Lentil & Quinoa Stew

I love fall!  Gorgeous colors, sweater weather, and my birthday.  We've been extra busy this fall since we flew across the country to celebrate my 30th birthday with my family.  It was a fantastic trip, and included some much needed sibling and cousin bonding time. 

Now that we're back home, and getting back into the swing of things, I have been back to whipping up my healthy creations for fall.  This Lentil & Quinoa stew is awesome.  Easy and good.  My husband loved it, and Liv, who usually eats nothing but cheese and bread at dinner, tried it willingly. 

I love lentils, and I've been looking for more ways to use quinoa (a super healthy grain from South America), so this cozy meal was perfect. The combination is super hearty, and really delicious.

Lentils: admittedly, not the most visually appealing legume.  Nice fall color palate nonetheless. 

Here's the recipe!


What's in it:
1 lb. bag dry lentils, rinsed
1 C. uncooked quinoa (you can use more if you want!)
1 C. carrots, chopped
1 onion, chopped
2 Tb. minced garlic
1 tsp. red pepper flakes (or more, if you want it spicy)
2 Italian sausage links, browned (I remove the sausage from the "skin" and brown it in a pan, like I would ground beef)
6 C. chicken broth
4 C. water
salt & pepper to taste


How it's done:
Combine all ingredients in a crock pot, and cook on high for 4-5 hours until the lentils are soft.  That's it.  So easy.  So yummy.  So healthy.  Just go make it. 


PS  This recipe makes a very large amount of soup.  We eat the leftovers, and I also freeze some for an easy meal later.  You could easily half the recipe, but I like to use the entire bag of lentils at once.