It's that time during the weekend where I sit down and organize a menu plan for the coming week. (Remember when I use to post them?) I've been spending my Mondays cooking all day to give myself a head start to busy school nights. Really, I'm just preparing a few things for breakfasts, lunches and prepping dinners. It makes for less stress in the kitchen during the week!
I'm a big soup person and an even bigger fresh vegetable person, so summer time veggie season is what I wait for all year. Even though it's hot outside (like 100+) I'll still have soup almost everyday for lunch and this recipe makes a lot of soup ~ like 14 - 1 cup servings.(I have share with Peter :))
Garden Vegetable Soup
1/2 yellow onion, chopped
1 carrot, diced
1 zucchini, diced
2 stalks celery, thinly sliced
1 cup fresh or frozen peas
1 cup fresh or frozen green beans, cut into bite size pieces
1/2 pkg. mushrooms, roughly chopped
1 cup roasted corn or about 1/2 a can of can
1 can Great Northern beans, rinsed
1 can Kidney beans, rinsed
1 can roasted diced rosemary & oregano tomatoes, juice reserved
1 cup cooked barley
2 32oz containers Vegetable Broth
1/4 tsp. poultry seasoning
2 bay leaves
1/2 tsp. basil
1/4 tsp. rosemary
1/4 tsp. thyme
1 tsp. dried parsley
salt & pepper (optional)
Directions:
1. In a large stock pot, drizzle a little olive oil into pot and add onion, celery and mushrooms. On medium-low heat, stir vegetables until they soften, about 4 or 5 minutes. You don't want the veggies to brown, just soften a little.
2. add the zucchini, carrots, corn, tomatoes and juice, beans, vegetable broth and all the spices (basically everything, except for the barley, peas and green beans)
3. bring soup to a very gentle simmer, and stir every 5 to 10 minutes or so. Let cook for about 25 minutes
4. When the vegetables are cooked through, add the cooked barley, peas and green beans and continue to cook for another 5 minutes. Turn off the heat and serve with a sprinkle of Parmesan cheese.
~
You can always add more or less spices if you like or substitute chicken broth for veggie broth, or even add in some shredded cooked turkey/chicken. This is such an simple soup recipe and it's easy to adapt it to your own tastes! I haven't tried yet to freeze any portion of it, honestly we always end up eating it all throughout the week so there's never been a reason to freeze any. I assume it will freeze well, but I can't be positive.
Now time to get back to that menu plan! xo~ Tara
