On a cold night, nothing sounds better than a hot bowl of soup. While opening up a few cans of soup and heating them in the microwave is fine, you might feel a bit guilty about not putting more effort into feeding your family. And that's where your Crock-Pot comes in. Before you leave for work, you can easily gather the ingredients needed to make a delicious, hearty lentil soup and toss them into your Crock-Pot so something other than canned soup will be ready to serve as soon as you walk through the door.

This lentil soup recipe is a hearty vegetarian soup.

Total Time: 8 to 9 hours | Prep Time: 15 minutes | Serves: 8

Ingredients:

• 2 cups diced butternut squash
• 2 cups sliced carrots
• 2 cups sliced celery
• 2 cups chopped potatoes
• 2 cups lentils
• 1 medium onion chopped
• 2 teaspoons minced garlic
• 1 teaspoon thyme
• 1 teaspoon oregano
• 1 teaspoon sage
• 1 teaspoon rosemary
  
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 10 cups vegetable broth

Directions:

1. In a 6- to 8-quart Crock-Pot, add all the ingredients.
2. Cover the Crock-Pot and cook for 8 to 9 hours.

Serve this lentil soup with whole grain bread and a bowl of mixed greens.

If you like meat in your soup, you might prefer lentil soup with beef. Start by browning a pound of cubed sirloin steak over medium-high heat in a tablespoon of oil. Then, add the cooked meat to your Crock-Pot. Stir in 4 cups beef broth, 1 cup lentils, 3/4 cups diced red peppers, 3/4 cups diced green peppers, 1/2 cup diced onions and 1/2 cup diced carrots. Season your soup with 1 teaspoon cumin, 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper, 1 teaspoon kosher salt and 1/2 teaspoon black pepper. Cover your Crock-Pot and cook for 8 hours on low heat. It's not necessary to cook the meat before adding it to your Crock-Pot in this recipe, but browning meat helps enhance the flavor of both the meat and the soup.