Souped Up Veggie Soup

Sorry it’s been so long since I’ve posted anything, I was under the weather. Glad to be back with y’all! This is a really pleasing and very easy soup to make for a cold winter day. An immersion blender and a heavy soup pot are what you need. You can see that I have a cast iron soup pot. That came into my life in about 1978. A friend of my MIL ask me if I had a good soup pot as we were talking recipes. I said no, she had her son go out to garage sales and buy this beautiful cast iron pot. It is old and smooth and heavy. It is a treasure. You can tell the older cast iron as it is smooth inside and outside if it has been seasoned well. This goes for cast iron skillets, too. If you ever find one at a garage sale, BUY IT!
You can make the soup totally vegetarian/vegan by using vegetarian broth instead of chicken/turkey broth-just make your own! OR, if you find a store bought vegetarian broth that you like, use that. Just throw in all the veggies you like into the basic mix and blend! Add some sauteed vegetables near the end and you have it.
Actually, using the broth, leeks and potatoes as a base, you could add any vegetable and spice you like for a delightful soup!

SOUPED UP VEGGIE SOUP

Serves 6-8
Takes about 1 hour start to finish

8 C turkey or chicken broth (use “Better Than Bouillon” if you don’t have fresh)
2 leeks chopped and rinsed several times
2-3 potatoes, washed and chopped
3 carrots, washed, peeled and chopped
2 stalks celery, washed and chopped
1 medium yellow onion, peeled and chopped
1/2 red bell pepper, washed and chopped
1 C corn kernels, either fresh or fresh frozen (I used roasted frozen kernels)
1/2 C green beans, either fresh or frozen (I used some French frozen)
1 C sliced & chopped mushrooms
4 oz can hatch chillies

1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1/4-1/2 tsp sea salt
1/4-1/2 tsp Tabasco Sauce
Jane’s Crazy Salt to taste
Tony’s seasoning to taste
1/4 C cilantro

Heat the broth, leeks and potatoes until soft. Using an immersion blender*, blend until smooth. This is the basic soup mix.

In a skillet, sauté the chopped vegetables in a little oil until soft/crisp. Add the sauteed veggies, corn, green beans, hatch chilies, mushrooms, and the spices to the blended soup mix. Stir and cook on medium to medium low heat until fragrant and mellow. Adjust the spices as needed.

Add chopped cilantro or another fresh herb and/or sour cream or yogurt to the individual bowls when served. Serve with bread and a salad. This soup can be frozen for later and tastes better and better.

*If you don’t have an immersion blender, boil the leeks and potatoes then take them out of the broth and mash well. Put them back in the broth and whisk in.