Crockpot Lentil and Ham Soup

I will shout it loud and shout it proud... 

I love lentils! 

 Well, maybe I just love Ham and Lentil Soup.

This particular recipe is crockpot lentil soup from The Apron Gal.  Ham and lentil soup in the crockpot?  I was so there.

My crockpot must have been running cold, because after 4 hours on low, the lentils were no where near being done.  I cranked the slow cooker up to high for another 1 and a half hours and they were lentil perfection.

I was lucky enough to have homemade ham stock on hand instead of the suggested chicken stock.  This made for a very rich ham flavor throughout the soup.  I highly recommend using ham stock if you can.

One more thing, I only had pomegranate red wine vinegar instead of plain old ordinary red wine vinegar.  The recipe only calls for 2 tsp of vinegar, so I don't think it made any difference.

Crockpot Ham and Lentil Soup from The Apron Gal

2 medium carrots, peeled, and diced 2 ribs celery,  diced 1 medium onion, chopped   2 cloves garlic, minced 2 cups dry green lentils -  (I used 1c green and 1 c red lentils - I happened to have exactly that much in the pantry) 3 bay leaves 2 teaspoons red wine vinegar 1/2 teaspoon cumin  3/4 teaspoon salt 1/2 tsp black pepper 8 c ham stock (or chicken if you must) 1 c diced ham
Cut up vegetables into small chunks. Add all ingredients to crock pot and cook on low for 5-6 hours. Remove bay leaves and serve.