Lentil Sweet Potato Nuggets and Brown Rice Pudding

The other night, I made Lentil Barley Soup with Parnsips.  Since the bag of lentils was on the counter, I boiled an extra cup of lentils and put it in the refrigerator to use at a later date.  Now it is time to use them - for baby food!  Lentil and Sweet Potato Nuggets have a baby/toddler friendly soft texture and are so easy to freeze for a quick snack or lunch on the go. 

To prep the sweet potatoes without making a mess in the kithcen, I added the sweet potatoes to a 3-quart slow cooker with 1/4 cup water.  Then set on high for 3 hours or until soft.  Consider cooking more sweet potatoes than what is called for in this recipe.  The leftover sweet potatoes can be cubed and used in the Sweet Potato and Pear Scrambled Eggs or used to replace the butternut squash in Butternut Squash Risotto.   

I have always had a love / hate relationship with rice pudding. The first few bites are like heaven.  Then, I'm done.  I can't eat it again for awhile.  Did you ever think of rice pudding as baby food?  If you use brown rice in place of long grain rice, Brown Rice Pudding is low in fat, high in carbohydrates, contains 2 grams of fiber, and has 5 grams of protein. 

Lentil Sweet Potato Nuggets
Makes 18 nuggets

1 cup cooked lentils
1/2 cup cooked sweet potato
2 eggs, divided
2 teaspoons butter, softened
2 teaspoons minced garlic
4 tablespoons finely chopped fresh parsely
Flour
Whole wheat breadcrumbs (use leftover frozen whole wheat bread and pulse in food processor)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Combine the lentils and sweet potato in  a bowl and mash together thoroughly.  Stir in one egg, butter, garlic and parsley. 

Form into 16 nuggets and chill for 20 minutes.

In a shallow dish, beat the second egg.  Prepare two more shallow dishes, one with flour and the other with the breadcrumbs.  Dip each nugget into the glour, then egg, and finally the breadcrumbs.  Place onto a greased cookie sheet.  Repeat with the remaining nuggets.

Bake for 25-30 minutes or until the nuggets are golden brown.  Serve immediately.  Or let cool and place in a single layer into a plastic freezer storage bag.  Freeze. 

To cook frozen nuggets:  Microwave 1-2 nuggets on a microwave safe plate for 30 seconds or until warm.

Brown Rice Pudding
Serves 16 (1/4 cup servings)

3/4 cup brown rice
1/2 cup sugar
2 tablespoons cornstarch
3 cups 2% milk
2/3 cup raisins
1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
pinch each of salt and ground nutmeg

In a medium saucepan, bring 2 cups of water to a boil.  Add rice and reduce heat to low.  Cover and cook for 45 minutes or until cooked.  Remove to a bowl. 

In the same saucepan, whisk sugar and cornstarch.  Add milk, stirring until smooth.  Stir in cooked rice, raisins, cinnamon, salt and nutmeg. 

Bring to a boil over medium-high heat.  Reduce to a simmer and cook, stirring occasionally, 10 minutes.  Let cool slightly before serving.