Lentil Mushroom Meatballs and Easy Peasy Marinara Sauce

Some kitchen experiments turn out okay, some good, some total fails, and some turn out great with not only me loving the new recipe but Kai loving it as well.  While he will eat almost anything he doesn't love all food.  I like to limit my red meat intake and he, well, he could eat steak and ground beef daily.  We both were really craving spaghetti and meatballs but I wasn't really feeling beef so off to the test kitchen I went.

I scroll through Pinterest, blogs, and cook shows websites frequently looking for new recipes to try and most end up just being a starting point for me.  I had been seeing many different recipes for a mushroom with lentils or beans meatball but no one recipe really jumped out at me.

First I tried playing around with different types of lentils and honestly I wasn't loving the texture until I came across French Lentils.  I really liked the way they tasted with the mushrooms and the texture they provided.  As for the mushrooms I played around with those a bit too and I enjoy the flavor of the baby bellas more than button or white mushrooms which most recipes called for.  Then you have to form the lentil balls and honestly it felt like a lot of work.  I have a couple cookies scoops and I used one of those to scoop the mixture and put it on the stone to be baked.  You could shape them if you want or maybe drop them by the spoonful like you would cookie batter if the shape isn't important to you.

As for the marinara sauce I like things to be simple.  I have been loving cooking it in the crockpot.  I can add in all the ingredients and walk away.  Plus, it adds no heat to my house which is already warm enough right now! While I want to experiment more with this recipe so I don't need to use any canned products it is my go to sauce.  It's truly simple. I add 3 large cans of crushed tomatoes, 2 cans of tomato paste, 5 cloves of garlic  (through my garlic press), a half cup of red onions diced, and 1-2 carrots sliced.  After it cooks on low for 6-8 hours I take the immersion blender and blend it all up.The red onions and carrots add a little sweetness without adding processed sugar and add a little extra vegetables. Sometimes I add a little red wine or chicken stock at this point if I want to thin it out or slightly change the taste.

Easy Peasy Marinara Sauce

3 large cans of crushed tomatoes

2 cans of tomato paste

1/2 cup red onion, diced

2 carrots, diced

5 cloves of garlic, minced or pressed

Red wine or chicken stock (to taste and optional) 

Put all ingredients except the red wine or chicken stock in the crockpot and cook on low for 6-8 hours.  When finished blend with an immersion blender and add red wine or chicken stock if desired.  

**Freezes well.

Lentil Mushroom Meatballs

1/2 c. dried French lentils, rinsed and picked over
1 c. water
8 oz. baby bellas
1 tbsp. olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tbsp. red wine
1/2 c. vegetable or mushroom broth
1/2 c. old-fashioned oats
1 tsp. Italian seasoning
salt + pepper to taste
olive oil for pan


Combine the French lentils and water in a small sauce pan, bring to a bowl, reduce heat, and simmer for 10 minutes.  This isn't the instructions on the lentil packaging but they need to be under-cooked for the best consistency for the meatballs. Remove from heat and drain. 
Put lentils and mushrooms in the food processor and pulse until coarsely chopped.  I sliced the mushrooms first only because I found it didn't mush the lentils up as much this way.  
Heat olive oil in a large skillet, cook garlic, then add the lentil mushroom mixture.  Brown the ingredients while stirring frequently. 
Stir in red wine and cook until evaporated.  Add in stock, oats, and seasonings and cook until all liquid has been absorbed.  Remove from heat and scoop or shape and place on to a sheet to be baked on.  I prefer a stone.
Bake at 350 degrees for 35-40 minutes.