Study Break

When I'm bogged down with the books and I'm feeling kind of peckish, I like to grab something a little more substantial than a bag of Cheetohs.  Don't get me wrong, Cheetohs rock, it's just that if I have gotten to a stage of peckishness while doing homework or studying it usually means I've forgotten to eat dinner...and possibly lunch.  Most times this happens I go for a good hearty sandwich (turkey breast, havarti, giardiniera, and cream cheese on rye) with pickled beets and cucumbers on the side (my mother makes the best pickled beets ever *sniff* I could live on them I think).  Other times I get to have leftovers.  And sometimes those leftovers are better than they were the first night we had them for dinner.  

That was the case about a week and a half ago when I ate this delicious bowl of lentils and sausage.  They were divine.

Lentils and Sausage
To Start:
1 pound dry lentils (any color will do, mine were just ordinary greens)
2 smoked pork neck bones
2 bay leaves
2 tsp salt
water

To Add:
1 pound bacon
2 medium onions
2 tbs minced fresh garlic
1 1/2 cups chicken stock

To Embellish:
1/2 pound polish sausage
1/2 pound andouille

Rinse the lentils and put them in a 4 quart stock pot.  Add to the pot the neck bones, bay leaves and salt.  Pour water over the lentils to cover by about an inch.  Place stock pot over medium heat until boiling.  Reduce heat to medium low and cook, stirring occasionally, until the lentils are soft, but firm to the bite.  Add more water if necessary to keep lentils covered.

Dice the bacon finely and saute in a 10 inch skillet until barely crispy and fat is rendered.  Remove bacon pieces with a slotted spoon and set aside.  Chop the onions into about 1/4 inch pieces; add to skillet and saute until tender and translucent.  Add minced garlic and sweat for about 2 minutes.  Pour onions and garlic from the pan into the cooked lentils.  Add bacon and stock to lentils.  Cook until heated through.  Taste for salt and add if needed.

Brown both sausages in skillet used for bacon and onions.  Either add to the lentils or serve on the side...in case you have someone in your family who has developed an aversion to sausage.  Which will make you question whether this person is actually related to you and may necessitate a DNA test.



**It's been a while since I sent in a post for a blogging event, but as I was perusing the cooking interwebs I  found The Well-Seasoned Cook....and she's hosting My Legume Love Affair 27 which ends day after tomorrow...and I had made these wonderful lentils.  So here I go again.  Nevermind the photography, I still seem to lack the edge I had at my other food blog.  I'm working on it.