Lentil Soup

Another "new" food in our house--lentils! A great way to get a lot of bulk for cheap. Norris wanted to know what they were, and I was trying to explain them as kind of like beans or seeds...they're just lentils! Look them up if you want!

This recipe is just kind of based on what I had in my cabinets. I made chicken tostadas last night, so I made sure to keep some chicken for tonight, and will make a sausage and egg dish for dinner tomorrow night, so just cooked the sausage early and used some tonight. Use all chicken or all sausage, or neither one, if you want.

I used the greenish brown ones. It is difficult to take a picture of a steaming bowl of soup. When dinner was ready, Norris looked at it and called it "interesting", but I won him over on lentils--he liked it! I served it with sweet cornbread and a few kale chips for myself.

Lentil Soup

Makes 6 servings

Nonstick cooking spray
1 c chopped onion (optional)
1 c coarsely chopped carrots
2 cloves garlic, minced
8 cups reduced-sodium chicken broth
1 t dried basil
4 c coarsely chopped kale
¼ t salt
1/8 t black pepper
½ c cooked cubed chicken
½ c cooked sausage
2/3 c lentils
1 t crushed red pepper (optional, for topping)

Coat an unheated large nonstick saucepan with nonstick cooking spray. Preheat over medium-heat. Add onion, carrots, and garlic to hot saucepan. Cover and cook for 5 to 7 minutes or until vegetables are nearly tender, stirring occasionally.
Add chicken broth and dried basil to vegetable mixture. Bring to boiling; reduce heat. Cover and simmer for 10 minutes. Stir in kale, salt, and pepper. Return to boiling; reduce heat. Cover and simmer for 10 minutes.
Stir in chicken, sausage, and lentils. Cover and simmer for 15 minutes more or until kale and lentils are tender.

Finish with more sea salt and/or crushed red pepper, if desired.