I made this on a Sunday night at about 9pm because I decided I wanted some ready made lunches for the week. My father constantly makes soup like this, and I can totally see why. It’s so easy you can just throw whatever you have in your fridge/pantry into the pot and it turns out delicious every single time. Also it’s one of the most affordable recipes I’ve ever made. A bag of dried lentils is $1.29 which averages to roughly 10 cents per serving! It is so filling and delicious and it’s a great staple to have in your fridge. Not to mention it’s extremely healthy, it’s extremely high in protein and fiber, you really can’t beat that! Also a little side note, I was at Trader Joe’s yesterday and came across these adorable frozen basil and garlic cubes, here’s an article about them!

Ingredients: 

• 1/2 cup split peas
• 1/2 cup lentils
• 6 cups water
• 3 large carrots, diced *I had some yellow carrots, you’ll notice them in the picture 🙂
• 3 sticks celery, cut into 1/2 inch slices, with leaves on
• 1 large leek, chopped
• 2 garlic cubes or 2 cloves
• 2 tbsp. minced garlic (*I love Garlic, but you can modify this if you would like less)
• 3 basil cubes or 3 tsp.
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• Dash of cayenne pepper if you like heat
• Salt and pepper to taste (I like a lot of pepper!)
• 2 teaspoons garlic powder
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 tsp. paprika
• 2 tsp. cumin

Steps:

1. Rinse lentils and split peas well then add to boiling water add ALL of the remaining ingredients and let boil for about 5 minutes stirring occasionally.
2. Cover and set on low, cook for 30-40 minutes or until lentils are tender!