Better Than Campbell's Alphabet Soup

I knew I had to share this one when one of my daycare boys asked me to make it yesterday!

"When are we going to have the letter soup again? I LOVE it." Is that not the best compliment a cook could get? A 3 year old asking for veggies?
What a happy, fuzzy feeling for a mom and daycare provider trying to prepare wholesome food. Of course I made the soup! We didn't have one of the recipe's ingredients on hand (celery) so I used a bit of cabbage instead, and it was great. This recipe has been a standby for our daycare lunches for over 2 years, and it gets eaten up like mad whenever I make it. It's much easier for little hands and mouths to eat/drink the soup when poured into itty-bitty cups, so that is how I usually serve it.

Campbell's alphabet soup brings back a lot of memories for me, but I've been on a mission to make as much soup as I can from scratch. I've known for awhile that canned soups have WAY too much salt, and a lot of extra ingredients that I don't necessarily want to eat.

While this doesn't taste exactly like the canned version, it's simple and delicious. The stock you use makes a difference in the flavor, so make sure you start with a good quality veggie or chicken stock. :) The veggies are really flexible. I've subbed green beans, zucchini, and yesterday, cabbage. Enjoy!

Better Than Campbell's Alphabet Soup (adapted from weelicious)

Ingredients

1 T. oil (I use coconut, but olive oil is good, too)
1 small onion, finely diced
1 stalk celery, finely chopped
1 large carrot, finely chopped
1 potato, peeled and chopped
1 t. Salt 
1 14 Oz. can diced tomatoes
1-2 T. tomato paste (optional, if you want a little more thickness to your broth)
4 c. vegetable or chicken stock

1/2 c. letter pasta
1/2 c. corn (I used frozen)
1/2 c. peas (I used frozen)

additional salt and pepper to taste

1. Heat the oil in a medium sized pot and saute the onion, celery, carrot, potatoes and salt for 4 minutes.

2. Add the tomatoes, stock and bay leaf and bring to a boil. Cover, reduce and cook for 15 minutes.

3. Bring the heat back to a boil, add the pasta and cook for 5 minutes. Add the corn and peas and cook for an additional 5-6 minutes or until pasta is tender.

4. Taste, add salt and pepper if needed, and serve. Watch the kids eat it up like crazy!