YUMMY.

I was looking at two recipes, both of which called for a couple of ingredients I didn't have. I decided to nix the stuff I didn't have, add in a few more things I did have but that weren't called for, and do what I could. The result? A delicious, healthy, hearty, vegestable stew. We can eat it all week, easily take it to-go (to work) as long as we can reheat it, get our tummy's super stuffed because it's THAT hearty, and be comfortated. Who doesn't think healthy soup is a comfort food, it is! MY creation was a perfect welcome to the new season!

Saute: Two medium carrots copped, 3/4 large onion, one stalk celery (too much celeray=yuck!), half a green pepper diced, in a couple tablespoons of oil until the onions become translucent.

Shortly after you start sauteing the veggies, add in a large minced clove of garlic.

Chop into cubes: one large zucchini, one medium butternut squash, and a handful of red potatos
Dice: about 5-8 (however many you choose) tomatoes - one of the recipes said you can add a can of crushed tomatoes instead of this but I prefer fresh over canned any day I have it on hand!

Add in all of these veggies that you have prepared while your saute was going strong. Also add in 2 1/4 cups of watter and two veggie. boion cubes ( I think I totally raped the spelling of that word, but hopefully you'll get the idea).

After you have all of those veggies mixed up bring to a boil, then pull back down to simmer. At this time add in a cup of brown rice, some seasoning (salt, pepper, cheyenne pepper, cumin, orageno, thyme- any of these would be tasty as long as you don't go overboard or mix and match in gross ways...obviously). Cover and let simmer for 45 minutes. Durring the last 10 minutes throw in a chopped fresh herb if you have any. I have an indoor herb garden, so I grabbed some margoram. It's was tasty but pretty mild.
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Overview: veggie broth, brown rice(=great grain), butternut squash, carrots, peppers, onion, garlic, potatos, zucc., tomatoe==== YUM YUM hearty, healthy, comfort food! Eat it with a couple of whole wheat melba toasts and you've got a winner. I'll be honest, my soup could have done well will a little more spices than I actually added ( I used salt, pepper, and the the fresh herb at the end) but if you use a variety of veggies like I did they'll provide enough tasty flavor to get you by!

I think this stew would do well with some whole wheat pasta shells instead of the rice, or with some white, kidney, or lima beans. That would be a great addition of protien! YUM!