Crockpot Sausage, Lentil, and Swiss Chard Sauce

This was really good on its first day, but everything started to get a tad mushy and wilted in subsequent days for the leftovers.  I added twice as many veggies as the recipe called for and thought it was a good amount.

Rustic Sausage, Lentil, and Swiss Chard Sauce
from Slow Cooker Revolution
Makes enough to sauce 1 pound of pasta

Ingredients:
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 pound Italian Sausage, removed from casing
2 onions, minced
2 carrots, peeled and sliced 1/4" thick
1 celery rib, minced
6 garlic cloves, minced
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1/3 cup flour
1/2 cup dry white wine
5 cups low-sodium chicken broth
3/4 cup lentils
2 bay leaves
1 pound Swiss Chard, stemmed and leaves chopped
salt and pepper


Directions:
Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat until just smoking.  Brown sausage well, breaking up large pieces, about 5 minutes; transfer sausage to the slow cooker, reserving the fat in the skillet.  

Add onions, carrots, celery, garlic, and oregano to the leftover fat in the skillet and cook over medium-high heat for 8 to 10 minutes until vegetables are softened.  Stir in flour and cook for 1 minute.  Slowly whisk in wine, scraping up any browned bits and smoothing out any lumps; transfer to slow cooker.

Stir broth, lentils, and bay leaves into the slow cooker.  Cover and cook on low for 8-11 hours on low or 5-7 hours on high until lentils are tender.

Gently stir in chard leaves and cook 20-30 more minutes.  Discard bay leaves, season with salt and pepper to taste, and serve over pasta.