Continuing with the weeknight dinner thing, this is a quick meal that I swear by when I want to make something good, but really don't feel like cooking. I'm sure you have those nights too, so keep this one in your arsenal! Chicken parm is often served with spaghetti, so I love the idea of cutting out the extra steps and just preparing the whole meal together. This pasta is cheesy and crumbly, and highlights all of the flavors of chicken parm, all in one little dish. Best part- it takes about 30 minutes to make, and because you'll be poaching the chicken, requires very minimal hands-on time. I like to poach the chicken because it keeps the meat super tender... And requires little effort. To round out the meal, I like to serve this with a side of vegetables, like sautéed garlic green beans.

As a side note, I have actually always preferred eggplant parm to chicken parm, and I think this would be SO great as a vegetarian version. I'll try it with eggplant sometime and let you know how it goes. Or YOU can make it and let ME know how it goes... Morgan M., I'm lookin at you, girl.

​

Ingredients (makes approx. 3-4 servings):
• 8 oz pasta (penne is my preference, because you get a little burst of sauce with each bite. Bowtie is what I had on hand, and is a great substitute)
• 1 large chicken breast
• 1 garlic clove (gently smashed)
• 24 oz marina (my favorite to use is this spinach and parmesan flavor)
• 1/3 cup Italian panko breadcrumbs
• 1/4 tsp dried basil
• 1/4 tsp garlic powder
• 1/4 tsp dried oregano
• 1/2 cup shredded cheese (I like a mix of mozzarella and 6 blend Italian)
• Salt
• Ground black pepper and cracked black pepper to taste

Directions:
• Preheat oven to 375° and grease an 8"x10" dish.
• Rinse chicken breast under cold water and place in a small saucepan with your garlic and 1/2 tsp of salt. Add cool water to the pot, covering the chicken by about an inch. Bring water to a boil, then reduce heat to a simmer and cover. Cook chicken for about 10 minutes, or until opaque through the middle.
Note: chicken will need more or less time depending on thickness. Smaller cuts will need about 9 minutes, larger could go up to 14. 
• While chicken cooks, bring a pot of salted water to a boil. Add pasta, and cook for ten minutes. 
• Add panko breadcrumbs, basil, garlic powder, and oregano to a small bowl. Stir to combine. (Yes, I knowwww this is already Italian flavored, but adding more herbs and seasoning just kicks the flavor up a notch, and flavor is what we're all about here at Trilla's Table)
• Once chicken has cooked, remove from the water, let cool, and then cut into bite sized pieces. Season both sides with a pinch of black pepper.
• Building in layers, add half of the pasta to your baking dish, then half of the chicken, half of the marina, and a generous sprinkling of cheese. Give the dish a little shake to help the marinara reach all of the pasta, then repeat these steps with the remaining half. Top with the panko breadcrumb mixture.
Note: I like to taste the marinara first to see if it needs any more seasoning. Feel free to add more seasonings or herbs to your liking. I usually add cracked black pepper, garlic powder, and basil.
• Bake for about 15-20 minutes, or until breadcrumbs are golden brown.

Stir fry is one of my favorite week night dinners to make. It's quick, easy, healthy, and a great way to use up almost any leftover veggies you've got in the fridge. I'd say the two keys to making a good stir fry are 1) keeping just the right amount of crispiness in the veggies, and 2) the SAUCE. After experimenting with dozens of stir fry sauces, I can confidently say that THIS one is perfection. It's creamy, savory, and bright, with a hint of spice.  After adding it to the noodles, I can usually be found scraping the remaining sauce out of the bowl and spooning it into my mouth. No judgment. 

This stir fry also goes well with shrimp (if you're into that, which I am not, but Sterling is), so I'll give you the ingredients for the quick marinade I like to make for the shrimp, and how to prepare them.

This is my ultimate number one favorite stir fry that I've made to date. It's so colorful, vibrant, quick to make, and deeelicious. I think it'll be your favorite too. 

