Ham & Lentil Soup

Between my mom and I we made up this recipe. I've decided I wanted to start eating more fiber-based foods and last night I was in the mood for some soup. I stopped at a Whole Foods store on the way home to get some basil for another recipe and decided to try some lentils for the first time. I also picked up some veggies and ham and went home to experiment. It turned out pretty good. I'm not sure if i like the lentils but I'm willing to try it again..and I have leftovers so I'll eat the soup again. The broth itself turned out awesome with all the veggies I added. When I went to put the leftovers into another container, I noticed all the broth had evaporated. So when I reheat the soup, I'll add another 2 cups of broth and simmer it in it..maybe the lentils will soften up some more. The measurements listed below are just an estimate of what I used. For the carrots, onion & celery, I used a pre-cut pkg of the trio and only used half of the pkg.


Ham & Lentil Soup

1-2 tbsp butter
1 clove garlic, minced
1 1-in piece ginger, minced
1 c sliced yellow squash
1/4 c diced carrot
1/4 c diced celery
1/4 c diced onion
2 c ham, cut into cubes
4 c chicken broth
1 c dried brown lentils
1 bay leaf
1 tsp basil
1 tsp thyme

Melt butter in Dutch oven. Add veggies and cook until squash is tender but not translucent, about 3-4 min. Add broth and bring to boil. Once broth is boiling, add lentils, bay leaf, basil and thyme.

Simmer, uncovered, for 25-30 minutes or until lentils are cooked to your desired consistency.

Remove bay leaf and serve.


All the ingredients chopped up and ready to go...

Veggies...

Enjoy!

**On A Side Note: I remade this soup a couple weeks ago with much better results!I used up all my leftover veggies in the fridge; half of a bell pepper, zucchini, yellow squash, red onion, a bay leaf, garlic and ginger, along with cubed ham and the lentils. Instead of using chicken bouillon cubes, which was a huge mistake when I first made this soup, I used 6 cups of veggie (you can also use chicken) broth and the soup tasted so much better! It wasn't as salty and the broth didn't evaporate like it did when I first made it. I also added some oregano, thyme and basil to the soup after it was done. Although it did turn green in the fridge from all the spices, it tasted even better the next day. I will definitely be making this soup on a regular basis, especially since you can basically put in any veggie you desire. Yum!


All the veggies..






Broth added...






Enjoy!