LuAnn's Easy Tomato-Rice Soup with Spinach

Yield: about 12 servings

Ingredients

Soup

• 4 cups vegetarian chicken-like or vegetable broth*
• 2 (10 ounce) cans condensed tomato soup (not reconstituted)
• 1 (12 ounce) can vegetable cocktail juice (such as V-8)
• 1 (14 ounce) can stewed tomatoes (break up any large pieces of tomatoes)
• 1 (10 ounce) package frozen chopped spinach (no need to thaw first)
• 1 cup cooked white rice or 1/3 cup uncooked rice cooked as directed in step 1.
• 1 tablespoon sugar or 2 teaspoons honey
• 1 teaspoon dried basil
• 1/2 teaspoon salt, or to taste
• Dash ground nutmeg
• Dash ground black pepper (optional)

For serving (optional)

• Shredded cheese
• Saltine or oyster crackers

Instructions

1. If the rice has not yet been cooked, begin by cooking 1/3 cup rice in 2/3 cup water with a pinch or two of salt in a small covered saucepan until all of the water is absorbed. Meanwhile, continue making the soup, stirring in the cooked rice as soon as it is done.
2. In a large saucepan over medium heat, whisk together the broth, condensed tomato soup and vegetable cocktail juice.
3. Add the remaining ingredients; bring to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring constantly, then reduce heat to medium-low and simmer gently, uncovered, for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally to break up the block of frozen spinach and prevent sticking. (If cooking the rice, just stir it in when it is done).
4. Adjust seasonings to taste.
5. If desired, top individual servings with shredded cheese and serve with saltine or oyster crackers.

Notes

* LuAnn suggests making broth by whisking together 4 cups warm water and 4 teaspoons McKay’s Chicken-style Seasoning or Better Than Bouillon’s No Chicken Base.

Attribution

Recipe by LuAnn Bermeo, author of Amazing Meals I and II, a two-volume collection of family-approved, plant-based recipes; loosely based on a copycat recipe for Shoney’s Tomato Florentine Soup from Uncle Phaedrus' Recipe Detective (http://www.hungrybrowser.com/phaedrus/).