It’s been an interesting and challenging week here in Washington. Coronavirus is affected the whole country, but Washington State has the highest amount of cases in the nation. Schools will be closed for the next 6 weeks and it’s been recommended that we practice social distancing. Our normal activities such as the zoo, park, library, and children’s museums are not options for us right now. Thankfully, we are able to be outside as long as we aren’t near other people, making hiking a perfect activity. I’m preparing as best as I can for grocery stores to be out of stock with items we usually use, making these lentil sloppy joes the perfect meal. They are vegan and made from pantry staples, making them the perfect meal for the current phase of life that we’re in.
I will say that even with everything going on, I’m trying to be thankful. I’m thankful that my family is healthy. I’m thankful that we have the finances to stock up on extra groceries. I’m thankful that I’m a stay-at-home parent and we don’t have to figure out childcare for our kids in light of the school closures. I’m thankful that with one child in preschool three mornings a week, I’m used to having my kids at home and I can easily find resources online for school-type activities for my oldest. This is a hard, hard time to be in. But I plan to take it day by day, week by week, and find fun things to do with my kids despite these current challenges.
It’s also a hard thing to figure out how much and what type of food you should have on hand to prepare for this. Generally it’s been recommended to have enough food on hand for 14 days, because that is the quarantine length should you come into contact with someone with the virus. Ingredients like rice, pasta, pasta sauce, lentils, beans, peanut butter, and canned vegetables are great pantry staples. You can also stock your freezer with items like chicken sausage, ground beef, frozen vegetables, bread, and pre-made options like waffles, muffins, and meatballs. Ultimately I feel prepared with what we have but you just never know what will be out of stock in a few weeks or what will happen. To anyone who is struggling with life right now, I feel for you, and I’m thinking of you. If there are any recipes that will help you get through the next 4-6 weeks, please let me know! For now these lentil sloppy joes are a great way to use your pantry staples. This recipe has BBQ sauce as one of the ingredients, and I love using my homemade BBQ sauce, but you can use whatever sauce you want!
- 2 tbsp. oil
- ½ yellow onion, finely chopped
- 1 green pepper, chopped
- 1 large carrot, peeled and chopped
- 1 stalk celery, peeled and chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 4 oz. mushrooms, chopped
- 2 tsp. tomato paste
- ½ tsp. salt
- ¼ cup BBQ sauce
- 2 tbsp. brown sugar
- 1 cup tomato sauce
- ½ tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
- ¼ tsp. ground black pepper
- 1 tsp. smoked paprika
- ½ tsp. chili powder
- 1 tbsp. yellow mustard
- 3 cups cooked lentils
- 4 buns
- In a large skillet, heat olive oil. Add onion, pepper, carrot, celery, and garlic and cook until tender. Add mushrooms and cook for an additional few minutes to soften.
- Add the tomato paste to the pan and stir to combine. Let this cook for a minute or two before adding salt, BBQ sauce, brown sugar, tomato sauce, Worcestershire sauce, black pepper, smoked paprika, chili powder, and yellow mustard. Bring to a simmer.
- Add the lentils and stir to combine. Cook until heated throughout.
- Serve immediately, enjoy!
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