Good morning, Happy Wednesday. It is Wednesday, right? Last night I made Lentil soup for lunch today. If you follow me on Instagram, I posted pictures there.

I don’t know if you remember me telling you, but the first time I had this amazing soup was at my friends Frank’s house when I was in elementary school. His mother made it and offered me some as we ate lunch. I had never had lentil soup before (which she could not believe) but I am always willing to try new stuff, even way back then. Frank did not like this soup evidently and tried to get me not to eat it. Well long story short I have been eating it ever since. Thank you Mrs. Carola.

Below is my recipe, I’m afraid I never did get Mrs. Carola’s. This recipe is a beef lentil soup where you can omit the beef if it seems too redundant. I will also be making (in the very near future) a vegetable lentil soup for Jennifer’s class.  She has at least four other adults in her classroom as she works with children with special needs. So today is beef for everyone in my office and tonight, I will be making vegetable lentil soup for Jennifer to take to work. I will post that recipe as soon as I have a picture of it (Thursday).

Thursday’s lunch (for my office) will be Italian sausage, peppers and onions over rice so that will be made tonight as well.

Also coming soon – Red Lentil Soup

The Drunken Chef (Russ)

LENTIL SOUP (beef)  

Serves 6 – 8

SPECIAL IMPLEMENTS

Large Pot

INGREDIENTS

1 pound stew meat cut into ½ inch pieces

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 small yellow onion, finely chopped

1 clove garlic minced

¼ cup finely carrots

¼ cup finely chopped celery

4 cups beef broth (I use I box of Swanson’s beef broth)

1 cup dry lentils, rinsed

1/4 cup tomato sauce (or one heaping tablespoon of tomato paste)

1 teaspoon Italian seasoning

Black Pepper to taste

Salt or 1 to 4 beef bouillon cubes (depending on taste)

1 tsp. Gravy Master (if you have it)

1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce (if you have it)

DIRECTIONS

In a large stockpot over medium heat, combine the oil and onions and meat. Sauté until the meat is browed and onions are tender. Next add garlic and sauté for 1 minute longer. Add the broth, carrots, celery and bring mixture to a boil. Add the lentils, sauce and seasoning. Add Gravy Master and/or the Worcestershire sauce only if you have it.  Return to boil, reduce heat to low, cover and simmer for 45 minutes, or until lentils are tender. Add salt and pepper to taste. I use beef bouillon cubes instead of salt for a richer flavor. Again The Gravy Master and Worcestershire sauce just make the soup taste richer.

NOTES This is Yummy (double or triple the recipe if you want leftovers and leave the amount of beef the same as I did to feed a big crowd)

The Drunken Chef (Russ)