Lana Robison PhotographyIt’s Soup Again…
I love soup if you haven’t figured that out yet! It’s a meal all in one bowl – warm and yummy for the tummy! This time I made a huge batch of vegetable beef soup. I froze it in small batches to have throughout the winter. Now, on the days when I go to the gym, supper is ready when I get home!
I’m a bargain shopper at the grocery and the day I went they had this really nice bottom round pot roast on special. Immediately I thought about vegetable soup! I checked in the fozen foods aisle and they also had frozen veggies on special. Eight delicious dinners cost less than $25! That’s about $3 a meal for both me and my husband.
Like most of the recipes I make, this one you can change up and add whatever you have on hand. Quantities don’t matter, just add in whatever sounds good that day! The only veggies I would stay away from for this recipe is broccoli and cauliflower, anything like that, but go for the beans, peas, root vegetables, corn, okra.
Full of good-for-you veggies this soup is so easy to make! You just brown some cubed meat, add whatever vegetables you like, a little seasoning, and you have a hot, delicious meal in a bowl!
Open bags of frozen vegetables (or use canned ones) and add to the pot. This recipe could be made vegetarian, just leave out the meat and substitute the beef broth for tomato juice and water.
I love the color in this soup! All those bright green pieces of okra and green beans, golden corn, red tomatoes…YUM!
I happened to have some fresh herbs in the fridge, so I added some springs of rosemary and thyme. I usually use dried seasonings because I don’t usually have fresh around, but oh, my, those fresh ones added so much flavor! I may have to make sure I keep some on hand from now on.
I ladled the cooled soup into zip lock bags and placed the in the freezer for those cold, winter nights when a bowl of hot vegetable beef soup will hit the spot!
The recipe for this one is really hard to pin down because it’s one of those that you add a little of this and a little of that. The measurements and amounts really don’t have to be exact, just put in what you have on hand and season to your taste. My daughter hates these kind of recipes of mine because she wants to know exactly how much of everything goes in. Just experiment – you can’t go wrong with this one!
BEEF VEGETABLE SOUP
About 1-2 lbs cubed beef roast (this depends on how much beef you have)
1-2 tablespoons oil
1 onion chopped
2 stalks celery chopped
2 cloves garlic chopped
Your favorite frozen or canned vegetables (I used 1 package each of Lima beans, green beans, black eyed peas, corn, cut okra, & 1/2 bag of carrots.)
1 can diced tomatoes
2-3 potatoes cubed
2-3 beef bouillon cubes & 2-3 cups water or use beef broth
Seasonings to taste: salt, pepper, basil, oregano, bay leaves, rosemary, & thyme.
In a dutch oven add pour 1-2 tablespoons oil. Add beef cubes and brown. Add onions and celery. Season the beef mixture and then pour in broth and tomatoes and stir to deglaze the pan scraping up the little browned bits on the bottom. Cook for about 30 minutes. Add the vegetables (use the vegetables your family likes best). Cook until the vegetables are almost done and then add cubed potatoes and cook until tender. Serve with some toasted artisan bread or hot cornbread!
Lana Robison Photography 