Welcome to this weeks edition of 4 Moms, 35 Kids: How Moms of Many Manage. This week we’re sharing our favorite soup, stew or other cold weather recipe. Be sure to read to the bottom of the post to see more and to link up one of your own.
Be sure to visit the other 4 Moms to read what they have to say about this topic:
KimC at Life in a Shoe
Connie at Smockity Frocks
Headmistress at The Common Room
Lentil Chili
This recipe is one of our family favorites. It fits nicely into our budget and I can make our money go farther if I use all lentils instead of the beef. Our whole family LOVES lentil chili so I have to make a HUGE batch to satisfy everyone. I can also make it stretch by serving it over rice, especially nice if we have company drop by unexpectedly.
Ingredients:
1 onion, chopped
1 tsp. cumin
10 c. water
1 lb. dry lentils
2 tsp. salt
2 c. salsa
29 oz. canned tomatoes, crushed
1 lb. ground beef
1 tsp. chili powder
Brown ground beef with the onion, drain. Add lentils and water. Simmer 1 1/2 hours. Add remaining ingredients and simmer for 15 minutes.
Variations: Omit meat and double the amount of lentils for a vegetarian dish. Serve over rice. Top with cheese and/or sour cream.
I double or triple this recipe to feed our always hungry family of 12.
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Hi, I'm Kimberly. 
What a great idea! I’m always looking for more soup recipes. Thanks!
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I’m finding beans are cheap and easy and filling and everyone likes them too!
…I just wish I was as hospitality-minded as you. I, on the other hand, would just have heart failure if someone stopped by unexpectedly for dinner!
I also wanted to thank you for your kind comment Tuesday. It has been a struggle, and all you ladies leaving such encouragement was a blessing!
P.S. …wondering how your ‘History Curriculum’ search is coming? I recently stumbled upon Greenleaf Press, which Simply Charlotte Mason recommends. VERY worth looking into.
Have a great day, looking forward to all the winter recipes!
Love!
Kathi
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Kimberly @ Raising Olives Reply:
January 18th, 2011 at 6:19 pm
Thanks Kathi.
History Curriculum is a draft post. We’ve found something that we’re very happy with. I’m just waiting to find the time to finish writing about it. You know how that goes.
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I am making my grocery list for the next two weeks, and I plan to try out some new soups! Thanks for this week’s link up.
Have a great day!
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I love cooking with lentils, so I’m excited to see this recipe – something different than the way I usually use them. Thanks!
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Thanks so much for sharing all the soup recipes! I love making soup and I’m always looking for good recipes!
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Adding your recipe to my next grocery list. I’ve just recently begun cooking with dry beans instead of buying the cans. I LOVE that lentils don’t have to be soaked over night. Hope you plan to continue link ups for other recipes. I’m always looking for new ones. I dropped my meal plan a couple of months ago, because I needed some variety. I think my kids are ready for me to pick it back up so that dinner won’t be such an “adventure” every night!
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Your lentil recipe sounds great, looking forward to trying this. Recipes from real people are almost always so much better than the celebrity chef variety.
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Sorry-I’m new to Mister Linky and managed to link twice (29 and 30). I’m not sure how to delete one-apologies.
Sarah
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I’ve linked to my Chili recipe. Thanks for hosting!
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Can’t wait to try some of these recipes! I have a couple of tried and true soup recipes, but love to discover new ones too!
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I’ll have to try this in 3 weeks (the next time lentils are on the schedule)! We just had them tonight and the recipe was similar. This looks like a delicious variation! Thanks!
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I love your lentil chili….I’ve made it twice in the past month and my whole family (with 4 kids 7 and under) thinks it’s great!
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Kimberly @ Raising Olives Reply:
January 18th, 2011 at 6:21 pm
I’m so glad to hear that this recipe is also a hit in your home. Yummy and cheap, that’s always good.
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We just made your lentil chili this weekend for the first time. In fact, I had never cooked with lentils before. I love the fact that they didn’t have to be soaked overnight. I didn’t have any plain canned tomatoes on hand, so I used Rotel (diced tomatoes with green chilis) and I left out the Salsa. We loved it! It was the right consistency without having to add anything. And my family loved it. Thanks for sharing so many great things with us!
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I have made this SEVERAL times for our family of 11 and it is a HUGE hit!!! It costs me 6$ to feed everyone
Thanks for the recipe!!!!!
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Today I cooked this same chili, but instead of the Mexican seasonings, I substituted Ethiopian seasoning (Berbere)and my 4 new Ethiopian kiddos loved it and ate it with injera (ET bread). They said it was called Miso in Ethiopia. I made something they were familiar with and didn’t even know it.
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