Sausage and Lentil Soup

I love Lentil Soup. I added Chicken Sausage and Spinach to this batch. Perfect for a cold, seriously cold, winter night.

Ingredients-
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 onion, chopped
1 carrot, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
1 celery stalk, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
4 Chicken Sausage Links
1 cup lentils, washed
1 bay leaf
6 cups chicken, beef, or vegetable stock
Ground black pepper
Salt
2 cups spinach

Method-
In a large pot over medium heat, add the oil. Once it is hot, add the onion and cook until soft, 1-2 minutes. Add the carrot and celery and cook for 2 minutes. Add the Chicken Sausage and brown the links. Add the lentils, bay leaf, and stock. Sprinkle with pepper. Bring to a boil, and then turn the heat down to low and cook until the lentils are tender about 30 minutes. Stir it occasionally. Once the lentils are cooked, add the spinach and simmer until the spinach wilts.

Serve with grated Parmesan Cheese.

Prime Rib Beef and Lentil Soup and Air Fryer Grilled Cheese

Yeah, Air Fryer Grilled Cheese. Honestly, it is an incredible little machine! The bread was crisp and the cheese was oozing out. Real good!

Now the soup. We pretty much always have Lentil Soup on New Years Day. This year I had leftover bones from the Christmas roast and some meat. I found a recipe that used everything I had leftover! From Kitchen Confidante. I am not going to put the recipe on my blog. The link is here. There is such a sweet story on the blog, you should read it.

We loved the soup. It was a step up from our normal New Years Day fare. But honestly that grilled cheese!!

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Lentil Soup

We all have go-to recipes. This is my go-to Lentil Soup Recipe. It is Mark Bittman recipe. It is so simple to make. You can add things to the soup. Mark Bittman suggests variations with the spices. I like to add things like cooked chicken, cooked sausage or if I bring leftovers for lunch some diced tofu.

Ingredients-
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 onion, chopped
1 carrot, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
1 celery stalk, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
1 cup lentils, washed
1 bay leaf
6 cups chicken, beef, or vegetable stock
Ground black pepper
Salt

Method-
In a large pot over medium heat, add the oil. Once it is hot, add the onion and cook until soft, 1-2 minutes. Add the carrot and celery and cook another 2 minutes. Add the lentils, bay leaf, and stock. Sprinkle with pepper. Bring to a boil, and then turn the heat down to low and cook until the lentils are tender, about 30 minutes. Stir it sometimes.

Food styling by Chris.

Lentil, Sausage, and Chicken Soup

The story goes that you are suppose to have Lentils on New Years Eve or New Years Day for good luck in the upcoming year. We are a couple of days late. This is Mark Bittman's recipe. It is the only Lentil Soup recipe I every plan to make. The sausage was added to fill the spot of an Italian meat which is served with Lentils on New Years Eve or New Years Day, Cotechino, a large pork sausage. I have not been able to find this kind of sausage locally so I used a Polish Kielbasa. The chicken was from the soup I made on New Years Eve. This was very good. The soup is fine without the meat but both the Kielbasa and the chicken gave it some nice flavors.

Here is the recipe for the soup without any of the added meats -

Ingredients
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 onion, chopped
1 carrot, cut into 1/2 inch dice
1 celery stalk, cut into 1/2 inch dice
1 cup lentils, washed and picked over
1 bay leaf
6 cups chicken stock
Fresh ground pepper
Salt

Method
Put the oil in a large deep pot over medium heat. When hot, add the onion and cook, stirring frequently until soft, just a minute or two. Add the carrot and celery and keep cooking and stirring until brightly colored and hot about 2 minutes.
Add lentils, bay leaf and stock; sprinkle with fresh ground pepper. Bring to a boil, then turn the heat to low and cook stirring occasionally, until the lentils are tender, about 30 minutes.

Lentil Soup

Tonight was  perfect night for soup. One of our favorites is Mark Bittman's Lentil Soup. But we added something extra to the soup. There was meat left over from the Osso Buco. Oh what a nice thing to find on your soup spoon!

Lentil Soup and Chicken Parm Bread

Well the tree is up. I have caught Lucy clawing at it once. Archie was comfortable under the tree.

Again a day filled with holiday activity so I made a quick soup, Lentil Soup from the Mark Bittman App, Mark Bittman's How to Cook . Perfect for a chilly evening. The bread, well that was from Meriano's Bakery. Seriously did you  think I was going to make bread today too!

