This easy vegetable soup lives up to its promise

It’s the soup I make when I need to relax before the holidays. 🍲 [Today On The Spruce]( [The Spruce Daily]( [Today On The Spruce]( [Today On The Spruce] [Lemon Heading Photo]( [An Easy Vegetable Soup That Lives Up to Its Promise]( [Heather Ramsdell]( In between helping my kid apply to a bunch of high schools and [spiffing up our holiday recipes](, this week has been exhausting. So I’m using today to relax with this [homey vegetable soup]( that reminds me so much of Sunday nights with my mom. Not only is it painfully easy, but it’s flexible enough to clear your fridge of its odds and ends before the wine bottles and logs of cookie dough take over. Don’t have any tomatoes? Cut back on them—that’s what soup is for. You could also add a pinch of cumin if you’d like a Southwestern slant, while a parm rind and some pasta will get you halfway to a minestrone that’ll feed you all week long. Our [deliciously tender pot roast]( follows the same idea: It’s a simple, big batch dinner you can make on autopilot, but eating it feels like putting on a fleece blanket when your December calendar becomes too overwhelming. Put it on the table with [these roasted Brussels sprouts](, which come out perfectly crunchy on the outside and meltingly sweet on the inside every time, even when I’m too lazy to actually peel them. Just douse them in oil or a little bacon fat, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and away they go. I’m also gearing up for my annual Christmas open house tonight, where you can bet a few of these [party-friendly appetizers]( will make an appearance—namely, the ridiculous spinach dip Christmas tree and pecan-crusted cheese ball that I’ll both surround with a huge wreath of crudite. (Secretly, everyone wants to eat raw vegetables at a party. I know this because holiday eating can feel like a never-ending fountain of fondue and that wreath is always gone by the end of the night.) But before I send everyone away [with a few homemade edible gifts](, they have to make room for dessert in the form of [bite-size pecan pie bars](. If you’re having a cookie swap this year, I promise these will be the most sought-after items. -Heather Ramsdell Editorial Director, The Spruce Eats (Oh, and by the way—if you ever need help with our recipes (or would just like to say hi) feel free to leave us a comment on our recipes. We’d love to hear from you!) [READ MORE]( [Today On The Spruce](#) Recipes We Love [Sugar]( [Our 5-Step Guide for Perfectly Roasted Brussels Sprouts]( [A Pot Roast That’s as Comforting as It Gets]( [Sugar]( [Get the Party Started With These 30 Festive Appetizers]( [These Pecan Pie Bars Will Be King of the Cookie Swap]( [Today On The Spruce](#) Kitchen Essentials [Heading Living Room]( [15 Handmade Edible Gifts Everyone Will Love]( [READ MORE]( [Today On The Spruce]( [Spruce Eats Banner]( [Today On The Spruce](#) More From The Spruce [This Rich and Creamy Chocolate Flan Is a Chocoholic's Dream]( [Prep 3 Delicious Meals from Your Thanksgiving Turkey]( [Mango Pudding Heavenly (Lactose-free)]( [Trending Topics](#) [Dinner Ideas]( [Healthy Mains]( [Breakfast Casseroles]( [Seasonal Produce]( [Fall Brunch]( [Kid-Friendly Recipes]( Did somebody forward you this email? [Sign Up for The Spruce Eats Newsletter!]( [The Spruce]( [The Spruce]( [The Spruce]( [The Spruce]( You are receiving this newsletter because you subscribed to The Spruce Eats newsletter. [Unsubscribe](page=spruce) © 2019 Dotdash.com — All rights reserved. [Privacy Policy.]( A DOTDASH BRAND 1500 Broadway, 6th Floor, New York, NY, 10036