Lentil soup

I know it's very grandma of me...but I just love lentil soup! I make it in the crockpot all the time, especially in the fall & winter.

Today, it's currently cooking in the crock and I love that I was able to use a lot of my garden veggies.

It's super easy, so I'll share...

The basics:
1 C Lentils
4 C chicken stock (I like the Organic Pacific Natural Foods brand)
2 C chopped onions (we really like onions, you could add more or less)
pinch of salt and pepper


Depending on what's in my freezer/refrigerator/cupboard/garden, I'll add all of these or just a few:
carrots (fresh from garden)
tomatoes (either from a can, chopped up fresh or frozen cherry/grape tomatoes from the garden)
spinach or beet greens (fresh from garden or frozen from garden)
            ...going to grow kale next year and give it a try!
zucchini (fresh from garden or frozen from garden)
           ...add this during the last 1-2 hrs, otherwise it's mushy...unless of course you like mushy zucchini :)


Herbs (I change this up ALL the time. Sometimes, I don't have any):
 springs of:
     thyme (happened to have it today!)
     parsley
    cilantro (tried this last week and it was good)


Meat (I've made this quite a few times without a meat and it totally works (just not as hearty!):
Italian sausage (spicy or sweet.yum!)
Ham
Ham bone (after T-day or Christmas)
Ground Turkey (not as good, but it works!)

Throw all this into the crock together, at the same time. Cook on low for 6-8 hours or on high 3-4 hours. Sometimes lentils cook a little fast, so check their progress after just 2 hours (cooking on high, 4 hours on low)...and throw in that zucchini!


Tonight, when my soup is done...I might just add a little heavy cream and see how that tastes. :)


So, what are your favorite soups?