This week's edition of "Freezer and Pantry" soup turned out really divine. Amazing, since I literally threw everything in the crock pot five minutes before I ran out the door for work.

- 1/2 head (is that the right word?) celery, chopped
- 4 lg carrots, chopped
- 1 quart sized bag frozen corn
- 1 pint jar homemade salsa - spicy
- 1 large handful (maybe a cup?) dried red kidney beans
- loads of mexican seasoning mix
- sea salt, dried oregano, dried basil
- veggie stock (as usual, made from the skins/ends/innards of all the veggies I froze or ate this summer)

Toss in crockpot set on high and ignore for 8-10 hours. Serve with a bit of homemade sour cream, and tortilla chips or breadsticks or cornbread. Divine.

Oh, i always forget to mention this, but i think it makes a huge difference. Anytime I do a veggie/bean soup, at the end, I use my stick blender to sort of half-puree some of the beans/veggies. It doesn't really change the flavor, of course, but adds a creamy texture that I really really like.