What can you make for lunch with simple foods from your pantry? I have a bin that’s filled to the brim with bags of dry beans. Recently, I bought a 2-pound bag of mixed beans, a blend of pinto and Great Northern beans. When I picked out this bag, I instantly thought of soup. I poured half the bag into my crockpot, covered it with water (I didn’t measure but I poured in enough water so it covered the beans by 1 inch). I cooked it on high for about 4 hours, then left it on low overnight.

In the morning, there was lots of broth, too much for my soup. So I poured about a quart of it in a plastic container and popped it into the freezer (I’ll use it in place of vegetable broth for sauteeing veggies and other recipes). I added a 28 ounce can of crushed tomatoes, along with 2 packages of frozen soup vegetables. I’d bought a large amount of these bags when they went on sale at Kroger’s. They were filled with many wonderful veggies that we often put in Minestrone–carrots, peas, corn, onions, potatoes, lima beans, and even okra. I don’t usually like okra but it wasn’t packed with them, so I was still smiling.

When the soup started boiling, I seasoned it with 2 tsp salt, 1 tablespoon each of basil and oregano, plus a teaspoon of cumin. The cumin is what gives this soup it’s ole’ flavor! That’s all there was to it. No chopping, just dumping–a real easy meal with tasty pantry food and food from the freezer. I kept hearing yum’s from my guys (me too), so it’s definitely going on my do-it-again list. We enjoyed it with a side of baked sweet potatoes (another plant-strong veggie from the pantry). I think this meal will soon become one of Chef Suzi’s comfort foods!