Lentil Vegetable Soup

1 large onion, chopped (about 1 cup)
2 tsp chili powder
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 tsp salt
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 can (6 oz) spicy tomato juice
1 cup dried lentils
3 cups water
1 can (14.5 oz) whole tomatoes, undrained
1 can (4 oz) chopped green chilies, undrained
1 cup fresh or frozen whole kernel corn
2 small zucchini, cut into julienne strips (about 2 cups)

~Heat onion, chili powder, cumin, salt, garlic, and tomato juice to boiling in 3 quart saucepan; reduce heat. Cover and simmer 5 minutes. Stir in remaining ingredients except corn and zucchini. Heat to boiling; reduce heat. Cover and simmer 20 minutes. Stir in corn; cover and simmer 10 minutes. Stir in zucchini; cover and simmer about 5 minutes or until lentils and zucchini are tender.


For the tomato juice, I use a can of tomato juice found in the juice aisle. I usually use the whole can to make the soup less thick. I think its a 12 oz can.
I havent made it with the can of whole tomatoes. I just leave that out.
The chopped green chilies are in the Mexican food aisle at the store.
It's super yummy with fresh corn.
Sometimes I use zucchini and sometimes I dont so you can leave it out if you want.