Smoked Sausage And Lentil Soup - cooking recipe

Ingredients

1 lb smoked sausage, diced (I used light smoked beef sausage)
1 lb lentils
1 tablespoon olive oil (or olive oil cooking spray)
2 onions, diced
1 cup celery, diced
1 cup carrot, diced
2 medium potatoes, peeled and diced
5 garlic cloves, minced
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1 1/2 teaspoons oregano
1 teaspoon thyme
2 bay leaves
1 (28 ounce) can diced tomatoes in tomato puree
1 (6 ounce) can tomato paste
4 cups canned beef broth

Preparation

Wash and sort through lentils, removing any stones, etc.
In a large pot, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat.
Add the onions, celery, carrots and garlic. Cook, stirring often, until onions have begun to wilt, about 10 minutes.
Add remaining ingredients and heat until boiling, reduce heat to low, cover and simmer until lentils are tender, about 1 to 1 1/2 hours.
Remove bay leaves, let \"rest\" for about 15 minutes to blend flavors and serve.
This may be thinned with a little more broth or water if it becomes too thick.