Ingredients (makes approx. 4 servings):
Noodles:
• 10 oz stir fry rice noodles (I like this kind from Thai Kitchen)
• 1-2 tbsp coconut or olive oil 
• 1 heaping cup broccoli (cut into florets)
• 1/2 cup cauliflower (cut into florets)
• 1/2 cup red cabbage (sliced)
• Half large red bell pepper (sliced)
• Half large green or yellow bell pepper (sliced)
• 3 large carrots (julienned and cut into 1-2" slices)
• 1/3 cup frozen edamame (thawed)
• 2 cloves garlic (diced)

Sauce (increase by 1 unit per ingredient if you like it mo' saucy)
• 2 tbsp creamy peanut butter
• 4 and  1/2 tbsp low sodium soy sauce
• 2 tsp sesame oil
• 1 tsp sriracha (or more, to taste)
• Half tbsp fresh ground ginger (or the tubed kind)

Shrimp
I use the large frozen ones, shelled and deveined. Since I'm only ever making the shrimp for Sterling, I typically make like half a pound, give or take, so please adjust your marinade ingredients accordingly. In any case, you don't need a lot of marinade, just enough to mostly cover the shrimp. 

Marinade
• 2-3 tbsp low sodium soy sauce
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp sriracha

Optional toppings:
Toasted sesame seeds
Sliced green onions or scallions
More sriracha

Directions:  
Noodles:
• Cook rice noodles according to package instructions, and prepare sauce (by whisking all sauce ingredients together) for later.
• In a large skillet with deep sides (I use a small wok... That I own.....), heat 1 tbsp oil over medium high heat. Once hot, add broccoli, cauliflower, and a dash of salt. Stirring occasionally, cook until both are tender and broccoli is bright green. Add 1 more tbsp of oil if needed. The broccoli should be totally cooked through and tender, but should still have a slight crisp.
Note:  my favorite trick to cooking fibrous veggies, such as broccoli, without extra oil is to add a tbsp of water to the skillet. My mom taught me this.. Hi Mom! Stir continuously until water evaporates. Keep doing this until you've reached desired tenderness. Add an additional pinch of salt as well.
• Once broccoli and cauliflower are tender, add cabbage, peppers, and carrots. Cook about 3-4 minutes, or until tender. Stir occasionally.
• Add edamame and garlic and cook until garlic is fragrant
• Pour half of your sauce over the veggies, then add the rice noodles and top with remaining sauce. Stir to combine and remove from heat. Garnish with sesame seeds and onions

Shrimp:
• Add marinade ingredients to a bowl, add shrimp, and toss. Let marinate for 10 minutes
• Spray a large skillet or grill pan with non-stick cooking spray, and heat over medium high heat
• Once hot, add shrimp and cook each side for 2-3 minutes, or until opaque and slightly pink

Top your noodles with your shrimp (or dont!) and enjoy!!   

Guys. This is my no-fail, go-to, melty mac & cheese. I make it for every holiday, so I guess it's become my "signature dish." I bake it in the oven just long enough that the top layer gets a little crispy and seals in all the oozing, gooey cheese underneath. Y'all all know you love mac & cheese, so I'm not gonna even try to sell this one to you. Just keep reading if you want to learn how to make perfect mac & cheese EVERY time.
​

First, you gotta make a roux. This is what will make your mac & cheese niiice and rich and creamy. In a large sauce pan, melt your butter until it starts bubbling, then add in your flour and whisk vigorously to remove all clumps.

Once your flour is totally incorporated and has gotten nice and brown (a process that takes no more than a minute), you'll start whisking in your milk and cream. I like to add just a few tbsp at first, which makes it easier to blend. Whisk til smooth, then add the remaining milk and cream slowly, while whisking quickly and continuously.

Thennnn, you're gonna add the cheese. I like to use several different kinds.

Once your cheese has melted and your sauce has thickened, you'll pour it over your pasta (which will already be waiting for you in a greased dish), and then pop it in the oven!
​
While it cooks, your kitchen (or entire 1 bedroom apartment) will be filled with the intoxicating smell of warm, bubbly cheese. It is torture. Praying for you.

But when it's done, you'll have this. A beautiful, crisp top layer covering miles and miles of melty cheese and pasta. Ugh. I just love it so much.

Ingredients (makes approx 4 servings. I usually triple this to serve 8-10 for holidays..shown above):
• 1.5 cups elbow macaroni
• 3 tbsp butter
• 3 tbsp all purpose flour
• 2 cups milk and half & half combined
• 1/2 tsp salt (or more, to taste)
• 1/2 tsp ground black pepper (or more, to taste)
• ***secret ingredient*** 1/2 tsp mustard powder (trust me! it adds this bite that you just can't get with anything else)
• 2 cups shredded cheese (I use cheddar, colby jack, and 6 blend Italian)

Directions:
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees, and bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook pasta for 10 minutes (just under al dente). Once cooked, drain and transfer to a greased dish (about 8" x 10")
• Over low/medium heat, melt butter
• Add flour by the tbsp and whisk until totally incorporated. Let cook until browned and bubbly (no more than a minute)
• Gradually pour in milk/cream and whisk continuously to avoid clumps
• Add in your cheese, salt, pepper, and mustard powder, and stir to combine. Allow cheese to melt and sauce to thicken, stirring occasionally
• Once thickened, *carefully* taste the sauce to make sure it's seasoned well, add more salt and pepper if necessary, and then pour sauce over pasta, and bake for about 25-30 minutes, until bubbling and golden brown

That's all, folks!

Note: you'll bake your mac & cheese for more or less time, depending on how deep your dish is. About 25-30 for a 2 inch dish.
Note: feel free to manipulate the bake times depending on how funny you like your mac & cheese. I personally like mine a little firmer.

​

This is Buzzfeed Tasty's Korean Style Ribs recipe. I try to only bring you guys recipes that I have either created myself or adapted from something else, but I needed to share this one with you. I followed the recipe exactly, and let me tell you, these. are. delicious. They take several hours to make, but only about 10-15 minutes hands-on time. Because I didn't modify this in any way, I'll give you my notes/suggestions throughout the recipe. Scroll down to read on!

Ingredients:
• 1/2 cup soy sauce
• 2 tbsp rice vinegar
• 2 tbsp sesame oil
• 2 tbsp red pepper powder
• 8 garlic cloves (minced)
• 1 tbsp grated ginger
• 1 cup onions
• 1/4 cup honey
• 3 lbs baby back ribs (I used 2.85 lbs, and the meat to sauce ratio was perfect, tbh)

Optional toppings:
Sesame seeds
Chopped scallions or green onions (I used green onions)

Directions:
• In a large bowl, combine soy sauce, rice vinegar, sesame oil, red pepper powder, garlic, ginger, and onions
Note: red pepper powder is EXTREMELY spicy...that's coming from a Puerto Rican with a high tolerance for spice...There's enough meat in the ribs to offset the concentrated level of heat you're adding to the marinade, but if you are sensitive to spice, I would use either half the amount of red pepper powder OR substitute with cayenne
• Add ribs to a large dish and pour the marinade over top, rubbing the sauce in with your fingers. Make sure to get both sides. Allow to marinate for at least four hours.
Note: I prepped my ribs on Saturday evening, and let them marinate over night..total of about 16 hours. I think this makes a big difference as rib meat can be pretty tough. The longer you let them marinate, the more liquid the meat will absorb.
• Preheat oven to 400° and place ribs on baking rack over a baking sheet. Save your marinade!
Note: The baking rack was omitted in Tasty's version, but I'd strongly suggest using one. By creating a space between the ribs and the baking sheet, you allow the heat to circulate underneath, which helps cook all sides more evenly. If you don't have a baking sheet, like me, you can either... get one... or you can use a few of these foil broiler pans from Hefty (lmao). I just cut slits in between each of the ridges, and it worked like a peach. They're like 2 bucks for a set of 3.
• Cook ribs for 2.5 to 3 hours and remove. Turn on broiler.
Note: I put the ribs in before church, and got stuck in traffic on my way back, so they got the full 3 hours. I'd suggest keeping it at 2.5
• Once removed, add marinade and honey to a small sauce pan. Bring to a boil over medium/high heat, and continuously stir until you've formed a glaze. Spoon over your ribs and place under broiler for about 3 minutes, or until the glaze has caramelized
Note: stay nearby. The original recipe suggested broiling for 5-10 minutes, but the glaze started burning right at the 3 minute mark
• Top with sesame seeds and scallions or green onions, and serve while hot!

I loooooove making my mashed potatoes this way. Because you're making them in the slow cooker, the potatoes themselves are no-muss, no-fuss. They're so creamy and flavorful on their own, but the crispy shallots take these to a whole nother level. I also use 2 types of cheese in this recipe- cream cheese for creaminess and depth, and ricotta for it's slight tang, which really pairs well with the crispy shallots. 

*Full disclosure, the above photo of the completed dish was taken when I made these for Thanksgiving. I used both russet and red potatoes, and only ricotta cheese. Too tangy. I modified the recipe this weekend and used only russet potatoes and both ricotta and cream cheese, and the new version was perfect and so much creamier, but I forgot to take a picture. Womp. Anyway, if you want to learn my twist on a modern classic, please read on!

