i made this shit from scratch. no premade broth, no boxed mixes. fresh veggies. yeah, the beans were canned, and i used a few frozen things toward the end, but it was almost all fresh. and it was delish. kitchen sink minestrone.
mirepoix (more or less, + garlic)
+ tomato sauce, then browned in oven
then stewed in water with spices (sage, basil, italian blend) for a good 45 minutes, then strained = vegetable stock!
starting some wild rice (i ended up not using the rice cooker because it was way too much for that little baby thing)
celery and heirloom tomatoes (look how richly colored and beautiful they are, mmm so succulent. anyone that doesn't like tomatoes needs to try heirloom variety tomatoes.)
not quite as pretty, some canned kidney beans.