Lentil Soup

This is the last post I have to do today and I am caught up. I don't anticipate cooking tonight but I do have some tailgate food for Sunday--GO GIANTS!!!!
So here is

Lentil Soup
from Everyday Foods
1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
3 carrots, chopped
2 stalks celery, sliced
1 onion, chopped
Salt and pepper
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
1 dried bay leaf
1 can (28 ounces) whole tomatoes, with their juice
4 cups water
1 cup lentils, picked over and rinsed well
1 tablespoon wine vinegar

In a large pot or Dutch oven, heat oil over medium heat.

Add carrots, celery, onion, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper.

Cook until onion is translucent, about 5 minutes.

Add garlic, thyme, and bay leaf, and cook until vegetables begin to soften, 2 to 3 minutes longer.
Add tomatoes with their liquid, breaking them up with a large spoon.

Add water and lentils, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer, partially covered, until lentils are tender, about 30 minutes.

Just before serving, stir in vinegar.

VERDICT

this soup was really good. I think I over cooked it and now that I see the link to the recipe they added this note

Note: Cooking times for lentils can vary from 20 to 40 minutes depending on how fresh they are. The older the lentils, the longer they take to soften.

Hmm, might have been good to know before. The lentils were kind of mushy so I should have seen this yesterday. But still very good and easy. I always thought Lentil Soup was much harder then it was. I do have the recipe for Carabba's Sauage and Spicy Lentil and I am going to try that one next, because it was one of my absolute favorites. There was also a mention in the online recipe to add some pasta and I might do that next time too. Just a cup of some ditalini would really be good too and make this recipe a dinner by itself. I made it with chicken parm, but with the pasta it would be very filling.