Vegetable Beef Soup

The smell of vegetable soup simmering on the stove is my way of welcoming in fall. This is the time of year when everyone is getting ready for the upcoming holidays. Families are busy with after school activities. Cold and flu start creeping there way into our homes. Life just seems to become a little chaotic for whatever reason.

This recipe makes a large pot of soup. It’s packed full of nutrition. Be prepared to have lots of leftovers, unless you made this for a crowd. The leftovers is why I make such a large pot. It’s so good to heat up the next day. I like to freeze leftovers. This is a fast easy alternative to fast food on those chaotic days. Do you have a friend or coworker who doesn’t cook? Or maybe you have a family member or neighbor who lives alone or isn’t feeling well. Ladle some of this soup into a mason jar and attach a note. It makes for a welcoming heartfelt gift and looks pretty too.

This recipe is versatile also. You don’t eat meat, omit it and use vegetable stock instead. My daughter, Andrea, doesn’t like peas so I replaced peas with great northern beans. My daughter, Emily, doesn’t like corn mixed in with things, so when we share with her I omit the corn.
Give this recipe a try and fill your house with an aroma sure to please.

Recipe

1 1/2 pound of beef stew meat
2 32oz beef broth
2 cups water
1 28 oz can tomatoes
1 15 oz can corn
1 15 oz can green beans
1 15 oz can great northern beans
1 large onion roughly chopped
2 stalks of celery roughly chopped
1 cup of roughly chopped carrot
2 medium potatoes peeled and cubed
1 medium head of roughly chopped cabbage
3 beef bouillon cubes
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp Lawry’s season salt
salt and pepper to taste

In a large stock pot brown beef stew meat on medium to high heat. In my pictures below you’ll see I changed pots while adding ingredients. This was because I thought I could fit it all into my everyday pot instead of my big mama jama pot. I was wrong. Pour beef stock and water over browned meat and stir, scraping the meat dripping from the bottom . Next, add the canned tomatoes. Drain the liquid off the can of corn, green beans and great northern beans and add to pot. Peel, wash and roughly chop onion, celery, carrot, potatoes, cabbage and add to pot. Add seasonings and stir. Continue to cook on medium to high heat until soup comes to a full boil. Reduce heat to a slow simmer and cook for at least 3 hrs with lid on. Lift lid occasionally and stir so nothing sticks to the bottom. Serve hot. Enjoy.