Chad's Cheater Cheater Veggie Soup

My friend Chad gave me this Vegetable soup recipe ages ago and I finally got around to making it.  I have no idea where he got the recipe from, so let's just say he made it up himself.  Hooray! 

It's the easiest thing ever. Are you ready for it?
Into your crockpot dump:
1 can each of canned corn, peas, beans, carrots, and sliced potatoes-undrained
1 bottle of V8 Regular or spicy(I'm not sure on the size, I think it was the 32 oz bottle)
1T Chicken seasoning (Um, I used chili seasoning/Penzeys Arizona Dreaming because my handwriting is so awful.  I thought it said chili.  Whoops.)
1t each onion and garlic powders

Let the concoction brew for 2 hours on high.  Then add 2 large spoonfuls of giardiniera. And 2-3 T  sugar to balance the heat from the giardiniera and the acidity of the tomato.

That's it!

We had our soup with some country ribs on the side.  Heaven forbid if we don't eat meat at every meal.

The verdict on the soup from Mrblocko that it was good, but he'd rather eat soup with meat in it.  We have mostly made the switch from eating canned veggies to fresh or frozen, so the taste and texture of the canned stuff was unfamiliar to our palates.

Did you know that I had never heard of giardiniera before I moved to Illinois?  I was talking to my mom about this recipe and she had no idea what it was.  If you don't know either, Giardiniera is an Italian mix of spicy pickled vegetables.  They use it a lot on Italian Beef, which are popular in and around Chicagoland.  I really don't care for them so go figure. 

The giardiniera was good in the soup though.  Added a tiny bit of heat to the mix.  It probably would have packed more of a punch if I had used the hot stuff.  I wanted Blockette to eat it though, so mild it was.

Anyhow, I think this soup has good bones, but there are a few things I'll change the next time I make it.  Instead of the Chicken Seasoning (or ahem...chili seasoning), I think I will try some beef flavoring. Beef and tomato pair quite nicely together.  I think this will give the soup a richer taste. 

Next time I'll also swap out the canned stuff for frozen corn, beans and peas.   I'll also add some fresh diced potatoes, carrots, garlic, onions and celery.  The combination of the frozen and fresh veggies will give the soup a bit more texture, something that we missed with the canned stuff. 

Finally, I'd add tubettini, or some other small cut pasta suitable for soups.  I think this will help thicken up the broth as well.  I've become accustomed to a thicker, less brothy soup, probably from all the bean purees I've been using lately.

Thank you again Chad for your Cheater Cheater Veggie Soup recipe!