Lentil Sloppy Joe's on Pretzel Buns

We bought a house... yay!! 

That means we need to, once again, pack up all of our belongings and move... boo!!

That means, I get the cupboards and fridge as empty as possible, to avoid having to move tons of food. 

As I was digging through the pantry, I found a lonely bag of lentils.  I rarely cook with lentils... in fact... I think I've cooked with lentils once.  I had really really low expectations for this meal.  

I used to eat sloppy joe's on a weekly basis.  Of course, it was a pound of hamburger mixed with canned sloppy joe mix on white bun.  Gross...   I wanted to make a healthier and more adult version of sloppy joes... while getting rid of my lentils.  

These were so super good!  I couldn't believe how great the pretzel bun went with the sloppy joe.  I also am so amazed that these tasted delicious and way way better than the "kid" sloppy joe's that I used to eat.  I will definitely have to buy lentils again and make these.  Plus... it was super super easy! And they were surprisingly filling.  We ate one each and were stuffed!

Lentil Sloppy Joes
Serves: 6

Ingredients:
3 cups of cooked lentils
1 cup brown rice, cooked
1/2 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 1/4 tsp chili powder
1 tablespoon ground cumin
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp cane sugar or honey
1 14 oz can organic tomato sauce
1 tablespoon mustard, (I used Dijon)
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
2 tablespoons soy sauce (I used Braggs)
1 tablespoon grapeseed oil
6 Pretzel Buns (recipe below)
sliced pickles, optional

Directions:
In an large saute pan over medium heat add oil, onion and garlic and saute for a couple of minutes.  Add lentils and rice and stir.  Add the rest of remaining ingredients and stir.  Let simmer over medium heat for 5 minutes.  If too thick, add water or vegetable stock to thin.  Scoop lentil mix over buns.

Pretzel Buns
Makes: 6

Ingredients:
1 cup milk
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 tablespoon active rise yeast
2 teaspoons sea salt
3 cups all purpose organic flour

Boiling Solution:
3 quarts of water
3/4 cup baking soda

Egg wash:
1 egg, beaten
1 teaspoon water

Directions:
Heat milk and butter until warm (100-110 degrees F).  Combine yeast and brown sugar and add the warm milk/butter mixture in a large mixer bowl.  Stir in 2 cups of flour and salt, mix for 3 minutes.  Gradually add enough of the remaining flour to make a soft dough.  Knead on a floured surface until smooth and elastic, about 8-10 minutes.  Place in greased bowl, cover and let rise for 1 hour, or until doubled in size. 

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

Combine boiling solution and bring to a boil in a large sauce pot.  Punch dough down and divide into 6 equal portions and roll into balls.  Boil each ball in the solution for 2 minutes, turning after 1 minute.  Remove balls of dough from pot using a slotted spoon and place on greased baking sheet.

Brush with egg wash and make two slices across the top.  Bake for 15 minutes, then reduce temperature to 350 degrees F and bake an additional 10 minutes, until loaves are evenly browned.  Remove from pan and cool on wire rack. 

Note: The pretzel buns browned really quickly and almost looked burnt on the outside, but were perfectly cooked on the inside.  Next time, I will place on the 3 rack from the top to prevent the tops from getting too brown.