Special Recipe from Mom

One of the most loving and special gifts my Mom ever gave me was this recipe box as a newlywed. The lid has since come off and a few of the recipes are slightly stained with food I have made over the years.  I feel this adds to the charm of this great gift! Mom took the time to type all of the recipes she had made as I was growing up and gave it to me before my husband and I married. This wasn't an easy task since I was the first to get married of 5 children and her days were so full with taking care of all of us, our Dad and running our home.  She also balanced bookkeeping for the company she and my Dad owned. I wish she could see that 43 years later, I'm still not just using it but I cherish each and every recipe she so lovingly typed out for me.  My husband and I hosted a holiday dinner recently and had a nice ham bone left from our spiral ham.  So I thought I would make a big batch of vegetable soup. The next day, I placed it in my dutch oven along with the ingredients on Mom's vegetable soup recipe and let it simmer most of the afternoon on low.  This is a great meal chock full of vegetables and it tastes so delicious.  Follow the recipe below and serve it with crusty rolls on the side for dipping in the soup! (Check out a couple of extra things I added of my mine at the bottom of the page).

I substituted "chicken" stock for the bouillion cubes and used bowtie pasta in place of the potatoes.  I also added 1 can diced tomatoes and a can of tomato sauce instead of the tomato soup.