Easy Vegetable Soup

It was time to put together my Spaghetti Soup last week, but when I went to the pantry to get a box of spaghetti, I realized that I had every possible noodle shape except spaghetti!  While I certainly could have made the soup with a different noodle, I decided to make a pot of quick vegetable soup instead.

I like this soup vegetable recipe because it can be made quickly and ahead of time.  In fact, it tastes better after it has been sitting on the stove or reheated on a new day.  I also like this soup because my kids eat the whole bowl and it goes great with grilled cheese sandwiches, a favorite comfort quick food at our house.  We like it without meat making it budget friendly, but you could certainly throw in some beef or chicken if you want a heartier meal.  I now make this soup with home canned tomatoes (from my mother in law) and home canned spicy tomato juice (from my dad), but I used to use just canned tomatoes and Spicy V-8 juice from the grocery store.  I was in a bit of a time crunch this week and even discovered a faster way to prepare this soup to fit our busy, on the go schedule. 

Here's the recipe:

Easy Vegetable Soup
1/4 cup diced onion (dice it small so there are no big chunks)
1/4 cup diced celery (use the inner celery stalks with the leaves)
1 can diced tomatoes
1 12 oz. can spicy V-8 juice
3 cups beef broth (I use 3 cups water, 4 beef bouillon cubes)
1 or 2 potatoes, peeled and diced
1 bag of frozen mixed vegetables
1 heaping tsp basil
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp garlic powder
2 bay leaves

1.  Drizzle 1 tbsp olive oil in the bottom of a large stock pot.
2.  Saute the chopped onion and celery for 1-2 minutes.
3.  Add the tomatoes, V-8 juice, beef broth, vegetables, and spices to the pot.
4.  Bring to a boil with the lid on the pot.
5.  Reduce to a simmer and cook until vegetables are tender (about 15 minutes).
6.  Turn off heat and let stand with the lid on until you are ready to eat. 

**The soup will stay warm for a couple hours if you do not take the lid off.  You can also reheat it a bit if necessary at dinner time.

**I learned out of necessity that you can also start preparing this soup 15 minutes before you have to leave the house, bring the soup to a boil, turn off the heat, leave the lid on, go pick up your kids from school, and the soup will be ready when you come back home! 

**I boil just one cup of water in the microwave, add the 4 bouillon cubes to that one cup of water and then add more water to the pot instead of trying to boil 3 cups of water. 

**You can also throw in some shelled edamame with the mixed veggies if you want to add in some extra soy protein; they look like lima beans.

Easy Vegetable Soup
I may be the Campbell's Soup Label Lady at the girls' school, but this
homemade soup is so much better than the stuff in the can.  Give it a try today!

What's your favorite quick soup recipe?