Double Lentil, Sausage, Brown Rice, and Spinach Soup
(This old recipe was updated to a stovetop recipe for Sausage Lentil Soup with Spinach that was adapted to have fewer carbs. I am leaving the printer-friendly version of the original recipe here in case anyone was a fan of the slow cooker version.)
(Makes about 6 servings; recipe created by Kalyn.)
I used a 3.5 Quart Slow Cooker (affiliate link) for this recipe.
Ingredients:
1/2 onion, diced very small
1 carrot, diced very small
2 large stalks celery, diced very small
1 T olive oil
1 T minced garlic (from a jar, use less if fresh garlic)
1 tsp. dried thyme
1 tsp. Spike seasoning
3 links pre-cooked chicken or turkey sausage, diced in 1/4-1/2 inch pieces (I used Aidell’s Artichoke and Garlic Chicken Sausage)
1 can petite dice tomatoes with juice
6 cups chicken stock (or 4 cans chicken broth)
1/4 cup brown lentils
1/4 cup red lentils
salt and pepper to taste
1/4 cup long-grain brown rice (I like Uncle Ben’s brown rice)
4 cups chopped fresh spinach
2 T balsamic vinegar
Instructions:
Dice onion, carrot and celery. Heat olive oil in heavy frying pan, add veggies and saute until starting to soften, about 3-4 minutes. Add garlic, thyme, and Spike Seasoning and saute about 2 minutes more, then add veggies to crockpot.
Add diced chicken sausage, canned tomatoes, chicken stock, brown lentils, red lentils, and salt and pepper to crockpot and cook on high about 3 hours (or until brown lentils are soft and red lentils are starting to dissolve.)
Add brown rice and chopped spinach and cook about 1 hour more. Stir in balsamic vinegar and cook 15 minutes. Serve hot, with Parmesan cheese if desired.
Stove-Top Recipe:
Use at least 1 cup more stock or chicken broth for stove-top cooking.
Heat oil in a heavy soup pot, then saute vegetables, garlic, and seasonings as above. Add diced chicken sausage, canned tomatoes, chicken stock, brown lentils, red lentils, and salt and pepper and simmer over low heat for about 45 minutes, or until lentils are soft.
Add brown rice and chopped spinach and simmer about 30 minutes more, or until rice is soft. (Check to see if you need to add a little more liquid when you add the rice and spinach.) Stir in balsamic vinegar and simmer about 5 minutes more. Serve hot, with Parmesan cheese if desired.
