There's something about the chill in the air during the fall and winter that makes me crave soup. It warms me up from the inside out like no other meal can, and yes, soup can be a very hearty, delicious meal on its own! I especially love making soup at home because there's so much you can do with it.
One of my favorites is a vegetable soup I concocted a few years ago and have been tweaking ever since, finally having found the combo of ingredients I like best. It's wonderful straight off the stove, and better yet makes fantastic leftovers for lunches during the week (I'm all about 'make more to store' because it's that much less I have to think about during the week).
For the soup I use the following:
- Trader Joe's® Organic Tomato & Roasted Red Pepper Soup
- Safeway™ Chicken Cooking Stock
- Green Giant® Antioxidant Blend, frozen vegetables
- Trader Joe's® Organic Pasta, Vegetable Radiatore
- extra virgin olive oil
- Gourmet Garden® Chunky Garlic (in the tube in the fresh produce section)
- oregano
- chili powder
- smoked paprika
First things first, I fill a pot with water and put it on the stove to boil for the pasta since this will take the longest (and this way I can get the soup going while I'm waiting for the water to boil). I measure out two ounces (2 oz) of the veggie pasta and set it aside next to the pot to put into the water once it's started to boil. Once added I cook it for 9 min and set it aside to add to the soup at the very end.
To start the soup, I drizzle olive oil into a pot over medium heat (just barely coating the bottom with a thin layer). I add roughly a tablespoon (1 tbs) of the garlic into the pot once the oil is warm and use a fork to break it up into the olive oil. To that I vigorously shake oregano, chili powder and smoked paprika (I don't measure, just shake until I've got a layer of each that covers the bottom). And I should note I am IN LOVE with smoked paprika! It adds such flavor, and what's better is it smells like BBQ! I let that sit over the heat until the oil starts to sizzle and you can really smell the garlic and spices. Be careful not to let the garlic and spices 'sizzle' too long though, or you run the risk of burning the garlic. And burnt garlic does not taste good. *Trust me*
At this point I add the tomato soup (2.5 cups) and chicken stock (1.5 cups) to the pot, using a whisk to stir everything together and really scrape at the bottom to get the garlic and all the spices thoroughly distributed. Stir everything continuously until the olive oil is completely mixed in and there isn't any oil pooling on the top of the soup. Once it's warmed up a bit I use a spoon to taste and shake any additional spices in, if needed, to bring it up to my flavor preference (again, no measuring, I'm just eyeballing it when I do this).
A word to the wise though: when it comes to adding spices, do it a little at a time if there's no measuring going on. It's better to gradually bring things to par than to go overboard and have an over seasoned dish. The point of the spices is to complement and enhance the overall flavor, not mask or overpower it.
I leave the heat at medium/low and put the lid on it so it will gradually heat through. I find the flavors are more pronounced when you heat things slowly, and the spices have more of a chance to really distribute their flavor. When the soup is just starting to bubble around the edges I put the veggies in the microwave and following the heating instructions on the package.
Once the veggies are done and the veggie pasta has been cooked and drained, I turn the heat off under the soup and add both to the soup base. Give everything a good stir to mix it all up, and it's ready to serve!
I like to grate a little fresh parmesan over the top with my microplane, just a thin layer to give it that nice tanginess from the cheese, and I tear up some fresh basil leaves over the top for a pop of color and an extra zing when you take a bite (that and basil is such a wonderful compliment to the tomato base). Using fresh herbs as a garnish is an easy way to add some extra (practically calorie free) flavor to any dish, plus it makes it look that much more appetizing!
Overall the whole process takes anywhere from 20-30 minutes, making it a great weeknight meal. I can get three to four servings out of a pot of soup depending on how hungry I am. The pasta does absorb more liquid and expand a bit if you store it though, so it will have more of a stew quality than a soup consistency when consumed at a later time (don't worry, it tastes just as good!)
Nutrition Facts (rough estimate as prepared above; based on four servings)
1 serving: 218 cal, 10g fat, 881mg sodium, 25g carb, 2g fiber, 8g sugars, 11g protein
I'm hungry now!
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