Ingredients (serves likeeee 8-10ish):
• 5 lbs russet potatoes (scrubbed, peeled, and chopped)
• 1 1/2 cups of milk and half & half (combined) plus 1 cup half & half for later
• 4-5 cloves garlic (diced)
• 4 oz softened cream cheese
• 1/3 cup ricotta
• 1 tbsp butter
• Salt and ground black pepper to taste
• 1 lb of shallots (sliced)
• 1/3 cup canola oil (this is a guesstimate... you just want enough oil to just cover the shallots. about a quarter inch deep)

Directions:
• Add potatoes, garlic, salt, pepper, and milk/half&half combo to greased crock pot. Cover and cook on high for 4 hours, until fork tender, and then mash together.
• Heat your remaining cup of half & half (just until warm) and add to potatoes along with cream cheese, ricotta, and butter. Mash and stir to blend. Leave warm while you work on your shallots
• Fill large, shallow saucepan with canola oil and heat over medium/high heat until hot. To test the heat level, add in one shallot slice. If it immediately starts sizzling, you're good to go. If not, wait a little longer
• Add in about 1/3 cup of shallots at a time, and let fry until golden brown. Remove with a slotted spoon and place on paper towel-lined plate to drain
Note: over crowding will reduce the oil's heat, so the shallots will take longer to fry and will absorb too much oil

To plate: line the bottom of your dish with an even layer of shallots. Scoop in half of your potatoes, smoothing over with the back of your spoon. Sprinkle on another layer of shallots, and spread remaining potatoes over top. Top with remaining shallots. Boom.  

Ingredients (makes exactly 2 servings):
• Half box of whole grain rotini (about 6-7 oz)
• Half small sweet onion, sliced
• Half head of broccoli, cut into florets
• Quarter head of cauliflower, cut into small florets
• 1.5 cups of kale (de-stemmed and cut into bite sized pieces) plus a few extra leaves for the kale chip garnish (stemmed and cut into 1 inch pieces)
• 3-4 sundried tomatoes, cut in quarters
• 2 cloves garlic, diced
• 1 red bell pepper
• 1 cup of small tomatoes, halved (I used cherry, grape, and sunshine yellow cherry)
• 3 tbsp olive oil
• Cayenne powder
• Cracked black pepper
• Sea salt

Directions:
• Cook pasta according to package instructions. Save about 1/3 cup of the pasta water before draining
• Preheat oven to 400 degrees
• Place tomatoes and red pepper on lined baking sheet
• Place cauliflower on separate lined baking sheet. Drizzle very slightly with olive oil
• Bake toms/peps/caulis for about 10-15 minutes, rotating pepper halfway through
Note: cauliflower will need more time to turn golden, so remove tomatoes and peppers first to avoid burning (hence the separate baking sheets)
• While veggies are roasting, heat 1 tbsp of olive oil on medium high heat and add onions. Sprinkle with a pinch of salt and pepper and let caramelize until nice and golden brown (about 5-6 minutes)
• Add broccoli and just a pinch more salt, sauté until bright green and tender
• Add garlic and cook until fragrant, about a minute
• Add kale and cook down until tender. Toss in sundried tomatoes, and remove skillet from heat
• Once roasted, remove cauliflower, peppers, and tomatoes from oven. Let cool completely before removing stem and seeds of red bell pepper. Make sure to also peel off the black charred skins from the tomatoes and pepper. These are tough to chew and won’t blend into the sauce
• Place your smaller cut leaves of kale on a baking sheet with a drizzle of olive oil, and let those bake for about 5 minutes in the oven until crispy.
• Add roasted veggies to a blender or food processor and pulse to incorporate. Add your saved pasta water in small increments, and continue blending until smooth. Add in a drizzle of olive oil as well as salt, pepper, and cayenne to taste (taste before adding salt. your pasta water may be salty enough) 
• Add cooked pasta to the skillet with the broccoli/kale and pour sauce over top. Turn heat on low and stir to combine, allowing veggies, pasta, and sauce to heat through and giving all of the flavors a chance to marry..as they say
• Scoop yourself a fat bowl, top with your baby kale chips, and enjoy!! I like to sprinkle on some red pepper flakes too :)

This smoothie, which is an amped up version of the tried and true PB/banana combo, is my go-to post-gym breakfast that keeps me full and glowing for hours. Because spinach is so mild, its’ flavor is easily masked, therefore making it my leafy-green smoothie addition of choice. I especially love using spinach in this smoothie, because it adds a lightness to an otherwise super creamy drink, and is also a great way to incorporate more greens into your diet. I like to use maca not only for its subtle malt-like taste (I’m Puerto Rican… I loooove malta), but also for its’ amazing benefits- it’s loaded with vitamins and minerals, and helps to increase energy (…and libido. ayo!)

