Vegetable Soup

I have three really great vegetable soup recipes I wanted to pass along to my good friend Leslie and figured they might as well go on the blog instead of just an email only to her. The pattern for all veggies soups is basically the same, but some of us like a recipe for a guideline or so we can remember what ratio of stuff tasted really good!

I am typing out the recipes as they appeared when I copied them into my own cookbook. I have changed things a bit in my own side notes to make them suit our family's taste where needed but they are great just as they are printed here. As always, the salt and pepper is to taste, not just what the recipe says ;-)



Vegetable Soup with Rice (and dumplings)
serves 10

2 T. olive oil
1 cup diced onion (about 1 medium onion)
3/4 cup sliced celery (about 2 big stalks)

**heat the oil in a soup pot and saute veggies till tender

7 cups chicken broth
1 28 oz. can stewed tomatoes
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. pepper

**stir all these in and bring to a low boil

1 16 oz. bag frozen mixed veggies (corn, peas, carrots, green beans)
1 15 oz. can kidney beans
1/2 cup white rice

**add these, reduce heat and cover; simmer 15-20 minutes


I am going to put my own notes here since this one I changed how we do the rice to accomodate a healthier brown rice. I lower the broth to 6 cups in the soup pot and cook my rice in a separate saucepan -- 1 cup broth with 1/2 cup rice cooked for 50 minutes makes 1 1/2 cups cooked rice, which I stir in at the very end and simmer 15-20 more. I've never cooked it in the broth but I may try it one of these days.

This recipe also originally calls for dumplings to drop into the simmering soup if you are interested. We make this all the time without the dumplings without altering the soup recipe at all. It's great both ways. If you are using the brown rice version drop these on right after you stir in the cooked rice.

Dumplings:

2 cups flour
3 T. baking powder
1 tsp. salt

**blend these in a mixing bowl

2/3 cup milk
1/3 cup oil
1 1/2 tsp. fresh minced parsley

**add all of these to the dry ingredients and mix into a ball; drop by tablespoonfuls onto gently simmering soup; cover and cook 10 minutes then uncover and cook another 10 minutes



Lots of Veggies Soup
serves 4-5

2 T. olive oil
1 large onion, diced
2 carrots, chopped
2 celery ribs, chopped

**heat oil in a soup pot and saute veggies till tender

5 cups chicken broth
1 cup water
1/2 lb. Yukon potatoes, diced
1 tsp. dried thyme
1/2 tsp. salt

**add these and bring to a boil; reduce heat, cover partially and simmer 15 minutes

1 15 oz. can diced tomatoes
1/4 lb. green beans, cut into 1 inch pieces
1 cup chopped broccoli (bite-size pieces)

**add to pot, return to simmer for 5-10 minutes





Vegetable & Lentil Soup
serves 6-8

1 T. olive oil
1 medium onion, diced
1 celery stalk, diced
2 carrots, thin sliced

**heat oil in soup pot and saute veggies for 5 minutes

2 cloves garlic, minced

**add and saute 1 minute more

1 1/2 cups green lentils
8 cups chicken broth
1 bay leaf

**add and heat to a boil; reduce heat and simmer uncovered 20 minutes

3 medium yellow potatoes, diced
1 15 oz. can diced tomatoes
1/2 tsp. dried oregano
1/2 tsp. dried basil
1/4 tsp. dried red pepper flakes
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper

**add and simmer 20 minutes more

1 T. fresh lemon juice
2 packed cups spinach or swiss chard cut into 1 inch ribbons

**remove bay leaf and add these; simmer 2 minutes more till greens are wilted



Served with a sprinkle of shredded cheese and a slice of whole wheat bread with butter these are great-tasting and also filling dinners or lunches :-)