Soup's On

My brother and his wife host our entire extended family for Christmas Eve dinner - anywhere from 30-50 people, depending on the year and who has come home from out of state.  I have always celebrated Christmas Eve with my cousins - originally at my Grandparents's farmhouse, then for many many years at my Aunt and Uncle's, and now, more recently, at my brother's house.  In days of old, we had lavash spreads with ham and turkey and meatballs and potatoes and rice and various salads and fruit trays.  Days and days were spent simply preparing food.  It was wonderful, don't get me wrong, but lately we've been trying something different.  The past few years have found fewer people in the kitchen during the evening and more of us sitting around playing games and visiting.  We've gone to a soup and salad dinner.  My sister-in-law  sets beautiful tables with white cloths, crystal glassware, silverware, plates and bowls.  My brother makes red chili.  My mom makes MN chicken wild rice soup.  And I bring a pot of split pea w/ham.  There's a green salad and breadsticks on each table and everyone can help themselves to the soup of their choice.  We have so many other holiday gatherings with all the wonderfully rich food - it feels good to have this comforting interlude.
I can never have too much soup.  So, even though we had all these wonderful selections only a few days ago, I've been craving my favorite recipe.  So, yesterday I made the Spiced Spinach Lentil Soup pictured above.  Here's the recipe:

Spiced Spinach Lentil Soup ½ pound ground Italian sausage ½ cup diced onion 1/3 cup barley 3 garlic cloves, minced 1 cup lentils 1 whole chicken breast (uncooked) ½ cup parsley, chopped 1 ca (15 oz.) garbanzo beans with juice ½ to 1 pound fresh or frozen spinach 1 jar (12 oz) mild or medium salsa Brown sausage, onion, barley and garlic in a skillet.  Transfer to a slow cooker or large stock pot.  Add the chicken stock, lentils, chicken breast and parsley.  Simmer for as long as you desire or until lentils are tender.  Remove chicken breast, discarding bone and cartilage.  Shred meat and return to soup.  Add beans, spinach and salsa; heat through. (Instead of canned stock and chicken breast… I boil a whole chicken with a sliced onion and a few bay leaves until meat falls easily away from the bone.  Pour chicken and liquid through strain, saving the liquid to use as stock.  Discard onion, bay leaves, chicken ski, bones, and cartilage.  Shred meat and continue with recipe. )