Feeling like a hearty bowl of soup on a cool night?  This is perfect!  

Serve with Baking Powder Biscuits for a complete meal.

1 large onion – minced                          

3 carrots, sliced

3 stalks celery, sliced

1 large potato, diced

1 small turnip, diced

1/2 cup green beans, sliced

1 cup green zucchini, quartered and sliced

1 14 oz can fire roasted diced tomatoes

4 cups vegetable stock

2 tbsp basil, chopped

kosher salt and freshly ground pepper

olive oil

Any other vegetables are always optional, and always welcomed to a pot of soup!

Heat a large soup pot, then add just enough olive oil to cover the bottom.  Add diced onions and allow to cook long enough to soften and become translucent.  Add potatoes, carrots and celery.  Stir and allow to cook for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Add tomatoes and vegetable stock – season to taste with salt and pepper.

Allow to simmer until vegetables are just barely fork tender.  Stir in green beans and zucchini and cook just until they are cooked through.  Add fresh basil and any other herbs you feel like adding!

Options:  Use more vegetable stock and add barley when the potato mixture goes in or cook some pasta separately and serve the soup over the cooked pasta.  (I like to cook the pasta separately so it doesn’t get too mushy.) If you want a chicken soup, use chicken stock instead of the vegetable stock and add some chopped up chicken with the stock.