Emma and I went to the store earlier this week, but all we really bought was snack foods.  I don’t know how I managed to get through the store without picking up more “real” food, but I did, and I was in a pinch last night when I was trying think of something to make for dinner.  While running down the list of things in our pantry, I realized that we have tons of beans, rice and the like.  Well, the problem with dried beans is that they require soaking and I didn’t have time for that.  The next best thing was lentils, which cook up super fast, are very tasty and nutritious and don’t require soaking time.

Then I thought of this post about a dish that combined lentils with apples, served over rice and bulgur.  Check, check and check.  I had all of the above, so that’s what I went with.

Lentils don’t photograph well, but looks aside, let me say that this was DELICIOUS!  I had to make a few changes to the recipe, though, since I didn’t have much on hand.  The original recipe calls for carrots and celery.  I didn’t have any, so I left those out and just used the onion.  The original recipe also used apple cider, but I didn’t have any of that either so I used (don’t laugh) beer.  Not just any kind of beer, but this Pumpkin Ale.  I also left out the thyme because I really hate the taste of thyme. For the apples, I used one very small Gala, one medium Gala and one medium Granny Smith.  I left the skins on and chopped them pretty big so that there would be big chunks throughout.

As for the rice/bulgur combo, I used 1 cup of basmati rice and 1/2 cup of bulgur, which I cooked together in 2 3/4 cups water.  Cook it just like rice– bring to a boil, cover and reduce to a simmer, and cook for 15 minutes.  At the end, I put in about a teaspoon of Earth Balance and a dash of salt then fluffed with a fork.  Emma loved this rice, but wasn’t too fond of the lentils (although I don’t know why).  I actually liked this rice and bulgur combo a lot too and will probably make it that way from now on.  A very satisfying meal– and one that’s perfect for a rainy fall evening.