and they hadn't lost their shape enough to satisfy his young preferences. This time I used red lentils (which have their skins removed), and they broke down enough that even if you were trying, you wouldn't be able to figure out what the secret ingredient was. The other great thing about this recipe is the use of the crock-pot. I absolutely love the fact that you can put together a meal first thing in the morning, turn it on, and by the time dinner rolls around you can relax a little because the hard part is finished. It makes me think that I need to pull out my crock-pot a lot more as the weather starts to turn cold.

Beef & Lentil Tacos

1 lb. extra lean ground beef, chicken or turkey
2 medium onions, chopped
1 red pepper, chopped
2 carrots, shredded
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 1/3 c. crushed tomatoes
1 1/3 c. dry lentils
1 c. water
1 T. chili powder
1 T. ground cumin
1 t. kosher salt
1/2 t. freshly ground black pepper
1 or 2 jalapeno peppers, minced (optional)

To Serve:
Soft tortilla shells or Que Pasa tortilla chips to make nachos
Grated old cheddar cheese
Chopped lettuce
Fresh tomatoes, diced
Sour cream
Avocado, sliced

1. Brown the beef in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Transfer beef to a medium/large crock-pot. Add onions and pepper to the skillet and cook until onions are translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the onion mixture to the crock-pot.
2. Stir in the carrots, garlic, tomatoes, lentils, water, chili powder, cumin, salt & pepper. Cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours. Make into tacos, nachos, or even serve over brown basmati rice (I love the popcorn smell of brown basmati).

*After the four of us had dinner, I ended up with two litres of taco mixture to freeze for another couple dinners.