a lovely living

In my never ending attempt at getting as many vegetables as possible into my children (and myself, who am I kidding), I’m always on the lookout for recipes to add to my collection. Soups, which are extremely popular in our home,  are one of the easiest ways for me to accomplish this. We make a lot of chili’s and minestrone soups which tend to be a bit more substantial with the addition of beans, but this light soup was a nice change of pace. I love the flavors and fragrance that come out of simmering homemade soups. Absolutely perfect on these chilly evenings!

Vegetable Soup via Cooking Classy:

Ingredients

2 1/2 Tbsp olive oil
1 1/2 cups chopped yellow onion (1 medium)
2 cups peeled and chopped carrots (about 4)
1 1/4 cups chopped celery (about 3)
4 cloves garlic, minced
4 (14.5 oz) cans low-sodium chicken broth
2 (14.5 oz) cans diced tomatoes (undrained)
3 cups peeled and 1/2-inch thick diced potatoes (from about 3 medium)
1/3 cup chopped fresh parsley
2 bay leaves
1/2 tsp dried thyme
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 1/2 cups chopped frozen or fresh green beans
1 1/4 cups frozen or fresh corn
1 cup frozen or fresh peas

Directions

Heat olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add onions, carrots, and celery and saute 3 – 4 minutes then add garlic and saute 30 seconds longer.

Pour in broth (if you want lesser ratio of broth use 3 cans then only 3/4 cup of the 4th can) and add tomatoes, potatoes, parsley, bay leaves, thyme and season with salt and pepper to taste.

Bring to a boil, then add green beans, reduce heat to medium-low, cover and simmer until potatoes are tender, about 20 – 30 minutes, then add corn and peas and cook 5 minutes longer.

Serve warm.