soup is so very comforting during the winter months. i highly suggest making a soup once a week. schedule a meatless Monday and prepare a vegetable soup. this one is super easy to make, since i start the recipe with Giada’s soup mix from Target. I use her mix and add my own fresh ingredients to make the soup feel so homemade. with her mix, i begin to prepare the mix as stated on the box, and then add two chopped carrots, one stalk of chopped celery, one chopped medium white onion, and 2 cups of chicken broth. i also added one can of stewed tomatoes, which were not drained. if you have garden tomatoes from your freezer, they work perfectly. i also tried her herb focaccia mix and served that with the soup.