The cold and windy weather we’ve had recently made me crave the warmth of comfort food.  It just so happens that I needed to use up some vegetables in the refrigerator before they went bad so this meant it was the perfect time to make soup.

One of the things I really like about this homemade vegetable soup is that it’s hard to mess it up.  You start with some basic ingredients and go from there.

 

This time, in addition to the basic ingredients, I added some special ingredients from my canning adventures.  I had a little bit of Roasted Red Pepper Spread and Roasted Vegetable Pasta Sauce sitting in my refrigerator that I didn’t want to go bad so I added them to the soup for an extra kick.  I must say this is some of the best soup I’ve ever made. I served it with my favorite yeast rolls.

 

Homemade Vegetable Soup

Basic Ingredients:

• 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1-1/2 cups chopped onions
• 1-1/2 cups chopped carrots
• 1-1/2 cups chopped celery
• 2-3 cups cubed unpeeled potatoes
• 5-6 cans (14-1/2 oz each) low sodium beef broth (or more as desired)
• 1 package (15 oz) marinara sauce (or more if desired)
• Dash of dried thyme leaves
• Dash each of salt and ground black pepper

Additional ingredients:

• 10 oz bag of frozen corn
• 8 oz bag of frozen green beans
• 2 or 3 cans of kidney beans and/or great northern beans
• 2 cans diced tomatoes
• Dash of dried Italian seasoning, or to taste
• Dash of dried Basil leaves, or to taste

My secret ingredients:

• Chili powder to taste
• Crushed red pepper flakes

As a variation, I also added:

• 2 tablespoons Roasted Red Pepper Spread
• 2 tablespoons Roasted Vegetable Pasta Sauce

Directions:

Heat oil in large stock pot.  Add onions, carrots and celery; cook 5 minutes or until tender-crisp, stirring occasionally.

Add remaining ingredients; stir.  Simmer 30 to 40 minutes or until potatoes are tender, stirring occasionally.

Enjoy!  The basic recipe makes about 12 servings; 1 cup each.

My version makes a lot more than 12 servings.  This is what I froze to enjoy during the winter.

 

 

Thanks for joining me in the bread-baking blog.  Remember soup goes really well with bread.

Happy Soup Making and Baking!

Cathy