Hearty Tomato "Stoup"

This soup totally hit the spot. And I luckily had everything already on hand. Disaster and a long trip to the grocery store (as is any trip to anywhere here) was avoided and a pleasant Friday was enjoyed. And Brad thought it was good, but tomato-ee. He doesn't really care for soup, let alone tomato soup. I on the other hand loved it. So my philosophy stands: if there is an ingredient that you know you don't like, or are unwilling to try, then remove it. However, if it's a main taste component, then make it in a smaller quantity if you're dead set against experimenting, or make something else instead. Or serve it with grilled cheese sammies (non-burned ones)!

Ingredients:

• 1 lb. ground turkey -or- 1/2 c. TVP
• 1/2 onion, chopped -or- 1 T. dried onions
• 1/2 bag of frozen veggies (pees/carrots/corn/green beans mix) -or- 1 can mixed veggies, drained
• 1 can diced tomatoes (14.5 oz)
• 1 can diced tomatoes, pureed
• 1.5 c. beef broth -or- 1.5 c. water w/ 2-3 t. bouillon
• 5 t. brown sugar
• 1 t. celery seeds
• salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
1. Brown meat in soup pot; drain.
2. Add onions and seasoning (except sugar) right before the meat gets "dry" or too-cooked.
3. Add rest of veggies, including the diced tomatoes; cook for a bit.
4. Add tomato sauce, broth and sugar; stir.
5. Simmer covered for 30 minutes, stirring every now and then.
6. Serve with grilled cheese sandwiches and a good television show (a movie rental will suffice).

PS- I didn't have any tomato sauce, so I used some spaghetti sauce (no, it wasn't homemade... that comes later). And of course you can use fresh/canned vegetables... whatever you have on hand or whatever is easiest is/are my motto(s). Oh, and adjust the veggies/meat/liquid to your desired heartiness/consistency. We like stoups -if stews and soups could reproduce- more than soups, so we put lots of "stuff" in.