Lazy Summer Dinner

I'm still in my lazy summer slump. I just don't feel like cooking this week. My go-to lazy dinner is soup. Do you remember that commercial for Rice Krispies' Treats where the mom would shut herself in the kitchen and cover herself with flour, splash water on her forehead to make her sweaty and act like she was working oh, so hard on those treats? I've managed to convince my family that creating soup is unbelievably hard, demanding work and I am a martyr who sacrifices so much to cook for them.

But, truthfully--soup is so easy. I set ground beef out to thaw, but just couldn't decide what to make with it all day. Finally, around five, I decided to make soup, and started bread in the bread machine. I pulled some celery and carrots out of the crisper, but they were starting to liquefy--gross. My frozen vegetables were pretty much broccoli and Brussels sprouts. I don't want to throw either of those into a vegetable soup. Basically, I had a Vidalia onion, canned crushed tomatoes, some left-over collard greens and canned beans, ground beef, and beef bouillon, so I made minestrone soup. I threw in some oregano, garlic, salt, pepper, and hot sauce. So easy, so yummy--and, it looks like a lot of work: