Every other week my hubby and I enjoy a “Date Night.” One evening we decided to go out to eat. We enjoyed each other’s company at one of our favorite Italian restaurants. Mike ordered a salad and I ordered a delcious soup with Italian sausage and lentils. I enjoy going eat to eat as much as the next person, but I LOVE coming home with new ideas and challenges. My husband smiled as I carefully picked apart my soup. “Sausage, carrots, celery, garlic, mmm…this spice, that spice…I’m going home and making this soup…it’s just THAT GOOD!“
After a couple of tries, I created this recipe which my dear hubby claims is the best lentil soup he’s ever had! Thanks, honey! Second to my grandmother’s soups, this Sausage Lentil Soup is one of my favorite soups! There’s just something very comforting about a pot of a hearty, homemade soup bubbling away on the stove!
1 lb. Italian Sweet Sausage or turkey sausage
1 c. celery, chopped
1 onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
3 carrots, grated
13 c. water
3 to 4 tbsp. low-sodium chicken base
¾ tsp. oregano
½ tsp. garlic powder
1 tsp. dried basil
¼ tsp. ground pepper
2 c. dried lentils
Kale, cleaned and chopped
Brown crumbled turkey or pork sausage in large Dutch oven. Drain any fat and dry off meat with paper towels. Grate celery, onion, garlic, and carrots. Add to pan. Add 13 c. water. You may add chicken base. Add dried oregano, garlic powder, dried basil, ground pepper, dried lentils (rinsed), and a bunch of chopped kale. Bring to a boil then let simmer for two hours. This soup is delicious!
Hello, I’m Elise Johnson and I’m so glad you found your way here! From my own experience, cooking and eating together as a family nurtures and strengthens family relationships quicker and stronger than any other way. Join me as I continue my grandmother’s legacy of
inter-generational cooking by inspiring families and friends to make memories in the kitchen. 
Finally a smart blogger…I love how you’re thinking and writing!
Don”t wait until cold weather to try this yummy soup. I was honored to have an Elise lunch with this soup as the main course while we also enjoyed the fruits of our combined labor–from shopping at the NC Farmers Market (Raleigh) and cooking together for later shows. We also taste tested Elise’s Green Tomato Cake and officially declared it a fantastic hit.
I am amazed at what it takes to put together a cooking show. Aside from the creative side of cooking Elise is amazingly organized in her kitchen. There is no point in me aspiring to be that organized. Unless I get a larger kitchen (in an order of magnituse of at least 5) there is NO WAY! Not even that would help me be better organized but it might provide more cabinet drawers and doors to hide things.
Secretary, I officially declare that I love you! : ) It was my pleasure and I was honored to have you in our home. What would my grandmother think?
Dear Secretary Marshall,
We are so happy and proud to be the parents of Elise and are glad that you had a chance to sample her cooking skills as well as her charming personality. Her Mom and I are still debating on whose side of the family that this comes from. Please accept our best wishes for your continues success in the wonderful state of North Carolina. God Bless.
Ed & Mary Arruda