Lentil Soup

We've had some lentils and green split peas sitting in our cupboards for a couple months so, tonight, we had lentil soup, homemade corn bread and a salad (mostly from our garden) for dinner.



Lentil Soup

Ingredients
1/4 cup olive oil
4 carrots, diced
4 stalks celery, chopped
2 onions, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
4 tsp. Italian seasoning
2 bay leaves
1/2 tsp. mustard seeds
1 1b. dry lentils
1 lb. dry green split peas
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
4 cubes beef bouillon
2 14.5 oz. cans diced tomatoes
16 cups water
2 cups fresh chard (you can substitute spinach)
salt and pepper to taste

Instructions
Heat olive oil in a pan. Add carrots, onion and celery and saute until tender. Add garlic, bay leaves, Italian seasoning and mustard seeds and cook for two minutes. Add lentils, peas, beef bouillon, vinegar, tomatoes and water. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Cook until peas and lentils are cooked through. Add the fresh chard and cook until greens are wilted and tender.

Krystal