A Simple Lentil Soup for Mom

My mom loved to cook...and she really loved to eat!  And she was so tiny - 5'1" and about 110 pounds most of the time. I remember when my kids were small we'd go to a local Italian family restaurant and she'd eat a huge plate of pasta and then grab 2 or 3 slices of pizza off the table. She also made a lot of soup for us when we were growing up, one of which was Lentil and Bacon.  I never appreciated it back then, but have grown to enjoy it now.  Now this isn't exactly her recipe...but it's close ( she'd put a lot of bacon in hers).  
I lost my mom 25 years ago today...boy do I miss her...

Makes a small pot - about 2 quarts

2 strips bacon, diced
1 Tbl olive oil
1 medium onion, diced
2 medium carrots, thinly sliced into rounds
2 stalks celery, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp salt
1 tsp black pepper
2 Tbl tomato paste
6 to 8 cups chicken broth
1 bay leaf
2 sprigs fresh thyme
1 cup dried lentils
1 cup chopped parsley

In about a 4 quart soup pot cook the bacon in the olive oil until it starts to crisp up.
Add the celery, onions and carrot and saute until the onion begins to soften.
Add the minced garlic and cook until you can smell the garlic.
Stir in the tomato paste and cook that another minute.
Add the lentil, chicken broth, bay leaf and thyme.
Bring up to a boil and then simmer 30 to 40 minutes until the lentils have cooked through.  Stir in the parsley.
Note:  As with most soups, this one tastes best if made early in the day or even the day before serving.