Soup's On!

This easy dinner does it all:

It provides tons of veggies to catch you up on your 5 servings,

it's easy,

it simmers and needs just a few last minute touches,

and it's vegetarian.

Savannah and Thom are both vegetarian, and although Samwow is a T-Rex style carnivore, even he likes soup night.

The secret is in the dippers.

 For the soup, you will need:

2 cans of vegetable broth

2 envelopes of vegetarian onion soup mix

1 tsp of Adobo seasoning

1 can of reduced salt corn

1 can of reduced salt peas
1 can of reduced salt green beans
1 28 ounce can of diced petite Italian tomatoes
5 carrots peeled and sliced bite size
3 ribs of sliced celery
1 large onion, minced
2 cloved of garlic, minced
1 sprig of fresh rosemary
4 basil leaves
2 tablespoons of olive oil
1 nineteen ounce bag of frozen cheese tortellini

Pour the oil into a large soup or stock pot on medium high heat. Add the onion, garlic, and Adobo. Saute until the onion starts to brown, then add the stock. Stir in the onion soup mix. Now dump in all the canned veggies INCLUDING the juices. Add the carrots, celery, and the herbs, stir well, cover, and simmer on low for a couple of hours.

That's my favorite part. Let dinner cook itself.

 10 minutes before serving, crank the heat up to a gentle boil and add the tortellini.

 Now to make this even more appealing...

 Slice a loaf of French bread about 1" thick and place it on a cookie sheet. Spoon petite diced Italian tomatoes right from a can on top.

 Top with freshly grated Asiago cheese and place in the oven on 350 degrees until melted and crisp.

 Perfect for dipping in our soup. This can be done while the tortellini cooks.

 How about we end up with some really delicious apple crisp?

9 apples - cored and sliced
1 cup brown sugar
4 cups all-purpose and whole wheat flour mix
3 cups white sugar
4 tablespoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon salt
4 eggs, beaten
1 stick of butter, melted
Chopped walnuts if desired

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
2. In a large baking pan, mix sliced apples with brown sugar. In a large bowl, mix together flour, white sugar, cinnamon and salt. In a small bowl, beat together egg and melted butter. Stir into flour mixture. Spread evenly over apples. Sprinkle with the walnuts.

Bake in preheated oven for 30 to 40 minutes, or until topping is golden and crisp.

How simple is that for a scratch dessert?

This is great with ice cream of course.

And nothing says Fall quite like this menu.