Vegetarian Dishes~ Coconut Curried Chana Dal & Rice Noodle Soup w/ Shiitake Mushrooms & Avocado

Last night I made a Vegetarian Rice Noodle Soup with Shiitake mushrooms & Coconut Curried Chana Dal (yellow lentil or like a yellow split pea) with Shiitake Mushrooms & Brussel Sprouts.  Both smothered in two different kinds of home~made Chili Sauce with Lemongrass! 

Brussel Sprouts seems like a weird combination to go with lentils, but I couldn't find spinach at the super market and I thought it would be fun since I haven't cooked with them in a while. They looked so yummy and fresh.  It was GREAT and the kids loved it. Well, really the noodle soup. That was their favorite. They'll eat anything with noodles. 

When I was finished with my noodles, I dumped the Chana Dal and Brussel Sprouts in the leftover broth and it was delish too!

Normally I feel so hungry just before going to bed when I eat a Vegetarian Meal. What can I say...I'm a carnivore. But, this kept me full and I didn't eat anything else before bed! 

Like the picture below? Too bad the pictures are dark...I had no natural light because it was late! I made it with PicMonkey and used it for the first time tonight. It's pretty easy and will for sure use it in the future. Thank you Rebecca from Daily Rebecca for telling me about it!

Coconut Curried Chana Dal (yellow lentil/more like a split pea to me) with Shiitake Mushrooms & Brussel Sprouts

3 cups Chana Dal (cook as directed on package)

Cook with a small chopped onion

Add 1 can of coconut milk

Add 1/2 package of mushrooms 

Add garlic salt, garlic powder, and a little salt

Cook Brussel Sprouts separately (with little water) 

Add a little salt and butter

Cut in half and serve on top of it.

Rice Noodle Soup with Shiitake Mushrooms & Avocado

Cut noodles in half, then soak in warm water until soft

Boil in water with a small onion finely sliced in strips

Once ready, add one carton of Organic Vegetable Broth or some 'Better Than' Vegetable Base.

(I added several TBLS of my Sofrito Paste that my friend Mara and her mother taught me to make from scratch!!)

Add mushrooms and continue to slightly boil.

Add tofu if you have it!

Garnish with tofu and fresh herbs (I was completely out, but adding cilantro and/or basil would be great)

Finally, add your Chili sauces. IF you're vegetarian choose the one on the right. The one on the left has fish sauce!!!!

The sweet chili sauce recipe that I used (pictured on the left)  is found here...It has fish sauce so don't choose this as the sauce if you're Vegetarian. The one on the right is for you!
http://www.food.com/recipe/lemongrass-sweet-chili-sauce-460985

Lemongrass~Ancho Chili~ Garlic Sauce (pictured on right) was whipped up by me. Super easy....here's how I made it:

~3 Tablespoons Oil

~One Big Dried Ancho Chili (crushed in small pieces)

~3 cloves garlic

~1 stem of fresh Lemongrass (cut in very fine pieces)

Mix all ingredients in the frying pan and cook for about 10 minutes

It took Elee 20 minutes to get his book bag and coat off after he came home from school yesterday. He had to have a snack first thing and couldn't do anything else but eat his snack.

His angry bird tatts. 

Josiah was at soccer practice when we ate. We were starving because we ate so late. 6:00 is late for us. Next time, I need to make the sauces ahead of time.