They Said You Can’t Teach an Old Dog New Tricks… But This easy homemade vegatable Soup Proved Them Wrong
First things first: I am not a cook.
My husband likes to joke that I think he’s God—because I feed him three burnt offerings a day. And honestly? He’s not wrong. When there’s a church potluck, guess who’s on drinks, paper goods, and packaged rolls duty? Yep. Me.
So, it may come as a surprise that this post is about soup—an easy homemade vegetable soup, no less—that I actually made… and we loved it.
The Backstory
A while back (okay, years ago—I originally posted this in 2009 and again in 2012), I was watching Good Morning America and saw a cooking segment for a Dumpling Veggie Soup. Something about it intrigued me. I rewound, watched it again, and—against all logic—decided to try it.
Good Morning America doesn’t have that exact recipe anymore, but you can check out their current food and recipe collection right here.
Now, I’ve tried making vegetable soup before. Many times. Most of those attempts resulted in what can best be described as “hot water with chunks.” I’ve added tomato sauce, paste, every spice in my cabinet, and even followed my mom’s method of freezing leftovers into a “future soup surprise.” (Spoiler: surprise was mushy frostbitten mush.)
But this soup? This one worked. And not just once. I’ve made it several times since, with some tweaks based on what we like, and it’s still good. Every. Single. Time.
So I’m reposting it now—not just because it deserves another moment in the spotlight—but because, honestly, this is the little soup that could. And if I can make it, anyone can.
The Not-A-Chef’s Homemade Veggie Soup (No Dumplings… Yet)
You’ll need:
½ cup olive oil
Chopped fresh garlic
Chopped onion
½ cup chopped celery
4 cups vegetable broth (I use the boxed kind from Kroger—one whole container)
3–4 tbsp flour
Cold water (to mix with the flour)
1 cup baby carrots (or slice regular size carrots if you’re not lazy)
4 medium potatoes, sliced
1 cup corn (you can use canned to speed things up and frozen to taste garden fresh)
1 cup fresh mushrooms (optional but recommended)
🌱 The original recipe used green peas. I swapped for corn and added mushrooms because we love them.
Instructions:
Heat a soup pot over low heat and add the olive oil.
Once the oil is warm, add garlic, onion, and celery. Cook for about 8 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Pour in the vegetable broth and bring to a gentle simmer.
In a separate bowl, mix the flour with cold water until smooth. Set aside.
Add your carrots, potatoes, corn, and mushrooms (or any veggies you love).
Let it come to a slight boil, then stir in the flour mixture to help thicken.
Simmer until the vegetables are soft and the soup has thickened to your liking.
💡 Cheating Cook Tip: Use canned or frozen veggies to speed things up. Let the soup sit a bit before serving so the flavors soak in.
It even looks good.
I still haven’t attempted the dumpling part. Why tempt fate when I’ve got a soup that finally works?
From someone who used to burn toast, this recipe is a quiet triumph. Give it a try, share it with someone who claims they “can’t cook,” and let them know—sometimes, old dogs do learn new tricks.
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sounds good, we had stew today for lunch – You can try this one too, my whole family loves it it is pappa’s receipe – ( Thomas grandpa)
Buy beef stew meat – brown it in a skillet with Soy Sauce, 1/2 cup red cooking wine and Kavendars seasoning. Don’t over cook it just lightly brown.
Add one can each (or apx. 1 cup if frozen)
Green Beans
Corn
Carrots
Kidney beans
2 Cans each
Mild Rotel
Water Chestnuts
3 med. size potatoes cubed
1/2 onion added in big hunks for flavor
some garlic minced … just a little I just plop some in 🙂 and taste if good I stop if not I add more – If too much I double my receipe LOL
then cook in a big ol’ pot until the potatoes are tender.
YUM serve with Hot buttery jiffy cornbread – – ummm ummm good!
I just loving finding recipes that are easy and delicious! Im more of a potato lover, but a good vegetable stew from time to time is always a good idea 😀 Heres my favorite potato soup recipe if you are interested!
INGREDIENTS:
5 slices bacon, diced
3 tablespoons bacon grease (reserved) or butter
1 cup diced white or yellow onion (i use scallions because i love the onion flavor)
1/4 cup all-purpose flour (rice flour for the gluten intolerant!)
2 cups chicken stock
2 cups milk, warmed
1.5 pounds potatoes, peeled (if desired) and diced (I recommend Yukon gold potatoes)
1 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese
1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt or sour cream
1 teaspoon Kosher salt, or more to taste
1/2 teaspoon freshly-cracked black pepper
optional toppings: thinly-sliced green onions or chives, extra shredded cheese , sour cream
DIRECTIONS:
Heat a large stockpot over medium-high heat. Add diced bacon and cook until crispy, stirring occasionally. Transfer the bacon to a separate plate, using a slotted spoon, reserving about 3 tablespoons of bacon grease in the stockpot. (Discard any extra grease, or you can substitute butter in place of the 3 tablespoons of bacon grease. Also, if you are short on time, you can dice the potatoes and onion while the bacon cooks to save time.)
Add onion and saute for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until soft. Sprinkle the flour on top of the onion, and stir until combined. Saute for an additional minute to cook the flour, stirring occasionally. Then stir in the chicken stock until combined. Stir in the milk, potatoes, and cooked bacon bits until combined. Continue cooking until the mixture reaches a simmer, but is not boiling.
Reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer for about 10-15 minutes or until the potatoes are soft, stirring occasionally every few minutes so that the bottom does not burn. (The smaller you dice your potatoes, the faster they will cook.)
When the potatoes are soft, stir in the cheddar cheese and Greek yogurt (or sour cream), salt and pepper. Taste and see if it needs more salt or pepper or cheese.
Serve warm, garnished with desired toppings.
I found this very amusing, three burnt offerings per day lmbo Mrs. Edwards I think he deserves better than that. After reading that I am actually kind of scared to try this recipe, but I love food so its worth a try. if you do another short story that ends in a recipe you should post something more off the wall and creative you know to challenge yourself and others as well.
I decided to read this story because it reminded me of my mother cooking her homemade vegetable soup that I love and actually she made it last night. She serves it with cornbread and it is delicious. Yes yours look pretty good as well in the pic, almost like my mothers, just a lil different ingredients. I would have to try it and compare it to my mother’s lol. I’m glad you learned how to cook this dish well Mrs. Edwards because i’m sure your husband would love this during the winter.
The first part of this post is very important because you are forming credibility with your readers. You talk about having experienced failure first and now you can literally taste the success. People may not try this recipe without knowing that you have tasted bad soup before but you know this stuff is truly good. This is very hard to critique because it looks so good and I know how to cook. But for a complete rookie chef maybe be a little more specific on what size like bowls to use and stuff of that sorts.
My grandmother always use to make up soup like this and it looks so good and taste even better.
Your food looks like it turned out great so keep up the good work. Men always tease women about cooking and the funny thing is must of the only want to be lazy and just aggravate you. This looks like something I will be cooking in the future and i’m excited.