Lentil Soup

1 onion, chopped
1 clove garlic chopped
2 T olive oil
3 -4 carrots, sliced
2 stalks celery, diced
1 1/2 teaspoons chili powder
6 teaspoons dry bullion
6 cups water, boiling
1 c lentils
1 pinch thyme
1 large can stewed tomatoes (minimum 14.5 ounces) *Personally I like to use Muir Glen Organic Fire Roasted Diced Tomatoes because of the flavor that it adds to the soup.

(1) Put water on to boil.
(2) Saute onion and garlic in oil.
(3) Add carrots and celery, saute 2-3 minutes more.
(4) Add chili powder, bullion, boiling water, lentils and thyme.
(5) Cook covered for 35 minutes.
(6) Add tomatoes and cook for 5 more minutes.

Make sure to use boiling water. This decreases that amount of time needed to cook the lentils.
Bullion can be either chicken, veggie or beef. It should be dry bullion otherwise the liquid will be doubled. So if you need to use a liquid bullion/soup base, boil the base and omit the dry bullion.

This is the basic recipe. There are many things that you can add to make even more yummier soups.

Lentil and Lamb Stew
Add 1 -2 cups lamb meat, cooked
Decrease the water by 2 cups
Add some oregano...Greek oregano if you have it

Today we added cooked chicken, leftover noodles and some browned turkey meat. So yummy.

Serve with shredded cheese, chopped green onions, black olives and some hot bread.

Enjoy!

This recipe is compliments of my mother, Esther Ruth (Hostetler) Zook who would often make this in the fall when the Midwest weather would turn crisp and cold or would become cold and rainy. "Good soup day!" would be my mom's comment as she began to pull the ingredients out of the cupboards. I think of her every time I make this soup.