Easy Vegetable Soup

Hi!
Tonight i made a soup recipe that i had read about in the September Good Housekeeping. Yummy and great for kids! Here is a little bit of background info....

Tuesday's are so CRAZY at our house. I get the up at 5am to get myself and family ready for the day. Get the kids up at 6:30 and out the door at 7:20. I am on my way to work (teaching preschool) by 8. Get home at 4. Get Peyton off the bus at 4:30, pick Morgan up from field hockey at 4:45. Zip home for dinner and homework and get the kids to their CCD classes by 6:30. Whew!

So.....I saw this soup and thought this looks so easy, healthy and even my PICKIEST eater (Peyton) might give it a try!

Ready?!

In a 5 quart sauce pan mix 4 cups of V-8 vegetable juice with 4 cups of chicken broth and 1 16 oz pkg of frozen mixed vegetables (I used an organic mix of carrots, green beans, peas and corn).Add 1/2 tsp of Italian seasoning and 1/4 tsp of pepper. Bring to a boil then add 1 cup (i added 1 1/2 as we like thick soups) of uncooked alphabet pasta or orzo. Simmer, uncovered on medium low for 8 minutes or until pasta and veggies are tender. I served this with a side of fruit and a grilled cheese sandwich. Everyone ate it!

Initially I did think it to be a bit bland. Peyton then piped up and asked if she could put some Parmesan cheese in her soup. Wow! There was the little bit of zip we needed.

I had the entire dinner ready in a flash. I felt like my family had a healthy meal on what is usually such a hectic and therefore somewhat unhealthy day.

What both girls enjoyed most about having this soup for dinner were the veggies! (We "strive for five" at our house. You earn dessert by eating at least 5 servings of fruits and veggies per day.) This soup had so many veggies in it they did not need to have an additional veggie with their dinner. Thus...dessert! A warm freshly baked chocolate chip cookie! See above for recipe.

Coleen