Experiment Results: Lentil Rice Pilaf, Chicken Curry, Steak Burritos and more!

Well, signing up for that experiment last week was both exhausting and exhilirating!

Overall, cooking in the morning has been tested to be valid hypothesis! We actually had food to eat all week, and not once did we order out. I felt very organized and well-prepared for my day after waking up early enough to have time to contemplate it.

By this weekend though, I have run out of steam. I’m not sure if I can replicate the results this week… I have no idea what I am going to cook tomorrow, for example. Yesterday’s compulsory trip to the grocery store was pretty futile. I went without any recipe ideas in my head, so I will probably end up having half the ingredients for one recipe and half for another. Nevertheless, I am going still going to try my best this week! Perhaps after writing this post, I will take a few minutes to plan out a menu.

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I did do some impromptu things last week, in addition to the things I had planned. Here’s how the experiment played out!

Experiment Day 1: Monday
I woke up at 6:00 am without groaning. I guess I was looking forward to my first attempt at this cooking in the morning thing. I combined ideas from recipes by Emeril Lagasse and Life’s Ambrosia.

Lentil Rice Pilaf with Kielbasa

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 ½ cups rice
• ¾ cup lentil beans
• 3 cups chicken broth
• 1 teaspoon olive oil
• 1 pound fresh kielbasa, sliced to rounds
• ½ cup red pepper, diced

In large saucepan, heat olive oil and butter over medium heat. Sauté onion and garlic until translucent, about 2 minutes. Add rice and lentils, and sauté for about 4 minutes. Add chicken broth, bring to a boil, then reduce heat, and simmer for 20 to 25 minutes, until rice and lentils are cooked.

Meanwhile, heat remaining olive oil in large frying pan. Add red pepper and kielbasa. Brown sausage for about 10 minutes until cooked through. Serve with lentil rice pilaf.

Discussion:
I don’t think I let the rice and lentils fry long enough before adding the chicken broth. I added more broth in the middle because it seemed like the lentils weren’t cooking as fast as the rice, but this caused the rice to overcook.

Results:
Not too bad in the end. When I get home from work, the rice didn’t seem as mushy after sitting all day. The pilaf had a lot of flavor and was very filling, as hoped, with the addition of lentils. The kielbasa was the perfect pairing! I left out the mushrooms that had been included in both original recipes, and I think maybe next time I will add them in because they might have added a nice texture.

Experiment Day 2: Tuesday
Well, I kind of cheated and skipped a day of cooking dinner in the morning. We had leftover rice pilaf, so I decided to wait until Wednesday to cook a new dish. I did wake up early enough to make myself a good breakfast though!

My husband brought home persimmon (fuyu) fruit, which I had never seen before in my life. I was a little skeptical about trying it until completing a Google search, but then I discovered a great oatmeal idea at White on Rice Couple for Cinnamon Persimmon Oatmeal. That was good breakfast!

Experiment Day 3: Wednesday
Tuesday’s skip day kind of through me out of sync. I didn’t really feel like getting up early Wednesday morning. I was thinking of making Butternut Squash Stuffed Shells, and I think I was a little intimidated by the recipe. Plus, one of my classes was cancelled that evening so I knew I would be getting home early.

Unfortunately, that evening my dinner plans were completely squashed. My oven wouldn’t heat up and so I couldn’t roast my butternut squash. I also didn’t have any ricotta cheese because it was too expensive, and I was just going to try to leave it out of the recipe, but then I realized stuffed shells wouldn’t be the same with mozzarella.

So I ended up steaming my butternut squash with a little but of garlic and green beans and serving it with pan friend chicken cutlets. It actually wasn’t a bad dinner, but it was a frustrating evening, which I should have spent at the library instead. That’s what I get for not sticking to the experiment, I guess.

Experiment Day 4: Thursday
I got back on track Thursday morning. The prior evening, I had even chopped up some of my ingredients. I combined ideas for this recipe from First Look, Then Cook and Eclectic Cook.

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Chicken Curry

• 1 teaspoon curry powder
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1 1/2 teaspoons olive oil
• 1 lb boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut into 1-inch pieces
• 1 medium red onion, diced
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 1/2 teaspoons fresh ginger, minced
• 1 large tomato, diced
• ¾ cup coconut milk
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

In a small bowl, combine curry powder, cumin, salt, black pepper, and cayenne.

In large sauce pan, heat oil over medium heat. Add chicken, and brown on all sides, about 7 minutes. Remove chicken from pan.

Add onion to pan, and sauté until translucent, about 5 minutes. Add garlic and ginger, and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add chicken back to pan. Season chicken with spice mixture.

Stir in diced tomato and coconut milk, and add bay leaf. Reduce heat, cover, and let simmer until sauce is thickened, about 30 minutes. Stir in lemon juice, and serve over jasmine rice.

Discussion:
I liked the thickness of this sauce, and the flavor was amazing! But I think it would have been better if there was less chicken and more sauce. Next time, I might add a little more coconut milk, and if the problem was that the sauce was absorbed during the day, I will add more when reheating it in the evening.

Results:
The flavor was amazing, and just spicy enough. I think I would like to add spinach next time for enhance the color and health factor.

Experiment Day 5: Friday

At last! I decided it was Burrito Friday. I kind of thought up the recipe on my own from watching them made at Moe’s Southwest Grill! In the morning, I chopped up all my ingredients and cooked the meat and put the burritos ready when we got home.

Steak Burritos

• 1 lb beef steak, thin sliced, cut to 1 inch pices
• 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• ½ teaspoon cumin
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon black pepper
• 1 small onion, diced
• ½ cup mushrooms, sliced
• ½ red pepper, diced
• 4 large tortillas
• 1 cup cooked rice
• Fresh lettuce, chopped
• Cheddar cheese
• Salsa
• Sour cream

In a small bowl, combine cayenne, cumin, salt, and black pepper. Rub spice mixture into meat.

Heat a large frying pan over medium heat. Add spiced beef to frying pan. Brown for about 5 minutes on both sides, or until cooked though. Remove and set aside.

Add onion to pan, and sauté until translucent, about 5 minutes. Add mushrooms and red pepper and sauté another 5 minutes or so. Add beef back to pan and heat through.

Meanwhile, place tortillas on a microwaveable plate and cover with a damp paper towel. Warm in microwave for 45 seconds.

Layer rice, beef, vegetables, and cheese on each tortilla, then roll up burrito-style. Serve with salsa and sour cream.

Discussion:
The steak tasted so delicious! I think if I had spiced the meat the night before, it would have been even better, so I might try that next time. The thin cut steak, which was designated on the package as for a stir fry, worked perfect. You can add whatever vegetables you like to your burrito. I just happened to have mushrooms and red peppers.

Results:
Perfect! There is no picture because we chowed them down. The only thing they were missed was beans. I like black or pinto… maybe even pinto. That will also be a priority next time.

I'll let you know how next week goes...