Lentil Stew with Bacon and Greens

I love lentils and I love bacon so this soup was a must for me.  I find that bacon just makes soups so much better!  This can also be made with ham if you’d prefer, but when given the choice between ham and bacon, I always go with bacon!  Now if I had to choose between sausage and bacon, that’s a tough call.  

Anyways, this is another satisfying and hearty soup that is perfect for the cold wintry days.  And if you use turkey bacon instead of regular bacon, then it’s a pretty healthy soup.  It’s also a sneaky way to get some greens in.  I like to use kale for my green because I feel like kale is a good soup green since it doesn’t wilt as much as spinach.  I think that this and my Rosemary Split Pea Soup with Bacon are my favorite soups right now.  I like to eat this with a toasted French roll that I pull apart and use to scoop the lentil stew - yum!

Servings: 5 servings (but I can easily eat this for two dinners)

Ingredients:
1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
1 cup chopped onion
5 ounces baby bella mushrooms, sliced
3 garlic cloves, minced
5 cups low-sodium chicken broth
1 cup dried lentils
1/2 cup chopped carrot
2 bay leaves
3 cups kale, Swiss chard, collard greens, or spinach (chopped)
1 baking potato (chopped)
6 slices bacon (chopped) (or 1 cup chopped ham)
1 (14.5 ounce) can diced tomatoes
1 teaspoon dried basil
½ teaspoon dried thyme
½ teaspoon black pepper
3 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped

Instructions:

• Heat Dutch oven over medium-high heat and either spray with cooking spray or heat 1 tsp of oil. 
• Add 1 cup onion, 5 oz mushrooms, 3 minced garlic cloves, and 6 slices bacon.  Cook for 5 minutes. 
• Add 5 cups chicken broth, 1 cup lentils, ½ cup carrots, and 2 bay leaves.  Bring soup to a boil and then cover and reduce heat.  Simmer for 20 minutes. 
• Add 3 cups kale (or Swiss chard, collard greens, or spinach) and 1 chopped potato.  Bring to a boil and then reduce heat.  Simmer for 15 minutes or until the potatoes are tender.
• Stir in the can of tomatoes, 1 tsp basil, ½ tsp thyme, and ½ tsp pepper.  Simmer for 10 minutes. 
• Discard bay leaves and sprinkle soup with 3 tbsps of parsley.

Anytime I cook anything with bacon, Sunny and Rosy camp out in the kitchen, hoping I'll drop a piece.

Adapted from My Recipes.