Lentil Soup is a staple in my home during the winter. I toss all the ingredients into the crockpot and GGSD (go get stuff done). I am rewarded with a hearty, flavorful soup that takes very little effort. Usually I like to add at least one starchy vegetable or grain to the basic recipe. Sometimes I like it savory and other times spicy. There are suggestions for additions and variations at the end of the recipe.
Basic Lentil Soup Recipe
2 cups dried lentils
1 medium onion, diced
4 carrots, peeled and diced
4 cups vegetable broth (or animal broth – see easy soup stock recipe)
1 14oz can of diced tomatoes ( 1 pint home canned tomatoes)
1 tablespoon dried thyme
3-4 garlic cloves, minced
1 bay leaf
3-4 cups water
Cooking instructions
Put everything in the crockpot. I cook on high two hours then turn to low for 5-6 hours – but that’s my crockpot. During the final hour, check lentils for tenderness. Add salt and pepper to taste.
For the crockpot pictured, I added chili flakes, barley and black olives. The possibilities are endless.
Additions
These are all individual additions that you might consider – not all of them together.
- 3/4 barley during the last hour of cooking
- diced potatoes
- can of garbanzo bean
- 1/2 cup diced black olives
- 1 teaspoon red chili flakes
- Substitute any dried herb in place of thyme that you prefer
- Add cumin and curry powder for a Mediterranean flavor – this is great with the garbanzo beans
- Fill your serving bowl with fresh baby spinach, ladle hot soup on top of the spinach. Let this sit for 30 seconds, then stir. This is fantastic!
Share what you like to add in the comments.
Our homestead came with an average chicken coop that was in
disrepair. The roof was a mess, the nesting boxes were falling off, the run was full of weeds and the windows were broken. At least it was equipped with a nice 2-foot barrier of hardware cloth that was buried around the entire perimeter. With a little elbow grease, scrap materials and TLC, I turned it into a functional chicken coop and run where we raised our first pullets.
The second year we decided to raise chicks – who can resist those adorable little chicks? Day one we had a small problem. Since I was at work, my daughter picked up the chicks I ordered from the feed store when they arrived. All three were supposed to be silver-laced Wyandottes, but alas one was brown. The brown one, I soon discovered was the only one my daughter had named… Beth. Beth, an unknown breed, remains a part of our flock.
Next it was time to build what is not referred to as our Coop Mahal. I thought of every single thing I 
would want in a chicken coop and my husband made it a reality. I wanted to be able to walk into not just the main run area, but also the interior coop. The clean out door needed to be exactly the height of my wheel barrel for easy clean out. I wanted a door that would automatically open and close so that I might be able to sleep in just one morning. The sleeping in part has not been a reality! And just in case I ever fell out of love with my chicken, I wanted it built to be easily converted into a shed. Look for a full blog on building this dream chicken coop in the near future.
Yesterday, I dismantled the small, original chicken coop from its run. I also stripped off the exterior laying boxes and boarded that up. I will eventually relocate what is now simply a free standing coop big enough for about 6-10 chickens to roost in at night. This will become the home for new pullets as I add them each year so they can develop to full size in an area away from the existing flock. I found that while the pullets were physically separate from the flock, it seemed to cause a lot of stress for all birds involved to be able to see each other while they matured.
