Rosemary Oil Beef and Lentil Bowls

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~

this recipe

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 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:

1. 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).
2. 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!
3. 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?

Rosemary Oil Beef and Lentil Bowls

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Rosemary oil beef and lentil bowls ~ a cozy dinner recipe with lean beef, skillet toasted lentils, Brussels sprouts, kale, mushrooms onions and garlic. All of the above cooked in rosemary oil (and drizzled with extra after).

• Author: Tera
• Prep Time: 10
• Cook Time: 35
• Total Time: 45 minutes
• Yield: 4 1x
• Category: Dinner
• Method: Sauté

Ingredients

Scale 1x2x3x

• ½ 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)
• ½ yellow onion, diced
• 1 ½ 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

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Instructions

1. For the rosemary oil: In a small skillet or saucepan, heat the olive oil, 4 teaspoons fresh rosemary, and 2 teaspoon of chopped garlic until just before bubbling, about 1-2 minutes. Remove from heat and allow to cool for 10 minutes. Strain the mixture through a fine mesh sieve, reserving oil and discarding rosemary and garlic. Congrats! You just made rosemary oil.
2. In a large skillet, heat 2 tablespoons of the rosemary oil over medium heat. Brown the beef and onion in the rosemary oil. Feel free to toss in a pinch of the fresh chopped rosemary. Once cooked through, remove beef from skillet and set aside.
3. In the same skillet, add the lentils. Sauté until outsides are a little bit crispy -- 7 minutes should do the trick. Remove from heat and set aside (outside will get a little crispier as they cool).
4. Add 1 more tablespoon of the rosemary oil to the same skillet, plus the remaining teaspoon of garlic. Sauté the garlic in the rosemary oil for about 1 minute. Add in all of the veggies, salt, and pepper, and sauté for 8-10 minutes (or until softened and cooked through), stirring occasionally throughout. Be sure to scrape up the browned bits from the beef and lentils and get the veggies all up in that business for extra flavor.
5. Assemble the bowls: Divide the beef, lentils, and veggies among four bowls. Optional (but not): drizzle remaining rosemary oil over each. Add salt and freshly ground pepper to taste.

Notes

You can omit the beef and double up on lentils for a vegan-friendly dish.

*A brief side note in light of recent events -- Wisconsinite small talk almost always observes the weather, and luckily for us, the weather patterns we get to talk about daily are harmless 99% of the time (like beautiful transitions into fall). Lately I've been feeling very blessed for that, and my heart goes out to those affected by the recent Hurricane Harvey. If you haven't had a chance yet, you can donate here. Our seemingly small contributions make a massive collective difference. This isn't meant to be exclusive, so if you know of other hurricane relief funds (e.g. for Irma), please feel free to share in the comments below.