Meatless Monday: Tomato Orzo Florentine Soup!

Hello, cafe friends! I'm back...in more ways than one!

I am back from a spring break vacation (more on that this week), and back to my original blogging style, the way you all requested.

And I'm glad, because I really missed sharing with all of you! And boy do I have a lot to share!

But first, let me share a recipe.

We got home last night from a week-long trip to Arizona. Our last two days were a bit harrowing, as the airline had cancelled our original flight, and we had to drive four and a half hours to catch another flight in Albuquerque, New Mexico. But wait, there's more! We got to New Mexico, only to find that our plane had mechanical issues, and so we waited for a new plane from Denver. But wait, there's more! Once we reached our connection in Baltimore, at 1AM, the airline moved our luggage and we had to wait another hour and a half for it to be found.

Have you ever seen those photos of the poor hapless travelers sleeping on benches at the airport? That was me.

We got to a hotel at 3 AM, slept, woke up, and continued the airline craziness all over again. New airport, new car rental, but somehow we made it home. Hallelujah!

The airline issued us $200 vouchers for our troubles, but I told my husband those were useless because I'M NEVER FLYING AGAIN! lol!

By the time we got home, I just wanted a home cooked meal.

I remembered a delicious soup I'd had at a restaurant recently, and decided to give it a try with what I had on hand.

The special part of this soup is that it uses stewed tomatoes. Yummy!

Tomato Orzo Florentine Soup

1 medium onion, chopped
2-3 stalks celery, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
2-3 T olive oil
2 cans stewed tomatoes (carefully chop the tomatoes in smaller pieces before adding to soup)
1 32 oz. carton chicken broth (or vegetable, if you want this to be vegan)
2-3 T. balsamic vinegar
1/2 c. uncooked orzo
Fresh herbs (parsley or basil) or dry Italian Herbs
2-3 c. chopped baby spinach
salt and pepper to taste
freshly grated parmesan

In a large pot or Dutch oven, saute onion, celery, and garlic in olive oil until tender. Add two cans of stewed tomatoes, chicken broth, balsamic vinegar, and seasonings. Bring to a boil, then add orzo. When orzo is fully cooked, and spinach and cook another 5-10 minutes until tender. Serve with parmesan on top and enjoy!

This soup came together very quickly, which was a good thing as we all sat to eat around 8. I pulled out some sprouted grain bread from the freezer, threw it in the toaster, and we had it with our soup. A very satisfying meal after a long weekend of travel.

Blessings on your Monday, cafe friends!