Homemade Fresh Vegetable Soup ~
Today was "cleanout the fridge and make whatever DAY!" I had an abundance of fresh veggies that really needed to be attended to... so, I started with 2 Tbsp. olive oil and 1 Tbsp. butter in a large soup pot, followed by these veggies in this order; 1 med. red onion rough chopped; 4 stalks celery, 1 large carrot, 1 large zucchini, 2 med. yellow (Summer) squash, a med. peeled potato, the peeled stems from a head of broccoli and some of the flowerettes, 1/4 head cabbage... all large chopped, 5 scallions cut in small dice and 1 cup of green beans leftover from a previous dinner. Allow the veggies to sweat awhile before adding 2 cups tomato juice (or V8, as I did), 1 quart good chicken broth, a cup or more of canned diced tomatoes, 3 bay leaves, a pinch each of oregano and sweet basil, garlic powder (optional), salt and pepper to taste. Allow to simmer covered for several hours on low heat. Additional broth or water and a boullion cube may need to be added. Rice or small pasta is also a nice touch as is any leftover meat or chicken.
Homemade vegetable soup made simple with prepared chicken broth or for a true vegerarian soup, use canned or boxed vegetable broth along with the tomato juice.
Homemade vegetable soup made simple with prepared chicken broth or for a true vegerarian soup, use canned or boxed vegetable broth along with the tomato juice.
