Written by Erin Walgamuth for KHTS.

During this very busy season, I like to have homemade soup in the refrigerator so my family can have a quick, nutritious snack anytime they are hungry. Below is a recipe for pureed vegetable soup and a link to roasted butternut squash soup, which I detailed in a separate article.

Pureed Vegetable Soup

Serves 4

32 oz carton of Trader Joe’s chicken broth or your favorite
2 whole cloves of garlic, skins removed
3 medium to large zucchini, ends removed, cut into rounds
1 head of broccoli florets, about 8 oz, florets separated
4 large carrots, peeled, coarsely chopped

Pour broth into a 6 quart soup pot. Place the vegetables and garlic in pot. Bring to a gentle boil and cook until vegetables are tender when pierced with a fork. Use the same blending method as with the butternut squash soup.

Both of these soups are high in potassium and vitamin C. They keep in the refrigerator for about three days, but they don’t last that long in my house.

Our favorite way to top this soup is with grated parmesan cheese. This gets a bit messy as the cheese will become stringy when it is hot, but it’s worth it! You can also add cooked chicken or grilled, sliced sausage.

Tip: Using your hands, rinse the used soup bowls with warm (not hot) water to remove any trace of cheese so as not to have it stick to your dish washing sponge.

Check out Erin’s Roasted Butternut Squash soup recipe and others in the Hometown Recipes section.

Erin Walgamuth has been an assistant Food Stylist for television and print for the past 26 years and writes this column using her own recipes. Check out her other creations in our Hometown Recipe section.