Lentil soup for cold days

The girls last day of Christmas vacation was yesterday and it was too cold to venture out, so we hung around the house, and did some cooking.

We made the turkey chili (see old blog entries for recipe) which they love and I made lentil soup which I did a shortcut version of in Abby's classroom last month.

Here is the real version.

2 tbs. olive oil
3 cubes frozen garlic
1 onion, diced
1 C. sliced carrot
2-3 stalks of sliced celery
1 1/2 C. canned diced tomatoes with Italian herbs
2 C. rinsed lentils
1 tsp. adobo seasoning (or any seasoned salt)
good pinch of black pepper
2 bay leaves
6 C. chicken stock

Heat olive oil in a large stock pot. Add garlic cubes and onion and saute for 3-4 minutes or until onion begins to brown. Add carrot and celery and stir to combine. Add diced tomatoes and lentils.

*Most dried beans, peas, etc... need to be rinsed before you use them, sometimes there are little "bits" that will float to the surface, simply remove them with a spoon, drain the water and add the lentils to the soup.

Add in adobo seasoning, pepper, bay leaves and chicken stock. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat, cover and cook on low for 45 minutes until lentils are softened.

We leave this soup on very low and let it cook all day. It was delicious and I can't wait to have it for lunch.