Fall Weather Part 2 and a Baby Bump

Since I didn't have any pictures to go with the lentil soup recipe, I thought I'd post a few from yesterday when Lucy and I were out enjoying some beautiful fall weather:

And here's a shot of Lu admiring our fall porch decor, with our gigantic white pumpkin in the background:

Some pretty baby curls:

Dancing in the street with mama:

And, I actually snapped a shot of my baby belly! Okay it's not great and my face is hidden, but at this point it's better than nothing! This was 22 weeks. I promise I will get Joel to take a better one sometime in the near future. But now you know I'm not making this up! There really is a baby in there (and she's a kicker). 

Fall Weather Fever: Lentil Soup

There are so many things I love about fall, but making lots of soup is very, very high up on that list.

I don't have a picture to accompany this post because I haven't made dinner for tonight yet, but this recipe was given to me by a good friend, and it has become one of our favorite soup recipes. I included her parenthetical notes because they make me chuckle when I'm preparing this soup.

So here it is:

Jill's Lentil Soup Recipe

2 tsps oil
2 onions diced
3 carrots grated
3/4 tsp marjoram
3/4 tsp thyme
1 28 oz can of diced tomatoes w/juice
7 cups broth (if you use chicken broth then it's like it has meat in it..)
1 1/2 cups lentils- rinsed and picked over
1/2 tsp salt
1/4-1/2 tsp pepper
6 ounces dry white wine (guzzle the rest while the soup simmers)
1/3 cup chopped parsley
4 ounces shredded cheese (we usually use cheddar)

1. Heat oil in a large saucepan and saute onion, carrots, marjoram and thyme. About 5 minutes.
2. Add tomatoes, broth and lentils. Bring the soup to a boil, reduce heat and cover. Simmer for 1 hour.
3. Add salt, pepper, and wine. Simmer for a few more minutes.

Serve with cheese and parsley on top.

I do have one side note and that is that I often am too lazy to buy parsley and since Joel is not a big cheese fan, we usually don't serve this dish with cheese and parsley on top. I imagine it tastes even better that way, but it is still so yummy without!