Hearty Lentil-Sausage Soup

1 lb pork sausage, broken into chunks
2 medium onions, chopped
1 garlic clove, minced
4 medium parsnips, cut in chunks (optional)
2 cups lentils
1 Tbsp salt
1/2 tsp marjoram
2 cups cooked tomatoes or juice
2 quart water
1 loaf Italian bread
Tabasco sauce

1. Brown sausage in 5 qt. kettle. Remove meat and pour off all but 1/4 cup drippings.
2. Add onions, garlic, and parsnips. Cook 5 minutes or until onions and garlic are tender.
3. Add lentils, salt, marjoram, tomatoes, water, browned sausage. Simmer 30 minutes or until tender.
4. Cut Italian bread in diagonal slices. To serve, place a bread slice in each soup bowl and spoon soup over bread. Pass Tabasco sauce.

Source: More-With-Less

Try #1 - June 19, 2011
So, I made some significant changes to this recipe - I discovered I only had 1 cup of lentils left, not 2, so I added a russet potato. I also used carrots and celery instead of parsnips. I only used about 1/3 lb of sausage - I think this was enough. Because I was had less lentils, I reduced the amount of water to 1 quart. In general though, this dish was well received! It was great with Peasant Bread.