Some nice vegetable soup is just the thing for a chilly day. This version has plenty of vegetables, and you can add anything else you like. Aside from being delicious, it’s a great way to use up vegetables from your fridge to avoid food waste.

INGREDIENTS

• 6+ cups of vegetable stock, preferably homemade. I personally use Martha Stewart’s recipe. The amount of stock is not crucial, as we will just add enough vegetables to fill the stock to the top in this extra chunky dish. If you have too many vegetables, add water as you’re preparing the dish until the vegetables are just under the water’s edge.
• 1 small sweet potato or yam, peeled and cubed
• 2 small white potatoes, peeled if you like and cubed
• 2-3 fresh carrots, peeled and roughly chopped
• 2 stalks of celery, chopped
• 1/2 small head of cauliflower, chopped into bite-sized pieces
• 1 small broccoli crown, chopped into bite-sized pieces
• 1 ear fresh corn kernels
• 2-3 New Mexico green chiles, roasted, peeled, de-seeded and chopped (optional)

INSTRUCTIONS

Put the stock in a large pot on the stove and begin to heat. Add the sweet potato to the soup first, and cook for approximately 5 minutes before adding the white potatoes to the liquid.

When the potatoes begin to soften, add the carrots. A few minutes after, add the cauliflower and celery.

When those vegetables begin to soften, add the broccoli and corn. Cook several more minutes and when the soup is almost finished, add the green chile for just long enough to get warm. Serve with crackers, cornbread, or by itself. Enjoy!

This dish does amazingly well when frozen. You can keep a few servings of it in the freezer for sick and lazy days.