You can add leftover cooked chicken, sausage, shrimp or roasted vegetables to this dish. Serves 6, can be doubled.
Ingredients
1 cup lentils
1 cup brown rice
6 cups liquid (water, or a mix of chicken stock and water)
1 bay leaf
2 tsp dried oregano
8 oz tomato sauce
1 large onion, sliced
2 carrots, sliced
1/3 cup smoky barbeque sauce, or more to taste (I use gluten-free Cowboy Ketchup)
1 Tbsp hot sauce, or more to taste
1/2 lb sliced mushrooms, any kind
Optional: 1 cup chopped chicken breast, or 3/4 pound peeled and deveined shrimp, or 1 cup leftover shredded chicken breast, or 1 cup roasted vegetables, or 1/2 cup sliced cooked sausage
Directions
In a stockpot, bring lentils, rice and liquid to a boil. Reduce heat to simmer, cover and cook for 30 minutes.
Add tomato sauce, bay leaf, oregano, onions, carrots, barbecue sauce and hot sauce, and cook, covered for 15 minutes. Add mushrooms, and optional chicken, shrimp or sausage. Continue cooking 20 minutes or until everything is tender, and the finished dish is quite thick. If you need more liquid to keep it from sticking to the pot, add water a tablespoon at a time.
Serve hot.