Ingredients:
• 1 frozen banana
• 1/3 cup frozen or 1/2 cup raw spinach
• Almond milk (just enough to blend)
• 2 tbsp creamy peanut butter
• 2 tsp maca powder

Directions (I don’t mean to question your intelligence by giving you smoothie blending instructions- I’ve just found this order of steps will give you the creamiest consistency):
• Into a blender, add banana and a bit of almond milk. Blend until creamy
• Add spinach, and a bit more almond milk (if needed). Blend until spinach is totally combined
• Add peanut butter and maca powder. Blend until smooth

​Enjoy!

​This snack is crunchy, crispy, salty, spicy, and healthy. It’s perfect for mindless munching, and is truly a great alternative for popcorn or chips. I like the combo of the kale with the cauliflower cuz you get two different textures (soft and crispy vs crunchy and flaky) so you never get bored and can keep eating..forever...

What you’ll need:
• Cauliflower (cut into small florets)
• Curly kale (de-stemmed and cut into bite sized pieces)
• Olive oil
• Sea salt
• Cracked black pepper
• Cayenne powder
Note: 2 cups of raw kale will yield about 1 cup of kale chips, so grab a lot of kale! you’ll be glad you did.

What you’ll do:
• Preheat oven to 400 degrees
• Spread cauliflower evenly on lined baking sheet
• Spread kale evenly on separate lined baking sheet
• Lightly drizzle cauliflower and kale with olive oil, and season to taste
• Bake for about 10-15 minutes, or until the cauliflower is golden brown and the kale is crisp, but not burnt.
• Remove kale from oven, turn on the broiler, and let the cauliflower sit for about 2 minutes, until edges are super crispy. Monitor closely to avoid burning.
• Add kale and cauli to a bowl and snack away! FOREVER!

LOL I am WELL AWARE of how #CookingForBae these pics are, but I wasn’t on my photog game this night. Anyway, I promise these burgers don’t disappoint and are super easy to make. They are bursting with flavor and ooooozing with melty cheese. I always hate myself for being vegetarian when I make these. But I DO make a KILLER veggie burger that I’ll be sharing later on.

Ingredients:
• 1 lb of lean ground turkey
• 1 egg yolk
• 1/2 cup of shredded cheese (I use a mix of cheddar and colby jack)
• 2-3 tbsp jalapeño (seeded and diced)
• 2 cloves garlic (diced)
• 1 tbsp onion powder
• 1/2 tbsp chili powder
• 2-3 tbsp breadcrumbs (this acts as a binder, so you’ll need more or less depending on how moist your turkey is)
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp ground black pepper
​
Optional toppings:
1 small onion (sliced and caramelized)
Bacon (CRISPY)
BBQ sauce or choice or spicy mayo
Crispy lettuce
More cheese

Directions:
• Add all ingredients, EXCEPT for the cheese, to a large bowl. By hand, mix until well combined, then divide into 4 equal parts
• Take a large pinch (about 2 tbsp..I’d say X amount of ounces, but I don’t know shit about ounces) from each of the 4 sections and set aside
• By hand, flatten your larger sections into patties, and press down into the center of each patty to create a shallow “bowl” (leave about half an inch of space along the edge of the patty, and about a quarter inch in the bottom thickness of the patty). Say “patty” again, Trill.
• Press cheese into the shallow bowls
Note: if you want the centers to come out exxxxtra creamy, mix the cheese with a bit of spicy mayo
• Take the smaller portions you removed from each section, and by hand, flatten to about a quarter inch thick and lay over the cheese. With a fork, press the edges of the top patty into the edges of the bottom patty (sorry I forgot to take a picture of this part)
• Heat a skillet or grill pan over high heat and, working with 2 at a time, cook each side of the patty for about 3-5 minutes, until golden brown and cooked through
• Build your burger with your toppings of choice and serve immediately
Note: I served these with homemade crispy baked fries. Let me know if you want the recipe!
Note: these are freezer friendly, and great to have on hand when you just don’t feel like cooking. individually wrap cooked patties in saran wrap, place in freezer bag, and freeze. let completely thaw (sitting about 1-2 hours on counter, OR for expediency, place bag in shallow dish filled with warm water) before reheating on skillet.

