Down Home Lentils

This is my recipe for Lentils. It is pretty southern in it's spirit but it does have some unexpected ingredients thrown in like nutmeg and cloves. These lentils don't necessarily make for a gorgeous photography session, but they are super yummy :)

That's right! It's the lentils fault. Well it is either the fault of the lentils or the sun, which went down before I could get home from work to cook and photograph these. Either way, it most certainly has nothing to do with my very skillful camera stylings. Well anyway, regardless of who is at fault in this sad little photo shoot these lentils are SUPER YUMMY, pretty healthy for southern fair, and surprisingly quick to cook some evening after work. They will remind you of your grandmother in a very good way. Try them sometime. I promise you won't
regret it.

For starters you'll want to gather your ingredients together and line them up neatly on your counter in the order of the color wheel. OK, that instruction is only required for me, but feel free to go ahead and do it if you care about doing things the "right" way. Actually, I just arranged them nicely like so:

BTW, Just look at the red bell pepper hiding behind the purple onion. Outrageous lack of professionalism!! Peppers are such prima donnas, and poor planners to boot. They just can't see the big picture I guess.

Ingredients

1 tbsp Butter
1 tbsp Olive Oil
1 Ham Steak cut into 1/4 inch to 1/2 inch pieces
1 Medium Sized Onion
1 Celery Stalk
1/2 Red Bell Pepper
3 Cloves Garlic
1/8 tsp Nutmeg
1 tsp Smoked Paprika
Pinch Cloves
1 1/4 cups French Green Lentils
2 - 14.5 oz Cans 99% Fat Free Chicken Broth
Black Pepper and Salt to taste

Begin by melting the butter in a large skillet with the Tbsp of olive oil.

Chop the ham steak (trimming fat) into small 1/4 inch to 1/2 inch cubes, and add to pan. Saute ham pieces for a few minutes, browning slightly (Sorry, someone forgot to photograph this step). Chop veggies finely while meat is browning. Remove ham pieces to a bowl straining off excess oil, and
set aside.

Add finely chopped veggies to the pan and saute until soft and translucent.

Add Lentils to pan and brown slightly. Add ham back to pan. Add nutmeg, cloves, smoked paprika, salt and pepper to taste (WARNING*don't go overboard with the salt, as the ham will add salt).

Add chicken stock and stir mixing ingredients and making sure all lentils are covered in stock. Note*The lentils will rise as they cook. Cover with lid and cook about 45 minutes. If you are using larger lentils you will need to cook longer. Serve with rice or cornbread.