Totally Tasty Vegetarian Vegetable Soup

My mother always made the best homemade vegetable beef soup.  Everyone would stop by the house for some to take home, when they knew she had made it.  My mom would have huge pots of soup cooking on the stove, enough to go around, and then some.  I have made it many, many  times over the years, you could never improve hers, just make it different.  I made mine the vegetarian way today, that's right, no beef and all vegetables.  All you need is a big soup pot, a cutting board and a sharp knife, to make this hearty soup for dinner on those cold Fall and Winter nights.  This is how I made it, recipe below.

I started with a base of crushed tomatoes, and vegetable broth, you could also use vegetable stock.

 I got everything going in the huge soup pot that I have.  Doesn't that look good!

 Vegetarian Vegetable Soup

Ingredients

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

1 small onion, diced

3 ribs of celery with leaves, sliced

1 turnip, peeled and cubed

2 tablespoons of garlic powder
1 tablespoon of oregano
1 tablespoon of kosher salt
2 teaspoons of  black pepper
6 cups of water
3 medium - large potatoes, cubed, leave skins on

1 - 32 oz. box of vegetable broth or stock

1 - 28 oz. can of crushed tomatoes

1 - 14.5 oz. can diced tomatoes

1 - 15.5 oz. can of cannellini beans, rinsed

1 /2 small head of green cabbage, chopped

6 stalks of fresh kale, chopped

1/2 green zucchini, cubed

1/2 yellow zucchini, cubed

1 - 14.5 oz. can of yellow beans, use fresh if you can find them

1 - 32 oz. bag of frozen mixed vegetables

1/4 cup chopped flat leaf parsley

5 - 6 sprigs of thyme, pull thyme off the sprigs

8 basil leaves, sliced

Directions

Heat the olive oil in a large soup pot over medium high heat.  Add the onion, celery, turnip, garlic powder, oregano, salt and pepper. Stir and cook for about 3 - 4 minutes.  Add the water, potatoes, broth, crushed tomatoes, diced tomatoes, beans, cabbage, kale, zucchini, yellow beans, mixed vegetables, parsley, thyme and basil.

Lower the heat to medium-low, leave uncovered.  Cook, stirring occasionally, for 2 - 3  hours.  Serve piping hot with a loaf of fresh Italian bread or a Baguette.  Will keep for 4 - 5 days in the refrigerator.  Also can be frozen, thaw before reheating.  If soup thickens add a little water.

My Mom's Homemade Vegetable Soup

Another one of my favorite days growing up, was when my mom would make her homemade vegetable soup.  I can remember the big soup pots, yes pots, cooking on the stove and the house smelling fantastic when I walked in from the winter cold.  She would make pots of soup, because everyone in the family wanted it.  My mother would call everybody, family and friends, and told them if they wanted soup to come and get it!  She was a generous person, even though she didn't have a lot, and would share with everyone.  My sister and I both make her soup today and both of our families enjoy it just like we did.  What a hearty meal, she always had a big basket of warm Italian bread and butter to go along with it.  Bless you mom, and thanks for passing on a favorite to all of us.  Recipe below.

Start with beef short ribs, shin meat and soup bones.  Add them to a large soup pot seasoned with salt and pepper.

Boil them, then remove from pot.

Next step is your vegetables, clean and chop them up.

 Add to the stock in the pot and then add the tomatoes.

Cook up pasta if you are putting it in your soup.   This soup is delicious!

Homemade Vegetable Soup

Ingredients

8 cups of water

1 beef soup bone

2 beef short ribs or shin meat

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp pepper

2 - Knorr Homestyle Beef Flavored Concentrated Stock cups

1/2 large onion, diced

4 ribs of celery, sliced (include leaves if you have them)

3 cloves of garlic, minced

1/2 head of green cabbage, chopped

6 potatoes, washed and unpeeled

1 - 28 oz. can of crushed tomatoes

1 - 14.5 oz. can of diced tomatoes

1 - 14.5 oz. can of waxed beans (yellow beans), drained , or use fresh

1 - 32 oz. bag of frozen mixed vegetables (corn, green bean, lima bean, carrot and pea mix)

2 tsp. oregano

2 tsp parsley

2 cups of any type small cut pasta, cooked, optional

Directions

Fill a large soup pot with the 8 cups of water.  On high heat, add the soup bone, short ribs /shin meat and the salt and pepper.  Bring to a boil and cook the meat.  When the meat is cooked, remove the meat to a bowl and cool.  Reduce heat to medium.  Add the stock cups to the water and stir until melted.  Meanwhile, chop up the onions, celery, garlic, cabbage and potatoes then add to the stock in the pot and stir.  Add the crushed tomatoes, diced tomatoes, yellow beans, frozen bag of mixed vegetables, oregano and parsley. Bring to a boil then reduce heat to medium - low.  Cut the cooled meat off the bones, trim any fat and chop into bite sized pieces.  Return to the pot with the bones. Cook for 3 hours, stir occasionally.  Remove all the bones from the pot and discard them.  If using pasta in the soup - thirty minutes before serving, cook the pasta and then stir into the soup.  If soup thickens just add water.

TIP:  This soup could also be made totally vegetarian.  Knorr has concentrated vegetable stock cups,  just omit the meat in the recipe.