Lamb With Lentils (Crock Pot) - cooking recipe

Ingredients

2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
2 lbs lamb, cut into 1-inch cubes
2 onions, chopped
8 carrots, peeled and sliced
4 stalks celery, sliced
4 garlic cloves, minced
2 teaspoons herbes de provence
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon peppercorn, cracked
2 bay leaves
1 cup vegetable broth
1 (28 ounce) can tomatoes, chopped
2 cups lentils, rinsed
8 cups swiss chard, stemmed and chopped

Preparation

In a skillet over medium high heat heat 1 tablespoon oil for about 30 seconds or so.
Add lamb to skillet, cook until browned (3-5 minutes) in batches if necessary. Transfer lamb to slow cooker as it is cooked.
Reduce heat to medium and drain all but 1 tablespoon of the fat from the skillet.
Add onions, carrots and celery to skillet and cook stirring until vegetables are soft (5-10 minutes).
Stir in garlic, herbes de Provence, salt and peppercorns and cook another minute or so.
Stir in bay leaves, broth and tomatoes (with the juice) and bring mixture to a boil and then transfer mixture to slow cooker. (see my note in description - I also added a lamb bone chopped into two pieces so it would fit in my crock pot).
Stir in lentils.
Cover and cook on low for 8 hours or on High for 4 hours or until mixture is bubbly and lamb and lentils are tender.
(Remove bone from crock pot - see note in description) Stir in chard in batches, stirring into the stew. Cover and cook on High for 20-30 minutes or until chard is tender. Discard bay leaves.