For lunch today I made a delicious Vegetable Soup–well it had some Chicken Stock in it but I am still calling it Vegetable Soup.  I had some Chicken Stock in the fridge that needed to be used and I hate wasting food so therefore it got used.  It seriously was so easy to make.  I used Dehydrated and Freeze Dried Vegetables.  It was so nice that I didn’t have to prep any of the veggies because they already come cleaned, peeled, chopped and ready to go.

Ingredients:
3 and 1/4 cups Chicken Stock
2 cups Water
1/3 cup Honeyville’s Dehydrated Potato Dices
1/4 cup Honeyville’s Dehydrated Carrots
2 Tbsp. Honeyville’s Dehydrated Celery
1/4 cup Onion, diced (You could use Honeyville’s Dehydrated Onion but I didn’t have any on hand)
1/4 cup Honeyville’s Freeze Dried Green Beans
1/4 cup Honeyville’s Freeze Dried Peas
1/4 cup Honeyville’s Freeze Dried Corn (I could eat this straight from the can it is SOOO good)
1 and 1/2 Tbsp. Honeyville’s Tomato Powder
Salt and Pepper to taste

In a large pot combine the Chicken Stock and Water and bring to a boil.  Add the Potato Dices, Carrots, Celery, and Onion and boil for 8 minutes, stirring occassionally.

Left column starting at top: Potatoes, Carrots, Onion
Middle column: Celery
Right column starting at top: Green Beans, Corn, Peas
I added these vegetables and not the others because they are dehydrated (except onion) and take longer to rehydrate and soften than freeze dried products. Add the Green Beans, Peas, and Corn.  Boil for 3 minutes longer.  Stir in the Tomato Powder and season with Salt and Pepper to taste.
This soup makes about 4 cups.  You can add or change out vegetables and spices to fit you and your family’s preferences.  My husband would have added Freeze Dried Mushrooms and not gone near the peas.  I love peas and don’t know why he doesn’t.  I could eat them everyday. 
Just looking at the picture makes me want to go heat up my leftovers and eat it right now!

 I am always pleasantly surprised that after rehydration these vegetables really taste like…well vegetables!  As I was inhaling eating it, I realized that with a few quick variations you would have a completely different meal:

Minestrone: Add Italian Seasoning, Pasta Noodles, Zucchini, Kidney Beans, Great Northern Beans

Taco Soup: Add Cumin, Salsa, Taco Flavored TVP, crushed Tortilla Chips, Cheddar Cheese

Vegetable Beef: Add Freeze Dried Beef Dices, Pearled Barley

Chicken Noodle Soup: Omit the Tomato Powder; add Egg Noodles, Freeze Dried Chicken

The possibilities are endless! 

While I have all my ingredients out I am going to measure a couple batches out and put the dry ingredients in some mason jars so that I can make this dish even quicker.  Plus it is becoming soup weather so I don’t doubt that they will get used soon.  A couple words of caution if you decide to do the same: 

  • The vegetables will start absorbing moisture that is in the air so if it is really humid where you live, I’d think twice about storing them this way.  
  • Store the mason jars in a cool, dry place as you would other food storage items.
  • Make sure you put the tomato powder in first and work your way up the ingredients list so you can add the ingredients to the boiling broth in the correct order. 

Happy Eating!