Lentil and Mushroom Stroup with kale and bacon

 It is a bright and sunny day here today! But very very cold. So cold in fact that there is a fire in the wood stove and a pot of fresh soup cooking in the kitchen.

Weather complaints aside, soup is a wonderful thing to cook on cold days, it also helps keep kitchen waste down.  There does not have to be any hard and fast rules about soup making, what you have available will usually make a nice pot of soup.

If is turns out a little bland, add a bit of zip with some extra seasonings or serve with a sprinkling of cheese. I have learned a thing or two about myself and soup.

I enjoy a brothy soup sipped out of a soup mug and then finished with a spoon at the end. And sometimes I only want the broth, I must be craving the warmth and the liquid.

I love rice with soup, but not in the soup, because it gets mushy. The way to avoid the mushy rice problem is to cook the rice separately and place a scoop of rice in the bottom of the bowl and serve the soup over the rice. This works especially well for soups that you will freeze and serve later.

The same is true with potatoes. I enjoy a robust meaty vegetable soup served over fried potatoes placed in my soup bowl. The flavor of the fried potatoes is far superior to potatoes peeled and added to the soup. Again potatoes do not freeze well in soup, when thawed and served they are mush and the soup texture is questionable.

Lentil and mushroom Stroup with kale and bacon
adapted from what you have on hand and experience from good soups made before!

6-8 slices bacon - diced
1 onion - diced
1 pound mushrooms - sliced
2 carrots - peeled and diced
1 16 oz can diced tomatoes
1 qt chicken or ham broth
1 qt water
2 c lentils rinsed and drained
1 t thyme leaves, crumbled
1 1/2 t garlic salt

1/2 bunch kale, washed drained and cut into 1" pieces

Saute the bacon in a large flat bottom pan, remove bacon and set aside. Remove all but 1 T of the rendered fat and the "drippings", add onion turn heat to medium, cover and let braise about 5 minutes to soften the onion. Remove and set aside.

Add 1 T of reserved bacon fat and the sliced mushrooms, raise heat to high and cook stirring until mushroom begin to release moisture. Add all remaining ingredients except the kale. Simmer 1 hour, add kale and simmer additional 30 - 45 minutes or until cooked to your preferred texture.

Makes about 1 gallon, freezes great for those quick dinners. Even Honey liked this one and he is not the biggest soup fan. 

As always thanks for taking a moment to stop and say hello, I appreciate your time. 

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