Skip’s Skinny Cabbage Soup

Yeah, there are a lot of these recipes floating around out there. After making it for many years, I settled on this version. There is a small amount of bacon in it, merely for flavor. Leave the bacon out, use vegetable stock instead of chicken stock…voila, vegan! It’s relatively easy save for all the chopping, but, it cooks up in about an hour. And, this recipe makes a lot, plenty for the next day and for freezing. By all means, customize what vegetables you use…that’s the fun of cooking and making soups.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup of white onions, 1/4 inch dice

• 1 cup of carrots, 1/4 inch slice

• 1/2 cup of celery, 1/2 inch slice

• 2 cups of green cabbage, 1 inch chop

• 1 cup of thin, French green beans (haricot verts), cut into 1 inch pieces

• 3 medium mushrooms, 1/4 inch slice

• 1 medium zucchini, quartered, 1/2 slices

• 1 – 14 ounce can of low sodium diced tomatoes

• 2 tbsp of tomato paste

• 4 cups of low-sodium chicken stock or vegetable stock

• 1 tsp herbes de Provence

• 1/4 tsp each of granulated garlic, onion powder, paprika, and cumin

• 1/8 tsp of red pepper flakes

• 1/2 cup of Bloody Mary mix (I use Mr. and Mrs. T’s)

• Kosher salt and ground white pepper to taste

Directions:

• Place the stock in a large sauce pan or small stock pot over high heat and bring to a boil

• Add all the ingredients except the cabbage and zucchini. Bring to a simmer simmer, cover, and cook for 20 minutes.

• Add the cabbage. Cook for another 20 minutes.

• Add the zucchini. Simmer an additional 20 minutes or until all the vegetables are tender.

• Taste. Reseason if necessary.

• Serve immediately or you can freeze it in airtight containers.