First of the Season…

Here in Nashville we went from 100 degrees to 60 in a 24 hour period. Yikes! One day short sleeves, the next a sweater. I'm still waiting for it to warm up some. Hope springs eternal, right? On Monday I finally couldn't stand it anymore and had to make a pot of soup to take the chill out of my bones. I have been making this soup for years, since big girl was tiny. I never followed a recipe, just threw things in a pot, but my family loves it. I finally had enough requests for an actual recipe that I wrote it down a while back.

Teresa's Vegetable Lentil Soup

1 cup red lentils
1 cup green lentils (both washed)
1/2 medium onion diced
12 cups vegetable broth (I use this kind and LOVE it, organic, fair trade, I get it at Whole Foods, I even brought some on the boat with me)
3 bay leaves
3 stalks celery diced
3 1/2 cups chopped broccoli (can be frozen, if so, one bag)
2 cups peas (can be frozen, one bag)
2 cups carrots (cut in circles)
1 1/2 cups small pasta (ABC's, O's, small shells, stars, etc)
*if desired, you can also add mushrooms, beans, corn, etc.

Pour all broth in stock pot on stove on high, add rinsed lentils and
bring to a boil for 20 minutes until lentils are soft, add onion,
carrots, bay leaves, and celery, cook on Med-high for 15-20 min.
Reduce heat to Med-low add Broccoli, peas, and pasta and cook until
pasta is tender. Reduce heat to low and let all flavors simmer and
mix, add salt and pepper to taste. Add cooked/diced chicken or turkey if
desired.

Goes great with buttered bread! :)


Happy Friday! Teresa