30 Minute Vegetable Soup

I never trust recipes that claim they can be made in 30 minutes or less. It usually takes me considerably longer to make these dishes than the advertised 30 minutes. But here’s a “no-kidding recipe for a delicious vegetable soup that can be made in 30 minutes, guaranteed!

I’m always on the lookout for quick, easy recipes that I can make in short order – some days I just don’t feel like spending two hours in the kitchen making dinner. Turns out these recipes aren’t difficult to find; in fact, they are everywhere. Who remembers Rachel Ray’s 30-Minute Meals show on the Food Network and her many cookbooks by the same name? Also, most food magazines like Bon Appetit or Food and Wine have a regular section that focuses on weeknight recipes that can be made quickly without a bunch of fuss.

All good stuff, but here’s my beef. I’ve made hundreds of these recipes over the years, and the occasions are few and far between when I was actually able to make the recipe from start to finish in 30 minutes or less. In fact, it often took me considerably longer to make these recipes, even when I was rushing to get them done. So, what’s the deal? Is it just me, or is the estimated time to make the recipe really off? And if so, why?

I have a few hypotheses. First, I think the recipes grossly underestimate the time it takes an average person who isn’t a professional chef to do the prep work required for the recipe – things like chopping onions, peeling eggplant, mincing garlic, or pulling five different dry ingredients together from the pantry. I’m by no means a slow cook, but I do tend to take my time when I am working with one of my sharp knives and chopping, dicing, and mincing a bunch of different ingredients for a recipe.

Second, I don’t think the recipes account for how many home cooks work in their kitchens. I might be an outlier, but I’m a huge advocate of “cleaning while you go” when I cook. I absolutely hate having a sink full of dirty pots, pans, bowls, and utensils that I have to clean after I’m doing eating my masterpiece – it actually kind of ruins the meal for me. So, I keep up with the cleaning as I go along, which I know adds time while I’m making the meal but makes the clean up afterwards so much easier and more enjoyable. I think these chefs and editors need to remember that home cooks don’t have sous chefs to do our prep work, or a dishwasher to clean our messes as we make them.

Finally, I often find that the estimated times for certain tasks in these recipes are inaccurate and they almost always underestimate the time it takes to get them done. For example, 90 percent of the time it takes me much longer to reduce a liquid to the required consistency on the stovetop than the recipe calls for. In fact, now I usually double the estimated time when I’m planning the meal to account for this discrepancy. I don’t know whether their burners turn out considerably more BTUs than mine and make shorter work of this task, or whether I’m doing something wrong – I don’t think it’s the latter though!

So, my solution when I’m planning the timeline for any meal is to add at least 15 additional minutes for prep work to the estimated recipe time, and another 15 minutes for keeping things clean and tidy in my kitchen as I’m making the recipe. I also usually add additional time for tasks like bringing liquids to a boil or reducing liquids.

That’s all well and good, but I’m still always searching for recipes that I can, no kidding, make in 30 minutes or less. Laurie’s mom, Linda, gave us a small cookbook when we got married with some of her favorite recipes – we have worked our way through that cookbook and love every recipe in it. But there are a few that are on our regular rotation, one of which is “Mom’s Vegetable Soup”. It might be the easiest recipe I have ever seen. It requires no prep work since it uses frozen instead of fresh vegetables and can actually be made in LESS THAN 30 minutes if you’re in a real hurry! Laurie and I have adapted this recipe a bit to make it our own, but it’s pretty true to the original.

Once you make this, I’ll bet it will be on your regular dinner rotation too. And best of all, it makes a big batch so you will have plenty left over for additional dinners! I’ll be anxious to hear how many minutes it took you to make this fantastic soup – enjoy!

By the way, this is my last blog post for the year - I always take December off from blogging but will be back the first week in January with my next post. Until then, happy holidays!!

30-Minute Vegetable Soup (Serves 8)

It doesn’t get any easier than this. Just brown some ground beef, and then add in a bunch of frozen vegetables, tomato juice, and chicken or vegetable stock and bring to a simmer. And bam, you’re done! Serve with crusty bread for sopping up all of that flavorful liquid left in the bottom of your soup bowl!  Also, the leftover soup just gets better overnight in the refrigerator, so make plans to enjoy this soup over multiple nights or freeze to enjoy at a later date!

Ingredients

1 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil

1 lb. 90% or 95% lean ground beef

1 64 oz. bottle Campbell’s Low Sodium Tomato Juice

2 cups chicken or vegetable stock

1 14.5 oz. can stewed tomatoes

1 10 oz. bag frozen corn

1 10 oz. bag frozen chopped spinach

1 10 oz. bag frozen peas & carrots

1 10 oz. bag frozen green beans

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Grated parmesan Reggiano cheese for serving

Directions

Heat the olive oil in a large Dutch oven or large cooking pot over medium heat. Add the ground beef and cook until slightly browned, 8-10 minutes. Add the tomato juice, stock, stewed tomatoes, and the frozen vegetables and stir to combine. Turn the heat up to high to bring the soup to a simmer. Turn the heat down to maintain a simmer until ready to serve. Note: the longer you simmer, the more flavorful the soup will become, so you can make the soup early and leave on the stovetop to simmer for up to 2 hours if desired. Season to taste with salt and pepper and serve with grated parmesan Reggiano cheese on top.