*The Husband and I love using a little bacon in our lentil soup for some added smokiness and depth of flavor, but if you want to make this soup vegetarian/vegan, you can certainly leave it out. Instead, use 4 TBSP olive oil to saute your veggies, and of course swap the chicken stock with vegetable broth.
Recipe adapted from Alton Brown -- check it out Lentil Soup
here.