I made several significant changes to this recipe for various reasons and it turned out great! Here's what I did: -substituted cooked and crumbled Morningstar Farms breakfast links and mock-sausage patties for the bacon (I'm vegetarian) -used some fresh sliced mushrooms and sour cream instead of cream of mushroom soup (my hubby is allergic to the MSG in the soup) -I didn't have any chives, so I left those out Next time, I'll add chives, and perhaps some olives. I might cut back on the cheddar to reduce the fat, but I'll have to figure out how to compensate for the reduction first.

Reviewed On: Feb. 15, 2004

This is a balanced, hearty soup which will be especially popular on winter nights. I only had 4 cups of broth so mine turned out a little more like stew than soup but is quite tasty anyway. I wouldn't suggest serving this to anyone who doesn't like lentils as the flavor definitely comes through, but the onion and pepper flavors are less pronounced. I might top some of the leftovers with sour cream and a little salt instead of parmesan. Next time I make this I will probably add more mushrooms.

Reviewed On: Jan. 9, 2004

We used extra lemon zest (because zesting is just that much fun!) and it was delicious. The cooking process took slightly longer than the recipe recommended but I believe this is because I put the rack too high in the oven.

Reviewed On: Dec. 9, 2002