Artichoke Lentil Stew

You all totally made my day yesterday (well, that and having the illustrator home)! Thank you for all the super sweet comments! Apparently you all like to see the person behind the blog. I will try to be better about sharing shots of myself.

The illustrator and I are catching up on all the stories of the weekend. It was, to say the least, an interesting weekend for him. I know when he goes to these conventions, when he gets home, he wants what he calls temple food. I asked what he was in the mood for and he asked for vegetable soup. I LOVE THIS MAN! You know I was sold on that idea. Then he mentioned lentils, so I ran my idea by him and he said it sounded good to him. He has a couple of food rules with his soups/stews...he likes the chunks of vegetables to be similar in size and no weird textures. I added spinach at the end of cooking this and cut it very thin so it wasn't slimy. The illustrator is weird about spinach in soups/stews and I figured the kids would freak if there were weird chunks in there. They did not even question it. Score!

I decided to do an Artichoke Lentil Stew. We all LOVED this stew. It was thick, hearty, creamy while the flavors of the lentils and artichoke really complimented each other. The boys really loved it and even got seconds!

This was completely random and I really just threw things in the pot as I was cutting them up. I served this stew with some garlic bread on the side for cleaning up every last bit from the bowl.

Artichoke Lentil Stew
(makes 14 cups)

1 16 oz bag lentils (rinsed)
1 TBSP olive oil
2 cups small diced onion
3 cloves garlic minced
3 cups small diced potatoes
3 cups small diced carrots
13 cups water
1 cube "Not Beef Broth"
2 bay leaves
1 14 oz can artichoke hearts (cut in to small chunks)
1 cup spinach (cut in to chiffonade - like shreds)
2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper

In a large pot, heat the olive oil on medium heat. Sautee the onions and garlic until translucent. Next add the potatoes and carrots. Cook for 5 minutes. Then add the lentils, water, bay leaf and bouillon cube to the pot. Bring it to a boil, cover it and then simmer for 45 minutes to an hour or until the lentils are cooked through. When everything is cooked, then add the artichokes, spinach, salt and pepper.

Do you have food rules with soups? I think most people have texture issues, however I do like chunky and I definitely prefer a heartier stew than a watery soup.

It's pouring here today, but I am enjoying it. Sometimes I think rain is relaxing, but that pretty much depends on the mood I'm in. I will go with it today and just enjoy some tea, a little stew and hanging out with my man!  I hope you all have a great day!