Crockpot Lentil Soup

[Rudy]

This post originally appeared on the Ghetto Pot Roast thread.

Rudy



Joined: 08/16/09
Posts: 645
Location: Middle Tenn.

Posted: Tue Oct 27, 2009 1:10 pm
Well, here are two photos. The lentil soup tastes so good that I took two pictures of it. Yesterday I bought a one pound bag of dry lentils, a yellow onion, a bag of shredded carrots, and a bag of raw spinach. I already had some garlic. I read the bag and it said that you don't have to soak lentils. It said to put 8 cups of water for the bag. I put the lentils in the crock pot, then I added 7cups water, 1 can chicken broth, a bunch of sea salt, a good amount of pepper, 1 tablespoon of a spice called Spike, a small handful of dried celery leaves, the bag of shredded carrots, 10 cloves of garlic, and let the stuff cook on high for three hours. At 10 o'clock, when I went to bed, I added the bag of raw spinach, and put the crock pot on low. It was smelling good at that point. Perhaps I should say that it was smelling strong, due to all the garlic. (Slap yo mammy strong)!. Sometimes I wake up in the middle of sleep to (tinkle). I really never use the word (tinkle). I sound like a three year old now. I guess I am giddy about this new found crockpottery. When I woke up, the whole bus was filled with the aroma of home cooked wonderfulness. I took a spoonful to taste this marvelous treat and it was so hot, I burnt my lips and tongue. That was a lesson learned. I knew I had to get up at six in the morning so I shut the heat off and figured it would be just perfect when I got up. Indeed it was. All together I had a little over $6 invested in the soup. I figure I have the equivalent of ten cans of Progresso Lentil soup in my crockpot. Those cans of soup are $1.65 on sale. Not only do I save a bunch of bucks, but I have the enjoyment of eating something I created. Keep in mind that I did not use a recipe. You guys said just throw the stuff in there and it will cook itself. That's just what happened. My next project will be chili. I have ONE QUESTION. Do I fry the meat first, or will it cook in the crockpot? So, without further ado, here are the pics. Thank you all for the inspiration. Rudy

[Rudy]

Rudy



Joined: 08/16/09
Posts: 648
Location: Middle Tenn.

Posted: Tue Nov 10, 2009 6:32 pm
Here's an excellent report. This last batch of lentil soup is fantastic. I will tell you why. Not only have you kind folks on the forum helped me and inspired me to cook, I have also been talking to friends about my new adventures and received a lot of help as well. I was given a crockpot, and a new device that you will see a picture of shortly. So, let me tell you about my latest lentil soup. I took the advice of two women who are good cooks and employed them in to my latest batch. First was to use a broth (chicken or beef) instead of just water. I used a 32 ounce box of liquid beef broth and 16 ounces of water. Then, I was told about the importance of using herbs. I know a friend who grows a lot of herbs. She gave me quite a few of them. She suggested that I use Rosemary, Oregano, and Bay leaf in my lentil soup. I got the Rosemary out of her yard but the oregano and Bay Leaf came out of a can. She gave me a bunch of spices. So I poured the beef broth and water into the crockpot. I put in a 10 inch stem of Rosemary, a tablespoon of Oregano, and one Bay Leaf. Then I also put in the bag of lentils, a small bag of shredded carrots, a medium bag of raw spinach, only three cloves of garlic, half of a yellow onion, and a good sprinkling of salt and pepper. It took about 7 hours to cook.(three on high, and four on low). It's the best thing I have made yet. I really love lentil soup. Next time I make it, I will give the specifics of my secret recipe. The beef broth and the herbs made all the difference in the world.

[Rudy]

Now on to the new device. Yesterday I received a gift of a unit which is called a roaster oven. I haven't used it yet. It's like a crockpot and an oven. It has variable temperatures like an oven does. It has a grate upon which to put meats, or to use for steaming vegetables. It has a five quart capacity. It's functions are roast, cook, bake, and steam. There are two dozen recipes in the manual. Not only can you use this thing like a crock pot, you can actually bake stuff in there. Now you can come visit me and I can bake you a cake. That might be the first thing I do with this device. I am also keen on steaming some vegetables in it. Here are two photos of it.





I still have two more servings of lentil soup left in my crockpot. I put the crock in the fridge and scoop out each serving into a bowl and nuke it. I eat it for breakfast every morning, and now that I have the "secret" recipe, I will make it all the time. If you come visit me, I won't insist that you have that for breakfast. If you want, we'll go to Waffle House and eat their greasy stuff. I can handle it.

[Dennis The Bus Dweller]

Rudy

As to the chili meat. You can do it either way. I throw the meat in first and set the "crockpot" on high and turn the meat over a few times for about 20 minutes or so until it's a little browned and then put all my powders and liquids in and then put in diced onions, garlic and peppers and get the lid onit and leter gooooo for about 4 hr or so then sit-on down with a spoon, cornbread and a smile WOOOOWEEEE!

[Rudy]

Thanks, Dennis. I am not quite ready to do the chili or meatloaf dishes yet. I don't even have the courage to use my new roaster machine yet. I will gain confidence quickly though. I just sampled a few items from my Nutty Beef Soup. What do you think of putting the coffee in there? I thought it was a crazy idea. I gotta tell you, though, the whole thing is coming together. COFFEE? Whaddya mean COFFEE??? Pretty crazy, HUH? Rudy.

[Dennis The Bus Dweller]

You've come a long way "Weedhopper"