Crockpot lentil soup

You have better things to do that spend hours cooking dinner, right? Here's a quick and easy soup that you can put in the crockpot in the morning and have dinner waiting for you when you get home in the evening.

Crockpot Lentil Soup
Serves about 4
6 cups chicken or vegetable broth
1 cup lentils, rinsed and picked over
2 medium carrots, finely diced
1 small onion, finely chopped
2 celery stalks, finely diced
3 tablespoons uncooked brown rice (or other grain)
2 tablespoons minced garlic
1 teaspoon herbes de Provence or dried thyme
1/2 teaspoon salt
Dash of ground pepper
Chopped fresh parsley for garnish

1. Stir together all ingredients except parsley in a crockpot. Cover and cook on low for 8 hours or on high for 4-5 hours. Tip: Use a food processor to chop the carrots, onion, celery, and garlic together to make the prep super fast.
2. Optional: Remove some of the soup and puree in a blender then return it to the pot or use a stick blender to partially puree the soup. 
3. Serve topped with fresh parsley. Goes well with a hearty whole grain bread.

Recipe adapted from "French Lentil Rice Soup" in The Costco Connection, October 2010