While I still have a great love for my Instant Pot, there’s a special place in my heart for my Crock Pot. There’s something to be said for being able to throw ingredients into my Crock Pot and letting a meal cook throughout the day, filling the house with the yummy smell of the dinner to come. It’s a little more fool-proof than my Instant Pot, too. I still get anxiety about the quick release steam.
I have some standbys when it comes to the Crock Pot, but I have to say my favorite is one that I learned to make from my mom: sausage and lentil soup. This delicious soup only requires four ingredients. FOUR. It’s also incredibly easy to make, but that is thanks in large part to a beautiful little place I like to call TJ’s… Trader Joe’s. Cue the angels singing.
Trader Joe’s is, like Tina Turner once said, simply the best. And while the Lansing area hasn’t been blessed with a TJ’s yet, we often try to stop by one of the locations near my parents’ house and stock up. We might as well bring a cooler next time.
I love basically everything about Trader Joe’s, especially their frozen meals, seasonal items (pumpkin everything in the fall months), and things that just make life in general (and this soup, more specifically) easier.
Those items are the Trader Joe’s steamed lentils and Mirepoix mix. Instead of the added time and steps to soak the lentils, these are all set. The Mirepoix mix takes care of the chopping and portions for the carrots, onion, and celery. I also buy their chicken broth when I’m there, so that I have 75% of the soup ingredients ready to go. I also buy two packages of Italian sausage from Kroger. And that’s it!
In order to have a large batch of soup for the week, I use two cartons of the TJ’s chicken broth, two packages of the steamed lentils, and one Mirepoix.
After adding the broth to my Crock Pot, I put in the Mirepoix and the steamed lentils.
The lentils are usually pretty stuck together in the package, so I try to break them apart as I put them into the Crock Pot and also give them a good stir.
Then I brown the two packages of Italian sausage in a skillet. I prefer the mild sausage, but my mom typically uses a medium heat sausage for the soup.
I drain the grease and add the sausage to my Crock Pot, then give it all a good stir.
The soup cooks for about 4-6 hours on high or 6-8 hours on low. Because the lentils and sausage are already cooked, it’s more a matter of making sure the vegetables in the Mirepoix mix have softened and the flavors build.
My mom always has shaved parmesan on hand for this soup, and I think it is the perfect accompaniment.
And, like most soups, it tastes even better as leftovers.
I’ve been curious about trying to modify the recipe for the Instant Pot, which might be great on days when I can’t seem to get the Crock Pot set to go on time. But for now, I’m not about to go messing with a classic.