Crockpot Curried Lentils - cooking recipe

Ingredients

1 cup lentils, sorted and rinsed
1 medium onion, diced
2 small carrots, peeled and diced
1 celery rib, diced
2 garlic cloves, minced fine
4 cups chicken broth or 4 cups vegetable broth
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 ounce dried mushroom (by weight)
1 -2 tablespoon curry powder (as per your taste)
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
2 bay leaves
1 (15 ounce) can diced tomatoes
1 cup half-and-half
10 ounces frozen spinach, thawed (optional)

Preparation

Combine everything except the tomatoes, dairy, and spinach in the crockpot. Cook on low 8-10 hours.
30 minutes before serving, remove the bay leaves, add the tomatoes and pulse with an immersion blender to grind up about half the lentils. Stir in the half-and-half, and the spinach if using. Cook another 30 minutes. Serve hot with rice or couscous.