Lentils with Sausage and Kale

Run Swim Bike Cook, week 2
So far this month I've run 20 miles and biked 6 miles.
This week's cooking challenge was lentils. I've only cooked with them a couple of times; I've been meaning to get more acquainted with them. I was thinking about making lentil burgers, but I couldn't decide between the two recipes I had found, so I went with something else entirely. Which I am glad I did, because Lizzie's lentil burger recipe sounds much better than the ones I was considering.

So, this is not a very pretty picture (not that any of my food pictures are). Mainly because the kale got overcooked. I underestimated how much more cooking the lentils needed before adding the kale. It still tasted good though. Very sweet from the grape juice (subbed for the red wine, I thought about using chicken or veggie broth, but I liked the sweetness and purple coloring it gave the onions). Oh, and the original recipe called for sage, but I didn't have any. I guess I'll get acquainted with sage this next week (it's the next cooking challenge, and already on my shopping list).

I couldn't convince the rest of my family to eat this (my boys only accepted bites of sausage). I wasn't surprised by this, in fact I had planned to cook it the night I did because Carlos was supposed to be working late that night, but it got postponed so he ended up being home for dinner, and had to fend for himself. Carlos thought I didn't like the dish since there was some left on my plate when I finished eating. On the contrary, I quite enjoyed it, but it was so very filling, I just couldn't eat any more. I enjoyed it for lunch several days after.

Lentils with Sausage and Kale
Serves 4-6, adapted from this recipe

3 t. olive oil
8 oz cooked turkey sausage, sliced
1 large onion, thinly sliced
5 cloves minced garlic
pinch of crushed red pepper
2 1/2 c. water
grape juice + 1 1/2 T. red wine vinegar to make 1 1/2 cups
1 c. lentils
1 bunch kale, stems removed and leaves chopped
1/4 t. thyme
1/4 t. savory
1/4 t. salt
freshly ground pepper, to taste

1. Heat 1 teaspoon oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add sausage and cook until browned on all sides, 4 to 5 minutes. Remove from skillet.
2. Add the remaining 2 teaspoons oil and onion to the pan and cook until browned, 4 to 5 minutes. Add garlic and crushed red pepper and cook, stirring until fragrant, about 15 seconds. Add water and juice/vinegar mixture, increase heat to high and bring to a boil, scraping up any browned bits. Add lentils, reduce heat to maintain a simmer, and cook, partially covered, until the lentils are almost tender, about 40 minutes.
3. Add kale and spices and cook, covered, stirring occasionally, until the lentils and kale are tender, about 10 minutes more. Stir sausage and pepper into the pan. Cover and cook until heated through, about 2 minutes.