This was the first dish that my boy ever made for me, and it remains a perennial favorite. I went through a phase a few years ago where I ate this over blue corn chips with cheese for nearly every meal. (It also makes for a good shepherd's pie base... I usually make a big batch in the 'basic' flavor, then add additional spices to portions of it as needed.)
3 cups vegetable broth OR water w/ soy sauce to taste
3/4 cup lentils, uncooked
1/2 cup brown rice, uncooked
1 8-oz. package tempeh, crumbled
1/2 tsp basil
1/4 tsp oregano
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp nutritional yeast flakes (optional)
1 tsp garlic powder
Combine all the above ingredients in either a deep baking dish or a crock pot. Either cook in the oven 300 degrees for 1-1/2 hours or cook on low for 6-8 hours in the crock pot.
To replace ground beef in any Mexican recipe, add...
1/2 cup enchilada sauce
1/2 package chipotle taco seasoning
We made tostadas with this mixture by crisping corn tortillas in the oven and topping them with the lentil mixture, chopped tomatoes, chopped avocado and a liberal amount of chipotle-flavored Tobasco sauce.
