Soup soup a doop

Oh soup, how I love thee, let me count the ways. You are easy to make, you smell great and you taste delicious. Not to mention, you are quite nutritious. If you were a man, you would be a fabulous catch. You would be the man that mothers set their daughters up with, and I don't mean desperate mothers, a la Fran Fine's mother.
My latest soup adventure was into the land of alphabet soup. If you think reading a cereal box is enjoyable while eating breakfast, try reading a bowl of soup at lunch. Talk about a challenge! Much harder than deciphering the message in your Cheerios ('oooooooo.'). My usual go-to website for recipes in the past two years has been Weelicious. It is on the healthy side and geared towards cooking for kids. Sometimes I think, "No way in the world is a kid eating some of those crazy concoctions." Other times I think "I wonder if that kid who might be eating it can even pronounce it." So perhaps I have a little mom feeding her children envy, because her children are rock stars of eating. In fact, they would be the eating equivilvent of Elvis, Sting or something other awesome rocker. The website itself is interesting, inventive, delicious and well-rounded, just like her recipes.
Back to alphabet soup. I do not particularly care for most vegetables, unless prepared by the fine chefs at Seasons 52...or Saladworks. However, throw them into a pot of soup surrounded by secret messages, and I will eat just about anything in the bowl.
Awesome. Here is the recipe from Weelicious, I hope you enjoy as much as I did!



Alphabet Soup (Serves 6)

1 Tbsp Olive Oil
1 Small Onion, finely diced
1 Stalk Celery, finely chopped
1 Large Carrot, finely chopped
1 Yukon Gold or Waxy Potato, peeled and chopped
1 Tsp Salt
1 14 Oz. Can Diced Tomatoes
1 32 Oz Box Vegetable or Chicken Stock
1 Bay Leaf
1/2 Cup Letter Pasta (I used 1 cup, which sucked up a lot of broth. We don't mind.)
1/2 Cup Corn (I used frozen)
1/2 Peas (I used frozen)

1. Heat the oil in a medium sized pot and saute the onion, celery, carrot, potatoes and salt for 4 minutes.
2. Add the tomatoes, stock and bay leaf and bring to a boil. Cover, reduce and cook for 15 minutes.
3. Bring the heat back to a boil, add the pasta and cook for 5 minutes. Add the corn and peas and cook for an additional 5-6 minutes or until pasta is tender.
4. Serve.

*Allow to cool, store in appropriate container or Ziploc bag, label and freeze up to 4 months. When ready, defrost in fridge for 24 hours or place in pot and bring to heat over low-medium heat.