Lentil Soup with Sausage.

I made this soup on a weekend a couple of weeks ago and neglected to take photos of the process, even though I had wanted to blog about it. So, just like a carpet-bagging entrepreneur, when my lovely mother in law needed some pre-made meals after her knee replacement surgery, I grabbed my camera, my trusty lentil soup recipe, and I got down to some multi-tasking.

Lentil Soup with Sausage

Serves 6

-2 carrots, chopped

-1 onion, chopped

-2 stalks celery, chopped

-olive oil

-4 cloves garlic, minced

-2 tsp oregano (I was out and used coriander instead)

-2 tsp basil

-2 bay leaves

-1 14.5oz can crushed tomatoes

-2 cups lentils

-8 cups chicken broth (I used sodium free bouillon powder)

-2 cups packed spinach, chopped

-1 big link of turkey sausage

-balsamic vinegar

-salt and pepper

I wanted to show you the carrots I used, since I only had baby ones. This was the amount I used:

Ah, the triumvirate of soup:

Heat up your olive oil in your pot. I have one of those lovely cast iron ones, and it makes me so happy. Coq au vin, cassoulet, soups galore, all cook so wonderfully in it:

While that heated up, I took a moment to snap a photo of some of the other players. I love that sodium free bouillon. Todd's got high blood pressure and I puff up like a blowfish when I have too much salt. Plus even the reduced sodium broths still have a substantial amount. Anyways:

Ahh, now that is some warmed olive oil. A hot little oil bath for our veggies:

Stir them in and wait for them to soften, for the onion to go a little golden:

In the meantime, while those cook up (or down), let's measure and chop some spinach. I used a lot because I had so much spinach left over and I didn't want to waste it:

I decided to show you how I chop spinach and I haven't the faintest idea why:

Ok, so the natural light thing I talked about in the bridal shower post part une? Look at how PRETTY:

I love capturing steam on camera! I think we're ready to add more friends to this, don't you think?

In go the spices, bay leaf and garlic:

After giving those a stir, add your lentils, tomatoes and broth:

Now, bring the soup to a boil. Oh, and it smells amahzing. I keep saying amahzing, because of that hilarious show Happy Endings, where Penny and the chick played by Elisha Cuthbert start getting influenced by some bitchy high school girls who pronounce words funny and one of them is amahzing. It's so much fun. Say it with me folks: a-mah-zing.

Ok, so it's time to lower the heat and simmer. You've got a lot of time to kill so first, let's prep our sausage. Using turkey sausage instead of regular sausage will save you 70 calories a serving and almost all of the fat, I want to say it goes from 15g fat to 3g. And in a soup, no one can tell it's not pork sausage and if they can, perhaps it's time to step away from the sausage anyhow.

Ok, thanks to the magic of television the internet, it's been an hour. Add your spinach and sausage:

BEAUTIFUL. DELICIOUS. AMAHZING:

Stir it all together, adding the balsamic, salt and pepper until you're satisfied with the flavor. Step back and marvel at your creation:

If you're making this ahead, now is a great time to turn off the heat. If you're going to eat this, I'd let it stay on a low setting, just to let the sausage and spinach impart their flavors to the soup. Enjoy!