Pressure Cooker Mexican Lentil Rice. V. GF.

Pressure Cooker Mexican Lentil Rice. V. GF.

We miss many Taco Tuesdays due to swim meets during the summer month and I always want to throw in a  Mexican-inspired dish during the week when everyone is home together.  We recently bought an Instant Pot pressure cooker & although I’m not a fan of kitchen gadgets – I do love this contraption with a big puffy heart.  I throw everything in the insert, set the time and within minutes it’s done. The aroma is heavenly and beans, lentils and rice come out perfectly.  The Instant Pot is available in a variety of sizes and we bought the 8 qt version which is huge.

My family is evolving dramatically.  Our youngest daughter is now vegetarian.  Our oldest is df/gf.  I’m vegan and gf.  My husband is vegan & my father is a carnivore but eats many plant-based dishes.  This rice was so good paired up with charred tortillas.  I also topped it with more taco-ish garnishes.  This dish also uses no oil, sodium or fats.  Dishes like this work for all types of dietary needs and the lentils are a wonderful source of satisfying protein.
Ingredients:

1 cup of brown or white rice
1 cup of black (Beluga) lentils
3 cups of water
1 bell pepper, diced (I used red but any color would do)
1 small red onion, diced
3 garlic cloves, minced
1.25 teaspoons of Better than bouillon
1.5 teaspoons of ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon of chili powder
1/4 teaspoon of smoked paprika

Optional toppings:
Diced avocado
Jalapeños
Cilantro leaves
Red onions
Diced tomatoes

Directions:

Place all of your ingredients into your pressure cooker and give that a good stir to make sure everything is blended.  Seal the lid and set for 24 minutes on the manual setting (have your vent closed).  Once it’s done cooking, let it naturally vent sealed for another 10 minutes.  Spoon the dish into a bowl and top with your toppings.  I also served with tortilla chips and charred tortillas.

My weekly recap:

Sunday:  1.5 hours of cardio (elliptical/treadmill)
Monday: Elliptical (1h), 30 mins treadmill walking with level 6 elevation, upper body weights, balancing work & abs

Be fearless and chase your goals…

— Knead to Cook