I love making homemade soup because it tastes fresh, it isn’t loaded in salt, and it doesn’t have preservatives. Plus it’s pretty easy to make…easier than most people realize! Once I started making homemade soup it was really hard to want to eat the canned stuff anymore. Recently, I’ve started bringing my soups to eat with my lunch everyday and I have to say that I enjoy my lunches much more now and I’m getting in more veggies.

I threw this soup together tonight and I have to say it was so amazing I had to post it. It is pretty simple and has all fresh ingredients. I sometimes use frozen veggies for soup but I much prefer using fresh…you can totally taste the difference. I also think fresh leafy spices are the key if you can get them…they are so much better than dried ones. I almost always have fresh parsley in the fridge (it keeps for a couple weeks) and I have a basil plant growing that I use all the time. Here I used chicken broth as the base but I think it would be good with beef broth too if you are a fan of the beef broth. I was introduced to leeks when I first made Elegant Curried Chicken (don’t let the bad picture fool you…the dish is great!). So this was my second project with leeks and I have to say that I really like them! The leeks give the soup both an onion and garlic flavor. It’s a zesty soup…definitely try it before you add more spices!

Ingredients for Leek Vegetable Soup:

• 16 cups of water made into chicken stock (I use “Better than Bullion”)
• 8oz package of mushrooms sliced
• 1lb whole carrots sliced
• 1 bunch leeks sliced thin
• 1 small cabbage sliced thin
• 1lb fresh green beans
• 2 medium zucchini – cut in half lengthwise then sliced thin
• a small handful or about 1/8 cup fresh parsley minced
• a small handful or about 1/8 cup fresh basil minced
• 1/2 tsp black pepper
• sprinkle of salt

Mix all in large pot and cook until carrots and green beans are tender. Enjoy!

Until later, happy cooking!

I’m linking up to these parties:

Sunday: I Heart Naptime, Homemaker on a Dime; Monday: Craft-O-Maniac, Skip to My Lou, Home Stories A2Z; Tuesday: Tip Junkie, Today’s Creative Blog, The Southern Product Queen; Wednesday: Sew Much Ado, It’s Overflowing; Thursday: House of Hepworths; Friday: Tatertots and Jello, 504 Main, 5 Days…5 Ways; Saturday: Be Different Act Normal;