Lentil and Sausage Soup

It was a cold and rainy day outside which made me in the mood for a hearty and comforting bowl of soup. I found some pre-cooked lentils at Trader Joe's as well as some chicken and herb sausages and decided they would make a great pot of soup. My house smelled wonderful while the soup was simmering on the stove. I served this lentil and sausage soup with crusty fresh baked bread for a tasty and healthy dinner that we all enjoyed.

Lentil and Sausage Soup:

Recipe and photos by For the Love of Cooking.net

• 1-2 tsp olive oil
• 1/2 sweet yellow onion, diced
• 3 carrots, diced
• 2 stalks of celery, diced
• 3 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1 15 oz can of diced tomatoes
• 4 chicken and herb sausages, quartered and diced
• Sea salt and freshly cracked pepper, to taste
• 1/2 tsp dried basil
• 1/4 tsp dried oregano
• Pinch of crushed red pepper
• 1 bay leaf
• 8 cups of chicken broth
• 3 cups of prepared lentils
• Fresh parsley, chopped

Heat the olive oil in a large Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the onion and sauté for 2-3 minutes. Add the carrots, celery, sausage, garlic, tomatoes, sea salt, freshly cracked pepper, basil, oregano, and crushed red pepper; stir and cook for 2-3 minutes. Add the chicken broth, lentils and bay leaf, stir then cover and simmer for 1-2 hours. Remove the bay leaf then blend the soup for 30 seconds with an immersion blender, to make the soup a bit thicker; make sure you don't blend too long. Add the fresh chopped parsley to the soup and serve. Enjoy.

Click here for a printable version of this recipe - For the Love of Cooking.net