Lentil/Sausage Soup

This is a recipe from kalynskitchen that I have adapted. Since we are not on South Beach diet, I have used some different additions. I'll put those in itallics.  I also had some left-over pinto beans that I added.



Printable Recipe:
https://sites.google.com/site/whatscookingattheedwards/lentil-sausage-soup

Ingredients:
1/2 onion, diced very small
1 carrot, diced very small
2 large stalks celery, diced very small
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon garlic (from a jar, use less if fresh garlic)
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 teaspoon Spike seasoning
3 links pre-cooked chicken or turkey sausage, diced in 1/4-1/2" pieces -I used some deer sausage my brother gave me.
6 cups chicken stock
1 can petite diced tomatoes with juice
1/4 cup brown lentils
1/4 cup red lentils - I just used 1/2 cup lentils from the grocery store. They seemed to be green and brown
I added about 1 1/2 cups of cooked pinto beans because I had them
salt and pepper to taste
1/4 cup long-grain brown rice (I like Uncle Ben's brown rice) I used long-grain white rice
4 cups chopped fresh spinach
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
Crockpot method:
Dice onions, carrot and celery. Heat olive oil in heavy frying pan, add veggies and saute' until starting to soften, about 3-4 minutes. Add garlic, thyme, and Spike Seasoning and saute' about 2 min. more. Add veggies to crockpot.

Add diced chicken sausage, canned tomatoes, chicken stock, brown lentils, red lentils, and salt and pepper to crockpot and cook on high about 3 hours (or until brown lentils are soft and red lentils are starting to dissolve.)
Add brown rice and chopped spinach and cook about 1 hour more. Stir in balsamic vinegar and cook 15 minutes. Serve hot, with Parmesan cheese if desired.
Stove-Top Method
Use at least 1 cup more of stock or chicken broth for stove-top cooking.

Heat oil in a heavy soup pot, then saute' vegetables, garlic, and seasonings as above. Add diced chicken sausage, canned tomatoes, chicken stock, brown lentils, red lentils, and salt and pepper and simmer over low heat for about 45 minutes, or until lentils are soft.

Add brown rice and chopped spinach and simmer about 30 minutes more, or until rice is soft. (Check to see if you need to add a little more liquid when you add the rice and spinach.) Stir in balsamic vinegar and simmer about 5 minutes more. Serve hot, with Parmesan cheese if desired.