Looking for vegetable soup like Marie Callenders

[toni]

I'm hoping someone has a recipe for vegetable soup like the one at Marie Callender's. I have read many posts on this forum but haven't found one that could help me replicate the restaurant soup that is really delicious...not too tomatoey but it has a reddish tint and a few bits of tomato in it. I don't care for much onion and I just pick out any onions which is easy.

[Jensen]

Hi Toni and welcome to eGullet!

Here is a thread that was started over a year ago with nothing but soups in it: click.

I'm not familiar with Marie Callendar's soup but it sounds like the minestrone or chicken vegetable soups from the thread might come close to what you've described.

[toni]

Hi Toni and welcome to eGullet!

Here is a thread that was started over a year ago with nothing but soups in it: click.

I'm not familiar with Marie Callendar's soup but it sounds like the minestrone or chicken vegetable soups from the thread might come close to what you've described.

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Thank you, Jensen, I appreciate your help. I had read through all the soups in that thread and did not find one I thought seemed similar to a regular vegetable soup, but I will read through them again. As in the case of the wonderful cooks in eGullet, I should experiment and be creative. I was just not sure of the base for the broth and thought someone might know about Marie Callender's vegetable soup or one that seemed similiar. Thank you for your response.

[snowangel]

Toni, do they sell it in the freezer section of the grocery? If so, you might be able to get a better handle on it if you look at the ingredient list. Or, if you e-mail them, will they send you an ingredient list?

[jgm]

If you have a Marie Callender's near you, get a bowl for take out.

Take it home and dissect it. Strain the solids out, spread them out on a tray, and make note of what's there.

Taste the broth. It's probably, but not necessarily, a chicken broth base with seasonings. Look through vegetable soup recipes in cookbooks you have, and you can get a general idea of the types of things that should go in.

This is what I did to figure out how to make Carrabba's lentil sausage soup.

One idea - my husband and I don't really care for parsnips, but when I make chicken broth-based vegetable soups, I put chunks of parsnips in to flavor the broth, and then remove them. They really add a nice flavor.

[toni]

Great ideas, Snowangel and Jgm. I did get the vegetable soup for take out the other day, but other than asking if they use fresh or canned tomatoes, I didn't think to dissect the soup when I got home. I just ate it and loved it. They used canned tomatoes, and I liked your suggestion of using parsnips and then discarding them after cooking. I am armed with better ideas for soup making this weekend, thank you!

[Bill Miller]

If you have a Marie Callender's near you, get a bowl for take out.

Take it home and dissect it.  Strain the solids out, spread them out on a tray, and make note of what's there.

Taste the broth.  It's probably, but not necessarily, a chicken broth base with seasonings.  Look through vegetable soup recipes in cookbooks you have, and you can get a general idea of the types of things that should go in.

This is what I did to figure out how to make Carrabba's lentil sausage soup. 

One idea - my husband and I don't really care for parsnips, but when I make chicken broth-based vegetable soups, I put chunks of parsnips in to flavor the broth, and then remove them.  They really add a nice flavor.

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I put in turnip halves for broth flavor and then take them out.