Italian Lentil Soup with Sausage

I have some spicy sausage that I want to use up. I purchased it at Costco when there was a coupon of, but there were 12 sausages in the package -- too much for me.

Here is a recipe that is going to work for me.

Some veggies, some meat, some lentils!

What is not to like about that.

I am just going to use regular lentils, for I can't find the herbed variety in my local grocery store.

Italian Lentil Soup with Sausage

1 15.5-oz bag Hurst’s Garlic & Herb Lentils
1.25-1.5 lbs. Italian sausage (I used hot)
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 cups diced onion
1 1/2 cups diced carrots
1 1/2 cups diced celery
3-4 cloves garlic, diced
6 cups chicken broth
2 cups water

Remove casings from sausage (if applicable). Brown and crumble sausage over medium to medium-high heat in a Dutch oven or large pot until cooked through (take care not to let the pot scorch or burn). Using a slotted spoon, remove sausage from pot and set aside.

Add olive oil, carrots, onion and celery to pot and sauté until onions become translucent (about 4-5 minutes). 

Add garlic and continue cooking for 2 minutes. 

Add chicken broth, water, lentils (with seasoning packet) and sausage to pot and bring to a boil. Once boiling, reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and cook for 40 minutes or until lentils are tender. Turn off heat and let soup rest, covered, for 20 minutes before serving. 

Notes:

• You can use ground beef, pork or turkey instead of the Italian sausage but you’ll need to season it liberally (suggest salt, pepper, fennel seeds, garlic and oregano).
• I went with a small dice on the veggies (about 1/4 inch).
• If you’re looking to recreate Carrabba’s Spicy Sausage and Lentil Soup, add a can of petite diced tomatoes (with juice) and reduce the water to 1 1/2 cups and I think it would be a bang-on copycat recipe. Seriously.
• I don't know if you can cook this in a crock pot. I would think so but I'm not familiar enough with lentils to say for sure. I'd guess and say cook on High for 3-4 hours. 

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