Friday, February 27, 2009

Sausage Lentil Soup

This soup is one of our family favorites. I make a big salad and cheese bread to accompany it and my kids love the meal. Hope you enjoy!

One package of Hot Italian Sausage, cut in chunks and browned in a dutch oven
To the browned sausage add the following:
8 cups Beef Broth
4 baby carrots diced
1 (28 oz) can of diced tomatoes (I use a quart of our home canned tomatoes)
1 1/2 cups lentils
1/2 cup uncooked rice
1 chopped onion
2 celery stalks diced
3 cloves of minced garlic
2 bay leaves
1/2 teaspoon dried basil
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon salt

Bring to a boil and then turn down heat to simmer. Cover and simmer for about 45 minutes. After soup has finished cooking, add 2 Tablespoons Balsamic Vinegar, and cut up 1 dried Cayenne pepper. If you don't have Cayenne peppers from the garden, you can sprinkle in crushed red pepper flakes to your liking. If you don't like spicy, leave out the Cayenne pepper. The original recipe does not call for the Italian sausage so you do not have use it if you want a vegetarian meal. My men like meat so I always add the sausage. We first ate a sausage lentil soup at Carabba's restaurant. It was so fantastic that I went on a hunt to duplicate it for our own table. This recipe fit the bill for our family!

grace and peace,
julie

4 comments:

Paige said...

Mmmm...this sounds good! Dan LOVES his italian sausage! Great to get a new recipe for it!

Anything special about that cheese bread? It sounds pretty yummy too!

VoiceInTheWilderness said...

Oh, thank you for sharing your recipe! My husband has asked me to make this soup (after eating in at Carabba's, too!) but I was rather unsuccessful in my first attempt. Can't wait to try yours!

TnFullQuiver said...

VoiceInTheWilderness,
Let me know how you like the soup. Carabba's is my favorite restuarant. We eat there about once a year for a special treat.
grace and peace,
julie

Paige,
I'll get you the recipe. In fact, that is what I am working on for your wedding present. I have purchased an empty recipe book from Paula Deen and I am handwriting my favorite recipes for you. I will leave plenty of space so you can add your own recipes. This is why it has taken me so long. I work on it in bits and pieces. It is time consuming, but I wanted to give you something extra special that you would always remember me from and I also wanted it to be useful. You'll get it someday soon...I promise! love ya,
julie

Paige said...

Awww! Thanks, Sister Julie! Take your time--I can always get some recipes from here, too! Love you guys, too!