Lentil Soup, from Mark Bittman's How to Cook

Ingredients
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 onion, chopped
1 carrot, cut into 1/2 inch dice
1 celery stalk, cut into 1/2 inch dice
1 cup lentils, washed and picked over
1 bay leaf
6 cups chicken stock
Fresh ground pepper
Salt

Method
Put the oil in a large deep pot over medium heat. When hot, add the onion and cook, stirring frequently until soft, just a minute or two. Add the carrot and celery and keep cooking and stirring until brightly colored and hot about 2 minutes.
Add lentils, bay leaf and stock; sprinkle with fresh ground pepper. Bring to a boil, then turn the heat to low and cook stirring occasionally, until the lentils are tender, about 30 minutes.

For breakfast I want to use up the cranberries I had in the freezer from our Thanksgiving Dinner, which I just realized I never posted, sorry....  I found this recipe on twopeasandtheirpod.com. These are the best scones I have made in long time.

Fresh Cranberry Scones, from twopeasandtheirpod.com

Ingredients
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1 tablespoon orange zest
1/2 cup unsalted cold butter, cut into small pieces
3/4 cup half and half
2 large eggs
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup fresh or frozen cranberries
Topping:
2 tablespoons half and half
Turbinado sugar

Method-
Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat, set aside. (I used my Scone Pan, yes I have a Scone Pan!)
Whisk the flour, baking powder, and salt together in a large bowl. In a small bowl, rub the sugar and orange zest together with your fingers. Whisk into the flour mixture.
Add cold butter pieces to the flour mixture. Cut in butter using a pastry blender, fork, or your hands. I prefer to use my hands. Mix until you have pea size chunks of butter.
In a small glass measuring cup, whisk the half and half, eggs, and vanilla extract together. Pour over dry ingredients and mix with a spatula until moist. Gently stir in the fresh cranberries. Transfer dough to a floured counter top and knead until dough comes together.
Shape dough into a large circle. Use a floured rolling pin to roll out the scone dough. Cut dough into wedges and place on the prepared baking sheet. Brush each scone with half and half and sprinkle generously with turbinado sugar. Bake for 15-17 minutes, or until scones are golden brown. Remove from oven and cool on a wire rack.

Lentil Soup

 

I do love this recipe. It is from the Mark Bittman App, Mark Bittman's How to Cook Everything. No fuss just a perfect meal for a chilly night.

Ingredients
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 onion, chopped
1 carrot, cut into 1/2 inch dice
1 celery stalk, cut into 1/2 inch dice
1 cup lentils, washed and picked over
1 bay leaf
6 cups chicken stock
Fresh ground pepper
Salt

Method
Put the oil in a large deep pot over medium heat. When hot, add the onion and cook, stirring frequently until soft, just a minute or two. Add the carrot and celery and keep cooking and stirring until brightly colored and hot about 2 minutes.
Add lentils, bay leaf and stock; sprinkle with fresh ground pepper. Bring to a boil, then turn the heat to low and cook stirring occasionally, until the lentils are tender, about 30 minutes.

And two years ago today we met a little cat....

What did we have for dinner a year ago?
Chorizo, Chickpeas and a Grasshopper?

What did we have for dinner 2 years ago?
Meatball and Barley Soup

What did we have for dinner 3 years ago? 

A Day of Baking

Lentil Soup

After yesterday's feast we kept it simple tonight. Lentil soup from Mark Bittman's How to Cook Everything App.

Ingredients
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil.1 onion, chipped
1 carrot, cut into 1/2 inch dice
1 celery stalk, cut into 1/2 inch dice
1 cup lentils, washed and picked over
1 bay leaf
6 cups chicken stock
Fresh ground pepper
Salt

Steps
Put the oil in a large deep pot over medium heat. When hot, add the onion and cook, stirring frequently until soft, just a minute or two. Add the carrot and celery and keep cooking and stirring until brightly colored and hot about 2 minutes.
Add lentils, bay leaf and stock; sprinkle with fresh ground pepper. Bring to a boil, then turn the heat to low and cook stirring occasionally, until the lentils are tender, about 30 minutes.

This soup is so simple. I sprinkled some Ricotta Salata on top and it was fantastic.