This is so easy to fix because you don’t need to presoak anything! Yesterday I made it this way…

Put a little olive oil in the stockpot and sauté:

* 4 minced garlic cloves

* 1 chopped onion

* 1 chopped carrot

* 2 chopped celery stalks

Add:

* 7 cups of broth, (I used a mixture of turkey and chicken broth from my freezer)

* 1.5 cups of lentils

* 1/2 tsp black pepper

* 2 bay leaves

* 1 1/2 tsp dried oregano

* 2 cups diced ham (also from my freezer)

Bring to a boil, then turn down to a lower simmer for about 45 minutes, until the lentils were cooked. I use my handheld mixer to blend some of it together. Alternately, you could pull out 2 cups or so and blend it in your blender. Or leave it alone.