Sterling moved to Chicago from Dallas in November of 2013. It snowed the day he got here, and continued to snow through the end of May. Yes, May. That January, we got down to -40º with the wind chill. Now, some of you tough guys may be thinking “that’s not thaaat bad” (which you are wrong), but we also lived next to the lake at the time…if you don’t know what lake effect cold is like, I am glad for you. That shit slices through your bones. So anyway, the day it hit negative 40, a pipe burst in our building, shutting off our hot water. Fortunately, my parents only lived about 30 minutes from us, so we drove to their house to shower, and returned home around 8 pm. Soon after settling on the couch, we noticed our vents were blowing out cold air. We called the building to find out that a second pipe had burst, subsequently eliminating our hot water AND heat. I remember we were standing in our bathroom with the door closed, in winter coats, blowing hot air on ourselves with my hair dryer. We got into bed (in full sweatsuits, with SOCKS, God help me), rolled ourselves into a 3 blanket burrito, said our potentially final “I love you’s” and prayed to see another day. Needless to say, we ended up making it through the night and lived to tell the tale. OH, I forgot to tell you the best part of the story….While this was all happening, we were on day 2 of a f*ckin JUICE CLEANSE!!!! So we’re over here cold, malnourished, and shaking, drinking kale and rationing off portions of raw, unsalted almonds- which I had to allow as a safety precaution. Lowkey I wanted to quit, but Sterling, the competitive D1 athlete that he is, decided we needed to finish the cleanse as a demonstration of “mental toughness.” Bless him.

​So anyway, we’ve had a VERY mild winter this year, especially compared to what we experienced a couple years ago, but it is still chilly and I do find myself craving a warm meal at night (followed always by froyo.. I cannot be tamed), and this one hit the spot. One of my favorite things to do is to find ways to take traditional meat-based recipes and create a vegetarian version that we can both eat. While no dish will ever taste like real meat, you can still create some really filling and satisfying meals that do taste amazing, and this vegan Shepherd’s Pie is one of them!

Ingredients:
Filling:
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 medium onion (diced)
• 2-3 cloves garlic (minced)
• 1.5 cups uncooked brown or green lentils (rinsed and drained)
• 1 cup celery (chopped)
• 1 (14 oz) can diced tomatoes
• 1 (10 oz) bag of frozen mixed veggies: peas, carrots, green beans, corn
Note: Green beans and corn are not used in traditional Shepherd’s Pie. I actually only used these because my grocery store was out of solo frozen peas, so I just grabbed this bag. It does amp up the veggie content, which never bothers me, but feel free to omit of you want to stay more traditional. In that case, you’d use 2-3 chopped carrots and about a cup of peas.
• 3 cups vegetable broth
• 2 tsp dried thyme
• 2-3 tsp paprika
• 2-3 tsp ground cumin
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1/2 tsp ground black pepper
• Salt to taste

Mashed Cauliflower and Potato Topping
• 4 small yukon potatoes (peeled and quartered)
• Half of a large head of cauliflower (cut into florets)
• 2 tbsp vegan butter (I use Earth Balance)
Note: you can obviously use regular butter if you want. I just wanted to keep the whole thing vegan.
Note: no, I am not vegan actually
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1/2 tsp ground black pepper
• Salt to taste

Directions:
• Heat oil in a large, non-stick skillet
• Add onions and celery, and sauté until tender
• Add canned tomatoes, lentils, veggie broth, thyme, paprika, cumin, garlic powder, and pepper. Bring to a boil then reduce heat and let simmer until lentils are tender (about 20 minutes, give or take). If lentils are still firm, add more water or veggie broth in 1/4 cup increments until tender
Note: DO NOT ADD SALT AT THIS STAGE. When added to raw lentils, salt actually makes them firm up. Add salt AFTER lentils have cooked
• While lentils are cooking, preheat oven to 400 degrees. Add potatoes and cauliflower to a pot of salted water. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and let simmer for 14 minutes. Drain and add to a large mixing bowl. Add butter, garlic powder, salt and pepper, and mash until smooth.
• Once lentils have cooked, add your frozen veggies and mix to incorporate. Let simmer for about 3-5 minutes or until veggies are heated through
• Add lentil mixture to a greased 9×13″ dish and spread the potato/cauliflower mixture over top. Bake for about 15 minutes, or until topping has slightly browned and mixture is bubbling
Enjoy!