Lentils for Everyone

I tried to kill two birds with one stone. I bought lentils so I could make myself soup and from that make food for Cati. As usual though, I got distracted with the baby and ended up with something that was not a soup. Oh well. The lentils came out delicious either way and Cati LOVED them. I've been giving them to her for almost a week now and she still loves them. Go Cati!

Lentils for Everyone
Source: Jodi on Allrecipes.com

3 tablespoons olive oil
1 large onion, chopped (I omitted)
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt, or to taste
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/8 teaspoon chili powder, or to taste
1 (32 ounce) carton chicken broth
1 cup lentils
1 large carrot, diced


Heat 3 tablespoons of olive oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Stir in the onion and garlic, and cook until the onion has turned golden brown, about 5 minutes. Stir in the tomato paste, cumin, kosher salt, black pepper, and 1/8 teaspoon of chili powder. Cook and stir 2 minutes more until the spices are fragrant.

Stir in the chicken broth, lentils, and carrot. Bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce the heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer until the lentils are soft, about 30 minutes.

Pour half of the soup into a blender, filling the pitcher no more than halfway full. Hold down the lid of the blender with a folded kitchen towel, and carefully start the blender, using a few quick pulses to get the soup moving before leaving it on to puree. Puree in batches until smooth and pour into a clean pot. Alternately, you can use a stick blender and puree the soup right in the cooking pot. Do not puree all of the soup, leave it a little chunky.

Note: I had no liquid leftover and that's why it wasn't a soup. I ate mine as is but put Cati's portion in the food processor.

The Players.

Mom's version.

Baby's version.

Baby.