Fall is Soup-er!

I LOVE FALL!!! And Fall in SC couldn't be better! You can imagine my thrill when I woke up the other day to 60 degree weather!!!! And Lo and Behold this morning I woke up to rain. That's one of my favorite sounds in the world. Needless to say, the cupcake experiment got put on hold, due to a soggy day. Or rather, I was really in the mood for soup instead. My favorite kinds of soup are the ones that require little to no thinking. Throw some stock in the pot, add this and that and Voila! It's soup! So here's what I had in my kitchen when I got started: Raw sugar, baby food and tomato sauce. Mmmmm! Appetizing! Off to the store I went. And after a half hour returned with the following decision: It's a really bad idea to shop while you're hungry.

So what, pray tell, are we making today? Hamburger, vegetables and lentils. Yummy! Why I came up with that particular combination, I don't know. All I know is my stomach said "grab that!" And I listened. Here's what I got:
1 lb ground lean meat
2 cups of chopped mixed vegetables
1 1/2 cups lentils
5-6 cups of water (OK the water came from my tap, but you get the idea)
Salt and pepper to taste

In a large pot I browned the meat (I used venison that I found in the recesses of my freezer, but you can use whatever you want). Add a little bit of the water and with a wooden spoon scrub the "crusties" off the bottom of the pot. This is flavor, people! They'll dissolve as you cook, but dissolve better if you get them off the bottom first. Pour on the rest of the water and bring to a boil. Now for the veggies. I used corn, green beans, potatoes, celery, and a little bit of onion. If you want better flavor from the onions, add them to the meat while browning. Add all the veggies except the potatoes. They don't take very long to cook. Bring back to a boil and then reduce to a high simmer for 45 minutes. Add the lentils and potatoes and simmer another 15-20 minutes or until lentils are tender.

I used fresh everything for this recipe. If you are going to use canned veggies, however, skip the 45 minute boil period and just add all the veggies and lentils at the same time.

Now just cozy up in front of the fireplace with a good book and a big bowl of this stuff and listen to the rain!

 for your fire---  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ejQBThHIDuc
 For your Rain---http://whitenoise247.net/nature.aspx