Awesome Lentil Soup Recipe!

Ingredients:
Ham or bacon pieces to taste ( I used 2 pieces center cut bacon, its lower fat)
2-1/2 cups or 1 (16-ounce) package dried lentils
6 cups chicken broth
1 large onion, chopped
1/2 cup grated carrots
4 Tbsp butter or margarine (low fat margarine for us)
1 tsp dried thyme, crushed
1/8 tsp ground nutmeg
Salt and white pepper to taste
Preparation:
In a large soup pot over medium-high heat, combine ham or bacon pieces, lentils, and chicken broth; bring just to a boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer 1 to 1-1/2 hours or until lentils are soft. Remove 2 cups of cooked lentils and place into food processor or blender bowl; let cool 5 minutes (if you do not let cool slightly before processing, mixture will explode out of container and make a mess in your kitchen). After cooling, whirl until pureed. Stir pureed lentils into soup mixture. In a medium frying pan over medium-high heat, saute onion and carrots in butter or margarine until limp, but do not brown; add to lentils. Add thyme, nutmeg, salt, and white pepper. Simmer another 30 minutes. Remove from heat and serve in soup bowls. Yield: 6 servings.

It makes more than 6 servings because it is sooo filling. Its a very aromatic, herby tasting soup. Of course, its also super cheap to make. If you are really pinching pennies, get a pack of center cut bacon and freeze what you don't use in this recipe. You can use it to flavor subsequent bean soups and it will last a long time.

Salad balances out the heartiness of this soup, use baby spinach leaves for added health benefits.