We here in Knoxville are enjoying the first snowy day we have had in about five years. A whole 3/4 of an inch. They even canceled school. I’m making Emily do school anyway because of the inauguration. She is not thrilled. I made this soup for my family last week when we had a very cold day. You can start with the base and then season as desired. You also can use any pasta or even leave it out. I use the alphabet pasta because Aiden loves it.

Alphabet Soup

1 pound hamburger or ground trukey
1/2 cup chopped onion (I used frozen)
1 minced garlic clove
1 bag of frozen mixed vegetables
1 family size can tomato soup
1 bottle tomato juice
1/2 box alphabet pasta (about two cups)
1 tbsp each of the following:
Worcestershire sauce
Italian seasoning
dried basil
dill weed
2 tsp of the following
garlic powder
salt
pepper

Brown hamburger with onion and minced garlic. Drain well. Add all remaining ingredients EXCEPT pasta. Simmer for about thirty minutes, stirring often. Add pasta and simmer for 10 more minutes until the noodles are soft. If soup seems too thick you can add a little bit of water.

Serve with sour cream and paremsan or shredded cheddar cheese, crackers, and breads.

You can season it any way you like, what I listed is what I used. If I were not serving kids I might have added a dash of tobasco or some chili powder. The vegetables can be varied also. I even threw in some leftover green beans from the night before. This is also a great “keep on hand soup” because it’s all stuff you can just keep in the freezer and pantry.

Enjoy!