Italian lentil "soup"

I was really in the mood for lentil soup, but also craving tomato sauce.  The result was something that was more like an Italian flavored vegetarian chili than soup, but still good. Next time I make chili, I will definitely add lentils as well.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup of dry lentils (I think I used green lentils)
  
• 4 oz of tomato sauce (I would probably have used crushed tomatoes if we had them)
  
• 1/2 an onion, diced
  
• 1 carrot, diced
  
• 4 cloves of garlic, minced 
  
• 1/2 cup of frozen spinach
  
• 1 bouillon cube
  
• olive oil
  
• balsamic vinegar
  
• a bunch of water
  
• 1/2 cup of rice (or kashi pilaf)
  
• fresh basil
  
• salt, black pepper, oregano, basil, thyme, crushed red pepper
  

I cooked the garlic, onions, carrots, lentils, and crushed red pepper in olive oil until the onions were translucent.  Next I added the tomato sauce, about a cup of water and a bouillon cube (plus lots of dried basil, oregano, and thyme) and let simmer while covered.  I basically kept adding more water until the lentils were cooked (it took maybe 1.25 hours)...I didn't really pay attention to how much I was adding.

While waiting for the lentils to cook, I cooked the rice/pilaf.  When the lentils were finally cooked, I stirred in a little balsamic vinegar, spinach, and rice/pilaf.  Before serving, I added some fresh minced basil and added salt and pepper to taste.  

If we weren't out of it, I would have added some romano/parmesan on top.  White beans would have been a good addition to this, as would potatoes and really anything you find in minestrone soup.