It is Mom's turn!

I grew up eating a lot of vegetarian meals. While mom still made meals with meat in them, she herself preferred not to eat them. While dad got his protien fix his way, mom still found ways to made vegetarian meals taste good enough so that we could eat what she liked also. Nowdays, Dad pretty much eats vegetarian himself!

There are a few really great dishes that mom would make that I continue to crave as an adult. For the Family Recipes: Memories of Food, Family and Fun event that is being hosted by Laura of The Spiced Life and myself, I will be sharing some of these with you! You still have time to enter if you are interested in participating in this blog event. The deadline to post on your blog is May 23, 2009 you can find the details by clicking here.

Mom makes this dish called Lentil Tostados. The ingredient list may surprise you as you may expect maybe a corn tortilla but its not there! Instead you use a piece of toast! Mom says you can eat this dish any time of the day, but that she and Dad usually eat it at breakfast. I remember the first morning I had this at her house. This is a dish that she started to make after us kids left the nest. Don't let the fact that this is on a piece of toast fool you. It is VERY good! This was my breakfast today....doesn't it look yummy?!

Mom's Lentil Tostados

Source: Gwen Law (my mother)

Whole grain bread slices

Ranch Style dressing or mayo

1 c. uncooked lentils

1 large onion, chopped

2 tsp. Chicken Style Seasoning (I used more like 1 Tbsp) **SEE NOTE

1 tsp. basil or thyme (I chose the thyme)

chopped lettuce and tomatoes

grated mozzarella cheese

Optional Toppings:

sliced black olives

chopped green peppers

dry roasted sunflower seeds
(I chopped some English cucumber up instead of the green peppers and omitted the sunflower seeds)

Cook lentils in lighty salted water with onions and seasonings until mixture is soft and thickened. (I started with 3 cups water - you may have to add a little water as the lentils cook). Check occasionally. This can be done ahead of time and warmed at mealtime.

Toast bread slices. Spread with dressing or mayonnaise and top with lentils, lettuce, tomatoes, cheese and other toppings of your choice.

** I use McKays Chicken Style Seasoning which is a vegetarian dry broth mix. You can buy this in health food stores. If you don't care that it isn't vegetarian, you can use the regular chicken broth (granules) in place.

Like this story? Then say it: Gustoso!