winter eats

I love recipes where chunks of stuff are thrown into a crockpot the night before and magically turn into hearty stews. I tweak this in a significant way: more bacon. How a recipe can constrain itself to only 3 strips of bacon is beyond me. Fry up the whole pig! Yummy! I didn't have any carrots last night so I just left them out. I also didn't have tomato paste so I put a couple spoonfuls of pasta sauce. Why not, right? By the time I woke up this morning - everything had melded into a sumptuous, bacon-smelling, delight of a meal.

1 large onion, chopped

3 strips (3 ounces) bacon, cut into 1/2-inch pieces

3 medium carrots, peeled, halved lengthwise, and cut into 1/4-inch half-moons

3 garlic cloves, minced

2 tablespoons tomato paste

1 1/2 cups lentils, picked over and rinsed

1/2 teaspoon dried thyme

2 cans (14 1/2 ounces each) reduced-sodium chicken broth (3 1/2 cups)

1 tablespoon red-wine vinegar

Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper

 

http://www.marthastewart.com/341776/lentil-soup