Grocery Store Victory & Recipe

Jacky doesn't like veggies. It's a known fact around my house. Ask anyone. I'm more of a carbohydrate girl. But in an effort to be more $$$ savvy (which by the way is going swimmingly), I sat down and planned my menu for the entire week on Monday. I got this great menu & shopping list forms for my Franklin Covey planner (full disclosure: I do work there. I love it, but I do work there. I love their products and my planner keeps me organized. But, my opinions on their products are 100% mine). So, I sat down and looked at when I would be home, when I would be working, when T would be up here for dinner and when I'd be in Provo. I planned out my menu (it includes me making a huge batch of something then eating it for the rest of the week) . 

After my menu was planned, I flipped the page over and wrote down my shopping list. Do you know how easy it is to go to the grocery store with a list, determined not to go over budget, and actually accomplish it. Easy. I think I only bought one thing that wasn't on my list and that was fabric softener because my entire box of 120 sheets has gone missing. Sigh. But when I got to the register I only ended up paying $48 and change for AN ENTIRE WEEK OF MEALS. Granted, I didn't buy any snacks anything but maybe that's for the better? I mean, I am trying to get into wedding shape. 

Anyway, back to the task at hand. Monday night was veggie soup night. Like I mentioned before, I don't do vegetables (why is it so hard to spell that word btw?). But I decided to give it a try. It's my moms recipe and she swears it's the best thing ever. So, why not? 

Ingredients:

2 32 oz cans (boxes) of chicken stock. 

10 large tomatoes (roma if you can find them.) OR 3 cans of diced tomatoes 

3 large carrots 

1 yellow or white onion 

1 green and 1 yellow zucchini 

Olive oil

1 10 oz can of sweet corn

1 can white northern beans

Any other veggies you want! Seriously, this recipe is so versatile. 

Directions: 

1. Dice all the veggies into bite sized pieces (beware, big giant carrots are a pain to cut. Or maybe it was my cheap Ikea knives) 
2. Sautee onion, zucchini in olive oil until tender 
3. Add diced tomatoes and let cook for 20 minutes (unless you're using the canned. Then cook for about 5 minutes or so) 
4. Add chicken stock and bring to a boil. (I only used 1 3/4 of the 2 things of stock I bought. I ran out of room in my pot but you can add/subtract if you like a thicker or thinner soup) 
5. Reduce heat to medium 
6. Add the other veggies. Put raw ones in first for 15-20 minutes (This is when I put in the carrots) and then the caned (corn, beans, whatever) and cook for another 15-20 minutes. 
7. Add salt, pepper, seasoning to taste. 

These were my enemy. SO HARD TO CUT. Thanks Ikea.

Yummay

leftovers for DAYS. 

Notes:
I'd bet even the most anti-veggie in your family would still like this. It's that good. 

You can use veggie stock in place of chicken stock if you're a vegetarian. 

Fresh tomatoes are better than canned according to my mom, but I'm lazy and used the canned. 

Play around with the veggies in it! I used kidney beans instead of white beans and was planning on putting peas in but didn't. My mom loves spinach in hers.

If you want to switch it up, add already cooked chicken or pasta to it too.