Very Vegetable Soup

It's dreary today - an Eeyore looking mess outside. It's a perfect day for soup!

You can prepare this soup stovetop or put it in the crockpot to simmer all day.

Prep time: 5 minutes
Active cooking time: 20 minutes
Start to finish, stovetop method: under 1 hour

Ingredients:
6 carrots, cleaned and chopped
6 celery stalks, cleaned and chopped
1 onion, diced
1 garlic clove, minced
olive oil
pinch of salt
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
(instead of salt and pepper, I sometimes substitute 1 tsp of Montreal chicken seasoning)

2 cans of diced tomatoes
1 32 oz. box of chicken or vegetable broth
2 cans of beans (black, kidney, or cannellini), drained and rinsed
2 cups water
1 cup brown rice (you can use white rice, but brown rice is more nutrient rich and your family will never know!)
shredded cheddar or monterrey jack cheese

For all cooking methods:
1. Drizzle olive oil into the pot and allow it to heat on medium. When you smell the olive oil, it's ready.
2. Add the onion and garlic and cook for a minute or so.
3. Add half the carrot and celery and cook for about ten minutes so it can begin to soften.
4. Add the rest of the carrots and celery and the seasoning. Stir.

** At this point, if you want to use the crock pot, dump the carrot/celery mixture and the rest of the ingredients into the crockpot and simmer on low, at least four hours. If you'll be cooking it longer, you may want to add an additional cup of water to the soup. **

5. Immediately add the tomatoes and broth, turning the heat to high.
6. As soon as it starts to boil, add the rice and bring it back to a boil.
7. Once it starts to boil, turn the heat to low and stir in the remaining ingredients.
8. Cover and simmer at least 30 minutes to allow rice to cook fully. It can simmer longer, though you may have to add water, 1/2 cup for every 1/2 hour.

9. To serve, top each bowl with shredded cheese.