Red Lentils with Mixed Whole Grains

Well, as evidenced by today's post, my good intentions in regards to cooking and blogging were gleefully devoured by work and exhaustion. And for the last month, I have been working on my car instead of working on my cooking habits. Having noticed the scale creeping slowly upward, I am once again working on changing my eating habits.
I have done better this year, in that the scale has not crept upward as far as in previous summers - but it still crept upwards about 10 lbs. So, with work starting to tame down a little, I am thinking more toward food and winter eating, which leads to thoughts of preserving and cooking preserved things.
My mom is the queen of the canning kitchen, and makes some of the most delicious things! Not having the necessary equipment at home to can, I have had more interest in dehydrating, as you can store many different types of foods once most of the water is removed, and dehydrated foods are portable with a long shelf life. This was halted by the equipment I had - a Mr. Coffee dehydrator. No temperature setting, and every time we tried to dehydrate something in it, we ended up crisping it.
Last Saturday, I had the fortune of finding a L'Equip 328 Dehydrator for the relative bargain of $71.95, brand new in the box. Monday, we visited Crow Mountain Orchard in Fackler, AL, and I picked up a peck of #2 Gala apples to test the dehydrator with. Tuesday after work was taken up with car work (pinched injector o-ring), and Wednesday was take a co-worker to Boaz after work day. I got the dehydrator unpacked and washed last night, and so tonight will be the first attempt at dehydrating apple slices.
One significant acquisition from last night was a Fagor pressure cooker - 9,5L (10 Quart) size. For $37.99. Yeah, I couldn't say no, not for $97.01 off retail (Amazon.com). And - this is the size you can also use for pressure canning, although I will have to order the canning kit and the steamer basket, as it didn't come with. So, now I get to experiment with both my dehydrator and my pressure cooker. :)
Last night's dinner was an experiment in rice cooker one dish meals. I cooked together 1 cup red lentils and 1 cup mixed whole grains with 1 tablespoon minced garlic, 3 beef bullion cubes, 2 bay leaves and salt and pepper. I added water to the 2 cup porridge line, and cooked on the porridge setting. End result - delicious!! Minimal effort for a tasty healthy meal. I think next time I will try brown rice on the GABA brown setting, and add the lentils later in the cooking time for less mushiness. Good flavor though.