A while back, I subscribed to Mark Bittman’s newsletter (famous chef, know for making really good food pretty quickly). I’ve made this recipe a few different ways and I have to say, the possibilities are endless. You have no idea the amount of flavor that comes from veggies, this is an absolute delight, and a recipe that we will make forever. What better way to get your veggies in, right?

In this particular email (from October 7, 2021), Kerri Conan wrote about how most of us have frozen veggies taking up space in the freezer, and since it’s the start of soup season, what better way to use them up. So many variations. You can use all frozen vegetables (shown above). A mixture of frozen and fresh (what I made the second time), or all fresh veggies. Since most vegetables are flash frozen after being picked, they seem to be the best (and easiest!) choice. He also mentioned that you can toss anything into the soup, like cooked rice, small pasta, canned or cooked beans, and even ***leftover pot roast/stew or other braised meat. So next time I make my favorite pot roast recipe (if you like pot roast, give it a try!!), I’m going to take leftovers and shred the meat and freeze it in Ziploc bags to toss into the soup! Cannot wait to try this!

Check out Mark Bittman’s website and subscribe to his newsletter (as well as The Bittman Project!!)

📒This is my yellow sticky note version – which is how I made it…

FROZEN VEGETABLE SOUP (4 servings)

INGREDIENTS

• 3 tablespoons olive oil (+ more for drizzling)
• 1 onion, peel/chop
• 2 garlic cloves (peel/microplane)
• Salt (I just used a tiny bit)
• 6 cups (or 1.5 pounds) frozen vegetables, your choice
• 2 teaspoons Italian herb blend
• 1 -15 oz (small) can petite diced tomatoes
• 3 cups water, plus more as needed
• pepper

DIRECTIONS

Heat a large pot over medium-high heat (not non-stick). Add onion until it starts to soften, then add the garlic, cook 30 seconds. Stir.

Start adding the vegetables, stirring on occasion, until they thaw and start to become tender. You can add veggies a little at a time, I put all of mine in at once (I used a 1.5 pound bag of mixed veg: green beans, carrots and corn). Add the Italian seasoning.

Add the can of tomatoes and 3 cups of water (can add a wee bit of salt). Bring the soup to a boil, then lower the heat so it bubbles slightly around the edges. One time I did not cover the pan, and needed to add water a few times. The second time I covered partially, that seemed to help. Add pepper. Taste and see if you need additional seasonings. The original recipe says you can drizzle with more olive oil (I forgot both times I made it, sigh…)

The second time I made this recipe, I followed the same instructions above, but used the following veggies:

• baby sweet white corn
• haricot verts (french style slim green beans)
• baby butter peas
• baby sweet peas
• 1 large carrot, peeled and sliced
• 1 onion
• 1 large can of diced tomatoes
• 1/2 (small) head of cabbage, chopped

My veggies were over the 1.5#, which is why I opted for the larger can of tomatoes. Cooking it slow after it comes to a boil brings out the flavor in the vegetables. I served it with a baggette and brie the first time…

Outstanding! I also froze half of the pot of soup in a Ziploc, put in in the freezer on a cookie sheet so it would be flat until frozen, then removed the cookie sheet. It will be nice to pop that into a pan on day for a fabulous meal.

I hope to have a little leftover pot roast to add to it! The cabbage was divine and next time I just might add the entire head of cabbage.

I supplemented with V8 juice (1 can for the large pot) – When I saw that there was 920mg of sodium in one regular (serving) can of V8 my eyes almost popped out. Next time, I’ll just use water…

✍️ Until next time…