Forgive the Pun, but This Dish is Souper

It's Winter. It gets dark early. It's cold. And generally I am ready for pajamas and bed by 6 pm. Unfortunately, other members of my household are ready for dinner about that time.

I stumbled upon this recipe last week and thought I'd give it a try. It's ridiculously easy (even if you don't buy ready-made ingredients), and it's quite tasty. So much so that you might consider making a double batch.

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Okay, so the recipe is from Eating Well (Soups Special Issue, 2016), but you can mess around with the ingredients and amounts and still not mess up the soup.

Ravioli & Vegetable Soup

Ingredients: 

(serves 4)

• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 cups frozen bell pepper and onion mix, thawed and diced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• ¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper, or to taste (optional)
• 1 28-ounce can crushed tomatoes, preferably fire-roasted
• 1 15-ounce can vegetable broth or reduced-sodium chicken broth
• 1½ cups hot water
• 1 teaspoon dried basil or marjoram
• 1 6- to 9-ounce package fresh or frozen cheese (or meat) ravioli, preferably whole-wheat
• 2 cups diced zucchini, (about 2 medium)
• Freshly ground pepper to taste

Notes: 

So, I didn't have frozen bell pepper and onion mix, but LO, I did have fresh bell pepper and onions that I just cut up and sautéed.

Also, fire roasted tomatoes—TOTALLY the way to go. I only had a 14 oz can, so had to mix it half and half with regular old tomato sauce, but you can really taste the difference.

I used a fresh, smoked mozzarella ravioli that Aldi had on sale ($2.99) and it was amazing, but you could use tortellini or just regular pasta bits if you didn't have ravioli. You could even toss in some garbanzo or cannellini beans.

Directions:

1. Heat oil in a large saucepan or Dutch oven over medium heat. Add pepper-onion mix, garlic and crushed red pepper (if using) and cook, stirring, for 1 minute. 
2. Add tomatoes, broth, water and basil (or marjoram); bring to a rolling boil over high heat. 
3. Add ravioli and cook for 3 minutes less than the package directions. 
4. Add zucchini; return to a boil. Cook until the zucchini is crisp-tender, about 3 minutes. 
5. Season with pepper.