Vegetable soup

Vegetable soup

I have a bad habit of forgetting to eat a proper dinner when I've got a lot on my plate. And when things get hectic I turn into a fat kid and vegetables are (gasp!) usually pushed to the wayside. Enter: oversized bowls of cereal and/or bags of chocolate chips. Yeah, sometimes I eat chocolate chips for dinner. It's pretty disgusting, but it's the one thing that makes me feel better when I'm under the pressure of project deadlines and final exams. Well, that and buying dresses from Madewell. But the former's much easier on my pocketbook. Ha, I just said pocketbook. My Great Oma would be proud.

Anyway, since eating cereal and chocolate for dinner is frowned upon by most societies, I figured I should probably grow up and start eating like an adult. Enter: vegetable soup. It's simple to make and can easily feed one (smallish) person for four days. But the best part? It comes together in 10 minutes and you've hardly got to keep an eye on it. Perfect for when dinner is the least of your concerns. Which is more times than often around here.

VEGETABLE SOUP (GF)

2 tbsp olive oil
1 small onion, finely chopped
7 c. filtered water
3 bouillon cubes
7 oz tomato paste
3 c. diced tomatoes
16 oz frozen peas
16 oz frozen corn
8 oz frozen green beans
8 oz frozen lima beans
2 carrots, sliced
4 celery stalks, sliced
1-2 russet potatoes, cubed
1/2 c. TVP, optional

Heat the oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion and stir until they become transparent; about 2-3 minutes. Add the water, bouillon cubes and tomato paste; bring to a boil. Add the remaining ingredients; cover, reduce heat to low and let simmer for 90 minutes. Remove lid, increase heat to medium and let cook for at least an additional 60 minutes, stirring occasionally. If using TVP, add it during the last 30 minutes of cooking. Serve with salt, pepper and nutritional yeast. Soup can be stored in the fridge for up to one week, or in the freezer for up to six weeks.

Yield: 8-10 servings

9 comments:

  1. Soups and chili are my favorite dinner options in the winter. So easy and satisfying.

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  2. I'm with you on that one. Exams and deadlines for work stress me to the max and I either forget to eat or eat a bunch of bad snacky foods.

    Except lately, instead of grabbing the snacks, I have been drinking bottle after bottle of Kombucha. It's ridiculous. I mean, I even drove 15 minutes to the store at 10 fucking pm last night just to buy a bottle of Ginger Kombucha!
    Stress makes me crazy (or crazier, whatever) but it's turning into this weird addiction that only happens when I'm stressing.

    Anyway, I hope things calm down for you soon, fo sho. Eat yer veggies!

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  3. Glad to see that you are eating your veggies and not chocolate chips! And listen to the addict above me, drinking Ginger Kombucha like it's heroin. Keep it up, Isobelle, and we might have to have an intervention for you.

    Hope you get through the next 2 weeks without too much damage. I took a test yesterday that I know I did poorly on. Don't you hate it when you study so hard and *still* feel like you failed??!

    Here's to a new month... and new beginnings :)

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  4. I need more veggies in my life. All I've been doing for the past two weeks is baking. Well, baking AND eating baked goods. This soup will be a nice change-up. :)

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  5. Love it! I definitely need some good, comforting soup in my life now that temperatures are getting below freezing now. Also, I sometimes eat chocolate for dinner, too. Hope the stress will take a hike soon!

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  6. I come from a society where eating cereal and chocolate chips for dinner is smiled upon. I'll send you the evite to my secret society. We're the coolest. We eat vegetables too.

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  7. ABSOLUTELY DELICIOUS! I made a giant double batch of this last week to feed my two little people, my veggie-skeptical husband and myself. for the entire week. (a law school mama just doesn't have time to cook every night when papers are due!) everybody loved this, and I just couldn't stop eating it. delicious and super healthy. LOVE LOVE LOVE. Thanks lady!

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  8. Would this work if I threw everything in the crockpot?

    Thanks

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    Replies
    1. Couldn't tell ya - I've not tried it.

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