Hardy Sausage Lentil Stew

This recipe is perfect on a cool day to feed 8 or so people. And like any type of bean soup or stew, it's just as good, if not better, leftover. (I like to make it for a fall afternoon of football and lots of activities as it can easily be served immediately or heated up later.)

The Recipe:
White rice is the perfect complement to this recipe and should be made in tandem with it!

Ingredients for Stew...
1 cup lentils
7 1/2 cups water
2 beef bouillon cubes
1 bay leaf
2 teaspoons salt
3 lbs mild sausage
1 onion diced
4 stalks celery chopped
​1 clove or a heaping tablespoon minced garlic
12 ounces tomato paste
1/4 teaspoon oregano

In a large pot, bring to a boil and simmer 20 minutes: lentils, 2 1/2 cups of the water, beef bouillon cubes, the bay leaf and 1 teaspoon of salt. (The lentils will be soft and all the water absorbed by the end of about 20 minutes.)

In a separate large pan saute sausage, celery, onion and garlic. Once the sausage is cooked and the vegetables are slightly soft, drain off the excess fat. ​Add sausage/vegetable mixture to cooked lentils in the large pot. Then add 5 cups water, tomato paste, oregano and 1 teaspoon salt and stir well.  Simmer for 20 minutes. 

​Serve over white rice to fill lots of hungry stomachs!