Lentil Stew

WARNING, unfortunately I've always been sober when I've made this, but I typed up the recipe for my aunt so I might as well put it here.

Lentil Stew

~1 lb Sausage (Italian, andouille, something with some spice)

1 package lentils (1 lb)

1 lb chopped (frozen) spinach

2-3 large onions

3 carrots (peeled)

1 can diced tomatoes

2 cloves garlic

2 bay leaves

2 large potatoes

Salt & pepper

Ham hock/bouillon

Olive oil

Feta cheese

If using ham hock, boil with ~1 quart water + 2 tbsp salt for an hour or two; if using bouillon add ~2 tbsp to hot water (stovetop or microwave H2O).

Dice onions, slice carrots (matchstick or rounds) chop potatoes and mince garlic; season and saute with olive oil in a large pot until onions soft/translucent ~5-8 minutes. Remove veggies, skin sausages and add loose meat to pan, break the meat up and let it get a decent brown. Add veggies, canned tomatoes' water (to deglaze) and lentils. Cover with ~1.5 inches broth and two bay leaves; lentils need a lot of salt, taste the broth and use your best judgment is all I can say. Bring to boil, drop to low and simmer ~25 minutes with lid just ajar. At 15-17 minutes cooking time add thawed spinach (with any water from thawing) and tomatoes, you can add them with the rest of the veggies but they can be bit muted after 25 minutes. Mash the lentils/potatoes a bit with a potato masher, stir and serve with crusty bread. I like a bit of feta cheese and or a cheese chip (I dunno what else to call it, you know when you just throw some cheese in a pan and melt it down then it gets crispy/chewy) poked down and fanned out; a bit of blue cheese makes it exceedingly creamy, as another option.

Obviously this makes quite a lot of stew but I'm used to cooking for my large family of large eaters, fortunately it keeps well and is freezer-friendly.