Vegetable Soup aka “Dump Stuff in a Pot Soup”- Gluten Free Suggestions

My husband says to me:

I think you just got sick, so that you can make soup

When I was living with my parents, I used to refer to this recipe as “Dump Soup” because you basically just dump the ingredients in the pot and cook. There is very little work involved.

Nothing like soup to strengthen you during a cold. I love soup. It is my comfort food. Its great when you are sick because it is packed with cold fighting nutrients, easy to digest and easy to make. The warmth will also help when you are congested and hey, it’s just plain good!

This is one of my favorite soups. You can make it with pretty much, what you have on hand. You can even add chicken, beef or pork to this soup (cut in bite sized pieces) or make it completely vegetarian (use vegetable broth!).

This was what I made, with what I had in my pantry and fridge.

Ingredients:

2 (12 oz) cans of LOW SODIUM chicken broth *For Gluten Sensitivity, make sure canned broth is not made from Bullion cubes. These are not gluten free.

12 ounces of petite diced tomatoes

1 small onion, sliced

1 carrot, chopped into small pieces

1 medium tomato (I had one that needed to be used up)

1 (12 oz) can of light kidney beans, drained and rinsed

1 (12 oz) can of French cut green beans, drained and rinsed

1 cup (OR MORE) of baby spinach

1 heaping teaspoon of chopped garlic (add more or less, if you like)

1 teaspoon thyme

1 teaspoon black pepper (add more or less, if you like)

Two Large Handfuls of pasta (I used medium whole wheat shells) *Omit if gluten sensitive

1 tablespoon of cornstarch

Olive Oil

Parmesan cheese

Directions:

1. Saute onions until translucent with olive oil and garlic
2. DUMP all the other ingredients EXCEPT: Pasta, Cornstarch, Spinach and Parmesan Cheese
3. Bring to a boil and then allow to simmer for about 30 minutes
4. Place cornstarch in a small bowl and take (a spoonful at a time), some broth from the pot and mix. Add to pot
5. *If you want the soup thicker, add more cornstarch. Less thick, add less cornstarch. DON’T ADD Cornstarch directly to soup!*
6. Look at cooking time of your pasta. (Mine said 5 minutes). Add pasta to pot and allow to cook for the cooking time of your pasta.
7. Stir in Spinach (always add spinach last because the longer you cook it, the more nutrients it loses)
8. Serve with Parmesan Cheese.

Cold fighting veggie soup!