Carrabba's Sausage & Lentil Soup
(from recipezaar)

DH tried the "authetic" soup over the weekend and it was AWESOME ~ great flavor, filling, & satisfying! Just found this recipe and SBD'd it. I am making it as we speak. Enjoy! This would probably also be great with some spinach, for added veggies.

1¼ hours | 15 min prep

SERVES 6 -8

1 lb sweet or hot Italian turkey sausage
1 large onion, chopped
1 stalk celery, chopped
1 small zucchini, chopped (I added 2 small for more veggies)
6 cups chicken broth or stock (I am using low sodium)
2 (14 1/2 ounce) cans diced tomatoes, undrained (again, I am using LS)
2-3 garlic cloves
1 teaspoon salt (I decreased to a 1/2 tsp)
2 cups dry (regular) lentils
black pepper
red pepper flakes
basil
oregano
parsley
thyme
Parmesan and fresh basil

ETA: The recipe called for 2 large carrots, chopped, which are off limits. You can probably sub some raw or roasted red peppers.

-Spray pan with cooking spary or use small amount of canola or EVOO. Brown sausage, while breaking up with back of wooden spoon; drain off fat.
-In a large pot combine all ingredients and bring to boil.
-Reduce heat,cover.
-Simmer for about 1 hour or until lentils are tender. Add water if necessary, for desired consistency. I like to puree about 1 cup of the soup and add back to pot to give it a thicker consistency.
-Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and fresh basil and serve.

UPDATE:

I made another batch today for the freezer that was awesome! I ran out of a few things so I improvised:

I did not have any zucchini so I used a bunch of mushrooms, chopped.
About 5-6 cloves of garlic, chopped.
In place of the carrots (again...off-limits), I used 1 large red bell pepper, chopped
1 teaspoon salt
~ 1/2 tsp black pepper
~ 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
~ 2 tsp Italian Herbs (parsley, basil, oregano, marjoram, and rosemary)
Thyme, just dumped some in.

The soup thickened up a lot so I just added some more stock to each bowl before serving...awesome! Enjoy!

Ohhh...a note about lentils, do not forget to look through them and rinse them in a sieve/colander before adding to the soup.

Yum yum yum yum yum! I made it tonight. The smell was soo delicious. I didn't have red peppers on hand so just used lots of mushrooms, extra zucchini and tossed in some fresh spinach. This tasted so good--only trouble was, I ended up eating too much lol! Thanks for posting this great recipe.

So glad that you liked it! Both batches that I've made have been awesome! Definitely a regular in the rotation as it was sooooo easy!!

I made this week for lunches. First off, it makes a lot of soup, but boy was it yummy!!! I kept the carrots out and added a bunch of spinach. Group soup! Thanks for the recipe!

I am so glad that you liked it! I LOVE that it makes a lot b/c I freeze it in gallon freezer bags (or Rubbermaid) and whip them out as needed. Freezes GREAT!