Sausage and Lentil Soup

Ingredients: 

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 small onion -- chopped
2 cloves garlic -- chopped
1 large or two small carrots -- chopped
2 links Sweet Italian Sausage (meat or turkey) -removed from casings
1 quart chicken stock (homemade or canned low sodium)
fresh thyme
1 cup brown lentils -- rinsed
1 cup Swiss chard -- coarsely chopped
chopped tomato

Instructions:

Heat a large pot with the oil. Add the onion garlic and carrots and sweat them until the natural sugars come out. 

Add the sausage and brown with the vegetables. 

Add the chicken stock and fresh thyme and bring to a boil.

Add the lentils and reduce the soup to a simmer, covered and cook for 40 minutes.

Add the Swiss Chard or Spinach

Taste the soup and adjust the seasoning with salt and pepper

Plate the soup and top with chopped tomato

Note: Depending how thick or thin you want the soup to be you can add another pint of chicken stock. Never cook lentils with tomatoes, the acid will make the lentils tough.