Abundance

What to do when you have a fridge full of veggies from the relish tray (carrots, celery, cauliflower, broccoli) that were not consumed by the 24 people over for dinner on Sunday night? Throw it all in a pot and make soup, of course. Kelli is getting creative and getting raves for her corn recipes with the abundance of corn in her freezer.

California Veggie & Rice Soup
Approx 5 cups raw veggies (carrots, celery, cauliflower, broccoli) chopped into small pieces
2 cans cheddar cheese soup
3 cups milk
3 cups brown rice (cooked)
1 T butter
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup sliced fresh mushrooms
1 ham hock
Salt & pepper to taste

In a large soup pot, melt butter and saute onions & mushrooms. Pour cheddar cheese soup and milk into pot, mix well. Dump in veggies. In a separate pan, cook rice. Pour rice into soup. In the rice pan, boil 2 cups water with the ham hock for 30 minutes. Place ham hock into soup pot and pour 1 cup of the ham hock water into soup. Simmer soup for 20-30 minutes. Add salt & pepper to taste. Soup will be very thick.