Garden Vegetable Soup

We love soup and this recipe called for fresh tomatoes and Basil which I just happened to have because I transplanted my basil plant and brought it in side (so far it is still a live) and my green tomatoes that finally turned red in their box were screaming, "we are on our way out lady!". . I am pretty confident that using dried alone would produce the same flavor because I had to add some to get it to taste right. (I don't think my fresh basil leaves were big enough.) My kids enjoyed this recipe and it hit the spot for me the day of and then the next as leftovers.

Garden Vegetable Soup (Found this recipe on Parents.com)

1 Leek, white part only
1 small onion, diced
1 stalk celery, diced
1/2 of medium Zucchini (I doubled the recipe so that I could use a whole Zucchini)
6 green beans (I left them out!)
1 medium carrot (I always double or triple the carrots in my soups because they are the boys favorites)
3 Tablespoons Olive Oil, divided
1 1/2 Tablespoons water
4 cups no-salt added Chicken Stock (I used my Chicken Base added to water)
3 ripe tomatoes, peeled and seeded (I used medium size)
15 fresh basil leaves, washed and dried (mine were small and it didn't seem to taste right so I added 2 teaspoons salt and 1/2 teaspoon dried basil. If you don't have fresh I would use 1-2 teaspoons dried basil to taste.)
2 medium garlic cloves, minced

Cut all the veggies into 1/4-inch pieces. In a large pot, mix half the olive oil with the water. Add veggies; saute on medium-low until the water evaporates. Don't let the veggies brown. Add stock, bring to a boil. Cook, uncovered, at a gentle boil for 30 minutes. Meanwhile puree tomatoes, basil, garlic, and remaining oil. Stir puree into soup. Don't let it return to a boil. Season with salt and pepper.

We enjoyed this soup with crackers or toast.