So I bought a 4-pound bag of lentils recently. It was on sale! And I like lentils! Therefore lots of lentil recipes incoming.
Mats:
1 lb sweet Italian sausage. Or spicy, but noone in my house likes the spicy.
1 onion, finely diced. 1cm cubes is your goal
1 stalk celery, sliced. Aiming for 2cm wide slices
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 lb dry lentils. Any color will be fine, but I used generic brown ones.
15oz diced tomatoes
8 cups water
4 cups chicked broth. 4c=32oz=1 box=2 cubes of bullion
1 Tb garlic powder
1 1/2 Tb fresh parsley, chopped
2 bay leaves
1/2 tsp dried oregano, or 1 Tb fresh because the frost hasn't killed mine yet
1/4 tsp dried basil. The frost has killed that one, sadly
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
Put a large pot on the stove over medium-high heat. Let the pot heat for a few minutes, then add the sausages. Cook the sausage for about 9 minutes, turning the links every 3 minutes or so. You're going for a sear on all sides, so just when the sausage skin has a nice dark brown/black line on it.
Remove the sausage from the pan and let cool for 3 or so minutes. Slice into bite-sized chunks. Or you can skip this step if you managed to find loose sausage meat. Either way, return the sausage to the pot.
Reduce heat to medium, then add the chopped onion, celery and minced garlic. Cook for 5 minutes or until onion becomes translucent.
Add lentils, water, chicken broth, and tomatoes. Season with the oregano, basil, garlic powder, bay leaves, parsley, and pepper. Stir well.
Cover, reduce heat to low, and cook for 2 hours or until lentils are tender.
