Souper Duper Alphabet Soup!

Check out this savory edible delight!
This vegetarian vegetable soup will warm your soul from the inside out.

Oh, did I mention it tastes great? And it's not that hard to make, either.

This is one of my favorite things to make, and it can either feed a lot of people (e.g. family, army, etc), or you can freeze portions for later. More to come on that.

First things first. What do you need and what do you do?

Exact quantities will vary depending on the size of your soup pan. Pretty much, whatever fills up the pan, or however much you want to make. When I make this, I use a 6-qt pot.





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Ingredients:

2-3 medium onions
2 Tbsp oil, or so

3-4 potatoes
2 small (14.5 oz) cans or 1 large can stewed tomatoes
4 to 6 cups of water
2 cans of beans (garbanzo, kidney, etc.)
1 bag frozen mixed soup vegetables

2 Knorr Vegetarian Vegetable Bouillon cubes
Salt, to taste
1/3 package Mrs Leeper's Alphabet Pasta (about 2/3 cup) (or any other pasta)

Directions:

Cut up onions and saute in the oil over medium-low heat. When onions are clear, add the cans of tomatoes, bouillon, and add just enough water to fill the pot just a little over 1/2 full (4-6 cups?). Turn up the burner to medium high.

Wash potatoes and cut into about 1/2" pieces (I cut the potatoes while the onions cook). Add the potatoes. Add the frozen vegetables. Open the cans of beans and rinse in a collander. Add the beans to the pot.

Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to simmer. Simmer on medium-low about 30-45 minutes until vegetables look tender. Taste the broth and add salt if needed.

When the soup looks and tastes like soup, add pasta. Cook until tender (12-15 min). I love this with Mrs. Leepers Alphabets. It's just like being a kid all over again. Hooray!

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Underground tip: When I finish cooking this, I divide up into individual servings in containers. I reuse containers from the store, which is FREE, and saves the environment by reusing instead of discarding or even using energy to recycle. Usually just a little over a cupful in each container is about the right portion for a meal for me.

Then I freeze the containers, and voila! I have 9 lunches (and two other large containers for the fridge). So over the next few weeks, one choice for lunch at work is soup, or any time for dinner at home. I cook one evening, and get nine other meals I can make in about 3 minutes in the microwave. This thinking ahead saves me time and money, and it's been working for me for years. So that $12.95 on lunch becomes 12.95 in my retirement account or rainy day fund. Surprise, you're gluten free, and saving money! Who knew?

Oh, and for those of you wary of using plastic containers. I live my life on the edge, so I just cook these right in the plastic container in the microwave. BUT you can allow soup to thaw slightly and then you can just pop it out of the container into a glass bowl, or pan on the stove.