Ham & Sausage Lentil Soup Ninja Cooking System

Somehow my house has been infiltrated by surfer dudes sans the tropical beach, 80 degree weather and mai tais. It started off slowly with the introduction of "epic fail". It evolved to "he's such a noob".  Now all I hear around here is "dude" or "bro" "hey bra" or "yo".

It's giving me flashbacks to my own youth growing up on the beautiful beaches in Hawaii. But somehow it seems a little more acceptable to speak in surfer slang when you live in Hawaii than it does to do so living in Washington state. Or is it just that I'm getting old and turning into one of those "kooks"?

So who am I, really, to judge my families choice of slang. I suppose, if anything, I should be grateful that they are choosing something close to my heart and heritage.  Let's see if I can dust off the cobwebs and mommy pride and join the banter & go "hella" crazy with them.

In the meantime, here's a "righteous" soup recipe:

• 1 pound of mild Italian sausage
• 2 cups of cooked diced ham
• 3 cups of lentils (I used red lentils from Trader Joe's)
• 1 1/2 cups frozen spinach
• 1/2 onion, diced
• 2 cups canelli beans
• 8 cups chicken broth
• salt and pepper to taste

On stove top medium, pan fry the sausage & onion until cooked (about 10 minutes).  Remove and drain the fat. 

Add chicken broth, beans, spinach, lentils, ham, sausage & onion.  Season with a little salt and pepper. Cook on stove top medium for about 35 minutes. Turn to slow cooker, low and serve.

Serves: 10 

Tell me your slang story, I know you have one!!