Vegetable and Lentil Soup

This soup was incredibly delicious and SUPER healthy!  I'm proud of myself for coming up with this yummy creation!  :)  We all savored our soup!  I put some Parmesan Cheese on top of mine! :)  My husband and daughter ate their soup with some clubhouse crackers.

This soup is great because there are so many things you could do with it......you could add more lentils, add some pasta 1/2 hour before serving, add beans of your choosing or even add some ground beef, ground turkey or crumbles!  If you're a vegetarian or a carnivore, you'll love it!  I promise!

P.S.  This is one of those, clean out your 'fridge kind of soups! :)  Use what vegetables you have and as much or as little of what you like!  I sat down with a colander of my washed veggies and chopped away! :)  It was kind of therapeutic!

So, here's the recipe for this "oh so good!" soup!

Vegetable and Lentil Soup

Ingredients:
1/2 bag baby carrots, chopped (or use 3-4 carrots)
2 stalk celery, chopped
2 small zucchini, diced
1 yellow squash, diced
2 small onions, or 1 medium-large onion, diced
2 cups Lentils, rinsed and drained (I think you could go up to 3 cups for sure!)
1 28oz. can Crushed Tomatoes
1 140z. can diced tomatoes
8 cups chicken broth, or 8 cups water with 8 chicken bouillon cubes (if you're vegetarian, use vegetable broth)
2 tsp. pepper
2 tsp. salt
2 tsp. garlic powder
1 tsp. basil
5-10 dashes hot sauce (depending on what level of "zing" you like!)

Directions:

Place all of your chopped/diced veggies into the Slow Cooker insert.

Admire how pretty the colors look and what a good person you are for making such a healthy choice for dinner tonight! ;)

Next, add the lentils.

Now you can pat yourself on the back once again, for making such a healthy choice!

Add the broth (or water and bouillon cubes), crushed tomatoes, canned tomatoes and spices/seasonings.  Stir.

Cook on LOW for 8-10 hours or on HIGH for 5-6 hours.

ENJOY!