Lentil and Sausage Soup

It has been a fairly cold winter here in Atlanta, but I have been traveling a lot to warmer areas, so after not traveling for a couple weeks, I thought it would be great to try out a new soup recipe.  After making so many baked goods for coworkers and friends, we tried to make sure we were eating healthy.  Here is a soup recipe that was absolutely amazing and we will definitely be making it again.  It is simple to add any veggies you would like (i.e. peas, kale, etc) and switching up sausage flavors.  We went to the Dekalb Farmers Market this weekend and if you haven't been there, they have the largest meat area ever.  There they have all different sorts of sausage, so we actually bought Spinach, Feta, and Sun Dried Tomato Turkey sausage for the soup and it was absolutely amazing.  We cannot wait to try other variations of the soup, but here is the recipe I used this time.

Lentil and Sausage Soup

Serves 8 - 10

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1 pound of carrots, sliced

1 large onion, diced

4 large cloves garlic, minced

14 oz (8 sausage) or any type of Turkey Sausage/kielbasi

2 1/2 cups brown lentils

32 ounce box of  chicken broth (I use low sodium)

32 ounce box of  vegetable broth (I use low sodium)

2 - 14 1/2 ounce cans of diced tomatoes

pepper to taste

Directions:

Heat the oil in a large saucepan (5 quart or larger) over medium heat.  Add the carrots, onion, and garlic.  Cook, stirring frequently, until softened, about 8 minutes.

Add the kielbasa, lentils, and broth; bring to a boil.  Reduce the heat and simmer until the lentils* and carrots are tender, about 45 minutes.

Stir in the tomatoes, salt and ground pepper.  Simmer until heated through, about 10 minutes longer.  I personally like to let the soup simmer for a longer period, so all the flavors have time to meld together nicely, but this is not necessary.

Recipe adapted from Here