Sausage and Lentil Soup

A tasty soup that can easily become vegetarian.

Ingredients
1 lb Italian sausage (can also use Italian turkey sausage or veggie italian sausage)
1 large onion, chopped
1 stalk celery, chopped
2 large carrots, chopped
1 small zucchini, chopped
6 cups chicken or vegetable stock
2 (14 1/2 ounce) cans diced tomatoes, undrained
2-3 garlic cloves
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups dry lentils
black pepper
red pepper flakes
basil
oregano
parsley
thyme


Directions
Brown sausage; drain off fat.
In a large pot combine all ingredients bring to boil.
Reduce heat,cover.
Simmer for about 1 hour or until lentils are tender. Add water if necessary, for desired consistency.
Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and serve.

Notes
I originally used 1 tsp of each spice, then dumped more in after it had simmered. Final verdict is that it needed yet more! I'll try a tablespoon of each next time, with perhaps the pepper as an exception, since I use spicy italian sausage to begin with.