Garden Minestrone

Here we go with another soup creation.  Who knew that soup was this easy to make from scratch?  Don't get me wrong, I still love the ease of having canned soup on hand for those days when we are stretched for time (and for inclusion in some of our recipes!) - but given the opportunity to make some fresh soup is always great!

You may recall the vegetable stock that I made recently.  The recipe made plenty of stock, and my plan was to make a few different soups with the vegetable base just to see what new flavours and favourites we come up with.  This time around I wanted to try those bug noodles that I found, and I wanted to make this version of vegetable soup a to look a little more like the canned version that we usually buy.  Here is what I did:

4 cups vegetable stock
1 can diced tomatoes, including juice (I used a salt-reduced version)
3 carrots, peeled and sliced
1 cup green beans, sliced and ends removed
1/2 cup frozen green peas
1/2 cup corn kernels
Pepper to taste
3/4 cup "bug" pasta

In a large pot, slowly reheat the vegetable stock.  Add in all of the vegetables on the ingredient list and allow to simmer for about 15 minutes.  Bring the soup to a slow boil, add in the "bug" pasta.  Slow boil for about 4-6 minutes, or until the pasta is done to your liking.  Remove from heat, serve, and enjoy!

VERDICT:
This version of the vegetable soup looks a lot like the canned one.  It was delicious.  So fresh, so colourful.  It was a true hit with my family!