Rosemary Oil Beef and Lentil Bowls

Name: Rosemary Oil Beef and Lentil Bowls
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 35 min
Total time: 45 min
Yield: 4
Ingredients: 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil; large handful of fresh rosemary, finely chopped; 3 tsp fresh garlic, finely chopped and divided; 1 lb. lean ground beef (or other lean beef); 1/2 yellow onion, diced; 1 1/2 cups green lentils (or any kind you like), cooked and drained; 2 cups Brussels sprouts, thinly sliced; 2 cups baby bella mushrooms, chopped; 2 cups kale, chopped; salt and pepper

Modified: Sep 29, 2018 · Published: Sep 12, 2017 by Tera Gigot · This post may contain affiliate links · 2 Comments

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These rosemary oil beef and lentil bowls are a healthy and flavorful weeknight dinner that will make your house smell amazing! ~Lean beef, skillet toasted lentils, Brussels sprouts, kale, mushrooms, onions, rosemary oil~

All the rosemary oil, please.

Because guess what you guys? You can make it yourself, and it's SO SO EASY. And you will want to drizzle it on any and every edible thing. At least these are my feelings towards it, and I suspect you will feel the same.

But first, FALL IS HERE. Well, technically not until September 21, but that *fall feeling* is here, and it's my favorite favorite season of all time -- I look forward to it every single year. As if on cue, the weather in the midwest this year seems to have transitioned into its fall self right on Labor Day weekend. I know, I know -- you probably get your fair share of complaints about cold weather aaalllll winter long from midwesterners, but I must confess that I love the cooler weather (and I swear I don't complain that much about winter). I just love this 60s to lower-70s range, sunny, dry, and when it gets nice and cool at night. Awesome sleeps, windows open all day, fresh air -- the best. [See note below*].

So, with this fall-like weather, I just can't help but think of warming and cozy foods, slow cooker meals, and a switch back to hot pourover coffee (I've been hitting the cold brew HARD all summer). And that's where these rosemary oil beef and lentil bowls come in. Like most things on this blog, they're very easy to make, and you can bet I've loaded them up with some fall veggies. And --probably the most important part -- once you know how to make rosemary oil... good things will happen in your food life, my friends. Good. Things.

Rosemary Oil How-to

Are you ready? Because this is about to get fancy. If I haven't mentioned it like 100 times already, rosemary oil is so easy and very low effort, so stay with me! All you need is about ½ cup of extra virgin olive oil, some fresh rosemary, and a couple garlic cloves. Chop the garlic and rosemary until you have about two teaspoon of garlic and four teaspoons of rosemary, and add to a small skillet. Pour in the olive oil and heat over medium until just before it begins to bubble. This should take 1-2 minutes. Remove the skillet from the heat, and allow the oil to cool for at least 10 minutes. Finally, strain the oil into another container through a fine mesh sieve, and discard the rosemary and garlic. Voilé. Rosemary oil.

^Fair warning: Highly addictive. You might want to double those amounts so you have more leftover 😉

^Other fair warning, don't absent-mindedly strain it into the drain. Because I've done that before. And it's sad.

Rosemary Oil Beef and Lentil Bowls - Assembly

Now onto the bowls themselves. There are three parts to their deliciousness:

The Beef. I used lean ground beef, but I think beef stew meat would be equally as yummy. You can also omit the beef and double up on lentils -- whatever you prefer! In this first step you'll brown the beef in the rosemary oil with some onions, garlic, and more fresh rosemary (oh yes, we're going heavy on the rosemary).
The Lentils. One of my favorite things: skillet toasted lentils. You'll take cooked lentils and toast them in a skillet with more rosemary oil and a pinch of sea salt, until they get this crispy texture on the outside. Super delish!
Some Fall Veg. Brussels sprouts and kale are in season, so you're just going to shred up some of that cruciferous magic with some mushrooms, garlic, and -- you guessed it! -- more rosemary oil. Aaaand a little more fresh rosemary certainly wouldn't hurt, if you ask me.

Divide everything up into bowls, serving size based on hunger level (some days you're just extra hungry, ya know?). Don't forget to drizzle with more rosemary oil before serving!

I also love dividing these up in advance to have throughout the week. Perfect for those times when you get home from work all like SO HUNGRY NOW CAN'T WAIT FOR FOOD TO COOK yeah okay I guess I can wait for a minute in the microwave. Maybe I'll even wait two minutes for rosemary oil beef and lentil bowls.

Let's get fall started with something warm and cozy, shall we?