Vegetable Soup

One of my favorite lunches is a nice bowl of soup with a piece of garlic or cheese toast. After inspecting the ingredients list of my favorite can of vegetable soup, I realized just how simple it really was, and decided to try my hand at it. This big pot of soup was fast and easy to make, and is really cost efficient. When I let my 4 year old son taste test it, I asked him if it needed anything, and he replied, "Yes. Ice." Leftovers can be poured into freezer bags or containers and frozen in the sizes you need for your own lunches, then just warmed and served. Goodbye, canned vegetable soup; hello low-fat, healthy, and delicious homemade Vegetable Soup at a moment's notice!

Vegetable Soup

4 medium potatoes
4 carrots
4 ribs of celery
1 bell pepper (I like red)
1 can kidney beans
1 can garbanzo beans
1 can great northern beans
1 can tomato sauce
1 large can diced tomatoes
4 cups water
1/4 tsp fennel seeds
2 tsp crushed garlic
2 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
1 tbsp Italian Seasoning
1/2 tsp rosemary
1 bay leaf
1 cup frozen corn

1) Wash and dice the potatoes, carrots (peel first, if desired), celery, and red pepper. Go for a smaller dice, so that they'll be roughly the same size as the beans.
2) Mix together all ingredients except the corn in a 6 quart slow cooker (Crock Pot). Lid it up, then cook on high for 4-6 hours.
3) Stir in corn shortly before eating. Then, enjoy! Remember to freeze the leftovers in smaller portions to make easy lunches.