When I was a child, I loved when we would have Campbell’s Alphabet soup. It was lots of fun. We rarely had it, so it was a treat for us.

My children think it’s fun, too. Campbell’s version is too pricy for my family, and I’d need several cans to have enough for us. I make my own with the items that I regularly stock in my pantry.

 

Combine all items in a medium saucepan. If using fresh carrots, do not add pasta until the carrots are soft. If using dried carrots, you can put everything in at once.

Cook over medium heat for about 20 minutes, until carrots and pasta are cooked through. Though the alphabet pasta is small, it takes a surprisingly long time to cook.

Notes: I buy my corn and green beans at case-lot sales at Smith’s. Sometimes I can get them for even less buying them on sale with coupons around Thanksgiving.

I get the beef base and dried onions from Sam’s Club. Beef Base is a thick beef bullion paste that must be refrigerated after opening. You can also find it at Smart N Final. It is very salty, so do not add salt to your soup!

The alphabet pasta is from Walmart. You’ll find it by the Hispanic foods, above the chicken bullion at my Walmart. If you are living from your pantry and don’t have this, feel free to substitute any small pasta that you have. You can even break up spaghetti into tiny pieces.

My carrots come from my garden, or from Winco.