Ham and Lentil Soup

I bought a ham that was close to ten pounds for Easter.  There were only four of us for Easter dinner, so as you can imagine, we have TONS left over! This week, I experimented with using lentils along with the leftover ham in some soup.   I ate lentils for the first time about a year ago.  You can also make this soup without the ham if you want to go vegetarian.   Don't be shy about using spices.  I used to be when cooking and then decided adding a little spice here and there gives food that extra zip. The weather where I live this week has been more like winter than spring, so it was nice to take the chill off by having some of this hearty soup!

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons margarine
1 cup chopped onions
1 cup chopped celery
1 cup chopped carrots
14.5 ounce can diced and peeled tomatoes (undrained)
1/2 teaspoon marjoram
1 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 teaspoon basil
1 cup dry lentils
10 cups water
2 cups cooked ham (cubed)

In the bottom of a large stockpot put the margarine.  Turn on medium heat and slowly melt the margarine.  After the margarine is melted, add the onions and celery and continue cooking until almost tender.  Add the carrots, tomatoes (I used no-salt), marjoram, black pepper, basil, lentils and water.  Mix together well and simmer on medium heat for about 30-45 minutes or until the veggies are soft, stirring occasionally.  Add the cubed ham and simmer on medium heat another 15 minutes.  Remove from heat and enjoy!  Note:  this soup becomes pretty thick, feel free to add more water if you like a thinner soup.