Crockpot Lentil Soup

Another yummy soup recipe courtesy of pinterest. I loved the lentil and chickpea combination. I also used my immersion blender for the first time! It was much better than using a blender and splattering soup all over the kitchen.

Red Lentil, Chickpea, and Tomato Soup with Smoked Paprika

(Pinterest find! From kalynskitchen.com)

Ingredients:
1 large yellow onion, diced small
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
1 teaspoon sweet paprika
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1/2 teaspoon salt
fresh ground black pepper to taste
1 cup red lentils
2 cans chickpeas, rinsed
5 cups chicken broth
2 cans petite dice tomatoes with juice (14.5 oz. can)
Directions:
1. Heat olive oil in frying pan and saute the diced onion until it's soft and starting to brown lightly, about 5 minutes. Add garlic, smoked paprika, sweet paprika, dried thyme, salt, and black pepper and saute 2-3 minutes more, or until spices are fragrant.
2. Add onion-spice mixture to CrockPot, then rinse out the frying pan with 1 cup of the stock and add to crockpot along with red lentils, rinsed chickpeas, and rest of stock. Cook on high for 2-3 hours, or until lentils are starting to soften and dissolve into the soup.
3. When lentils are starting to soften, add the 2 cans of diced tomatoes with juice. Cook for 1-2 hours more on high, or until the lentils and chickpeas are both quite soft. Then remove about 1/2 the soup to a bowl. Puree the soup you removed using an immersion blender, food processor, or blender.
4. Stir the pureed soup back into the soup in the CrockPot; taste and add more salt or fresh ground black pepper if desired. Let soup cook about 15 minutes more before serving.