healthy recipes

Recipe: “No Food Waste” Vegetable Soup

~ Melanie ~ Leave a comment

image

I’ll be the first to admit that I pretty much totally suck at food photos.  The other problem, however, is that this soup is not pretty.  No matter what cute bowl I put it in, it still looks drab and icky.  I absolutely promise you, though, that this is some of the BEST vegetable soup you’ll ever put in your face.

My version above isn’t vegetarian, but you could easily make it so by replacing the chicken stock with vegetable stock; mushroom stock would probably be awesome. 

makes various servings depending on the size of your crock pot

Ingredients

necessities:

  • 1 carton of chicken/vegetable stock
  • 1 28-oz can of crushed tomatoes (I used no-salt added)
  • 1/2 head of cabbage, chopped

This is your soup base; after this, you can pretty much add whatever veggies you want; I’ve added just about everything to this soup at some time or another.  Here’s what’s in the above version:

  • 1 15 oz can french-style green beans (I used no-salt added)
  • 2 HUGE Vidalia onions, diced large
  • 1 8-oz bag frozen sweet peas
  • two chopped carrots
  • 2 Tbsp garlic powder
  • 3 Tbsp dried parsley
  • 2 Tbsp dried basil

Instructions

  1. Dump everything in crock pot
  2. Add enough water to cover
  3. Set crock pot on low
  4. Let go for 4 hours or so

All done!  I actually let mine go for about 8 hours (the time that I left for work until when Joey got home and set it on “warm” instead).  You can also do this in a regular pot…you’ll just need to simmer it all together for 30 minutes to 1 hour.  In the past, I’ve added zucchini, beans, okra, corn, ro-tel, salsa, potatoes, pasta, and a host of other veggies that showed up at the house.  It’s great for times when you’re afraid that your veggies are going to go bad in the fridge.  This pot made 11 1-pint servings.  I usually store them in old egg-drop soup containers, and I freeze half and put half in the fridge for lunch.  The frozen ones heat up just fine, and they’re great for days when you don’t feel like making lunch.  This week, on different days, I topped it with swiss cheese, feta cheese, and cheddar cheese.  Each added a different nuance, and was fantastic.  Want to bulk it up?  Add some rice or quinoa or shredded or diced chicken or beef!

Enjoy:)