Italian Lentil Sausage Soup

Lentils, a 16oz bag
Olive Oil, 1 tbsp
Carrots, raw, 1.5 cup, chopped
Celery, raw, 1.5 cup, diced
Leeks, 2 cup (or use one medium sweet onion)
Ground Chicken Sausage, 8 oz (or use 2 raw links, basil is good!)
Cumin seed, 1 tsp (ground cumin actually)
Thyme, ground, 1 tsp
Garlic, 2 clove (or more)
Chicken Broth, 6-8 cups (u may need more, depending on how thick you like it, this is pretty thick)
Red Ripe Tomatoes, 3 medium whole (or use 2 TB of tomato paste)

(optional to add a bay leaf with broth)

I don't even use a crock pot, but you can, just set on low for 5-6 hours. You can also make more southwestern by changing herbs to cumin with chili powder instead of thyme, and using mexican seasoned ground chicken sausage instead of basil. Top with cilantro. Can also make vegetarian

Brown and crumble raw meat (out of casing) with some oil, use same pot to add chopped veggies and herbs/spices for about 5 minutes then add liquid.

Boil, then reduce to simmer for about 2 hours, half covered 1 hour, then uncovered until right thickness.

Serving Size: makes about 6 2-cup servings

Number of Servings: 6

Recipe submitted by SparkPeople user PAGEYANN.