Tuscan Lentils and Sausage

There seems to be some kind of conspiracy between me and a few other food bloggers because I keep seeing the same dishes pop up that are on my to-make list. Maybe it's just that great minds think alike. More probable, I think it's that we have similar taste in food and try to eat relatively healthy most of the time. Both Cara at Cara's Cravings and Liz at Liz's Cooking Blog are always making delicious food, and it's practically a guarantee that if I make something from their blogs, I'll like it.

This meal was no different. Cara originally made it Tuscan, although she wanted to try it with balsamic vinegar but had run out. Liz then made it with balsamic vinegar. I prefer the Tuscan flavors and had some hot Italian turkey sausage to use up, so I adapted Cara's original recipe. Those yellow things in the picture are yellow lentils, not corn! As expected, this was a great flavorful recipe. I almost always have lentils and spinach in the house because they're so adaptable and cook quickly, so this didn't require too many extra ingredients at all.

Tuscan Lentils and Sausage
adapted from Cara's Cravings

Ingredients

1 medium onion, diced
2 cloves of minced garlic
about 1/4 tsp crushed red pepper
about 3/4 lb hot Italian turkey sausage
14oz can diced tomatoes
pinch of dried basil
freshly ground salt and pepper to taste
1/2 cup dry lentils
3/4 cup water
5 oz fresh spinach, roughly chopped

Heat a saucepan over medium-low heat and spray with nonstick cooking spray. Squeez the sausage out of its casings and cook, crumbling with a spoon until no longer pink. Add the onions and cook for about 5-8 minutes, until softened. Add garlic, crushed red pepper, basil, salt and pepper and saute 1-2 minutes more. Add the lentils, canned tomatoes, and water, and stir to combine. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat, cover, and simmer for 25 minutes. Add spinach and cook 10 minutes more, until spinach is wilted and lentils are tender.

Nutritional Info
Servings Per Recipe: 2
Amount Per Serving
Calories: 335.5
Total Fat: 7.1 g
Cholesterol: 97.5 mg
Sodium: 1,600.8 mg
Total Carbs: 37.8 g
Dietary Fiber: 15.4 g
Protein: 37.1 g