Weeknight Dinner Series: Mixed vegetable soup(creamy)

I don't  want to start this post with excuses for my sabbatical leaves.....rather with a promise to update this blog regularly! Let's hope that I can keep my promise;-) !! After all promises are meant to be....kept?!

Now a days to cook fresh dinner every night is a big challenge for me.....If I can do it for all weeknights, then it's a big accomplishment(yeah it is!). One of the savior during weeknights recipes are normally one pot meals  but then the healthy mom inside me feels guilty of not cooking something nutritious. At that time this soup recipe comes to my help.

This is totally forgiving and very versatile recipe. Just by changing one or two veggies, you can get totally new soup every time. My DD is like me only(well she should be right!), she doesn't like all the vegetables. Tomato is her favorite, so by adding more tomatoes compare to other veggies, I can feed her ANY vegetable I want....isn't it amazing?

Here are some of the versions, I have tried so far....

Mixed vegetable soup 1

Tomato 2 big or 4 small
cauliflower half head
bottle gourd 1 cup cubes
zucchini 1/2 cup cut

Mixed vegetable soup 2

beetroot 2
tomato 2 big o 4 small
carrot 1 big
mushroom 1/2 cup

Mixed vegetable soup 3

beetroot 2
tomato 2 big
carrot 1 big
onion 1
garlic 3-4 cloves

For all the version, boil all the vegetables in the pressure cooker with very small amount of water and salt as per taste. Once vegetables are boiled, blend the mixture. Pass the soup through big strainer to remove seeds of tomatoes and all. This step is totally optional.

boil the soup on gas top for few minutes before serving.

Serve hot with butter, freshly crushed black pepper and croutons(optional).

Sometimes while boiling on gas top, I add some microwaved corn. It gives crunchy texture to the soup and a whole new taste.

If you want you can add some fresh lemon juice and few chopped herbs like cilantro or basil for a new version of the soup.

You can pair this soup with almost anything like pasta, pizza, pulav, upma, sandwiches etc and you get a hearty meal to eat.

Do try out all these variations and let me know your comments!