Lentil Soup

This is more like a stew because it's rather thick. I prepped all my ingredients and made TWO pots of it, side by side. One contained cooked Italian sausage and the other remained meatless, for the vegetarians in our family.  You can omit the sausage completely if you want to make this meat-free. The photo shows the vegetarian lentil soup on top with the soup containing sausage beneath it:

For ONE pot of soup:

Start by cooking 1/2# (3-4 links) of Italian sausage, casing removed - either bake or fry it, then drain it well, mince it and cool it off. Set aside.

In a dutch oven or small soup pot, heat 2 Tblsp. olive oil (or vegetable oil) and once it's hot, add:
1-1/2 cups chopped onion
1-1/2 cups sliced celery
1-1/2 cups sliced carrots
few cloves of minced garlic
Saute until softened.

Add 2 C. chopped tomatoes (fresh or canned) with their juice.
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
1 tsp. curry powder
1 tsp. Trader Joe's 21 season salute (OR 1/2 tsp. all-seasoning, like Ms. Dash)
a few 'grinds' of Trader Joe's South African Smoke seasoning
1/4 tsp. crushed red pepper (or cayenne) - or more, if you like more of a zap!

Simmer for 20 minutes and then add one (16 oz.) package dried lentils.
Add 6 cups water and 1 cup tomato sauce.
Add the reserved sausage at this point.

Cover and simmer for an hour, stirring occasionally.  If (toward the end of the hour) the soup appears to be TOO thick, add another cup or so of water.  Test for seasoning.  Add more S&P, if needed.  After an hour of cooking, taste the lentils to make sure they're softened enough.  If not, cover and continue to simmer a bit longer.