Beef Vegetable Soup

With cool weather moving in, time to warm up with

some Beef Vegetable Soup.

This recipe is EASY

and is a winter staple at our house.

Beef Vegetable Soup

2 lbs. quality beef

1  28 oz. can stewed tomatoes

2 cans Veg-all (find with canned vegetables)

Leftover veggies (explained below)

2  32 oz. cartons beef broth

Heaping Tbs. minced garlic

1 tsp. dried basil leaves

1 tsp. dried parsley flakes

dried spaghetti (You can use any kind

of noodle, but we prefer spaghetti)

I always check out my grocery store newspaper ad

for sales on good quality beef.

My favorite for this soup is sirloin. I buy two nice steaks when they're on sale

and store some in the freezer.

The better the meat quality, the better the soup.

Start by trimming fat from the beef

and cutting into bite-sized pieces.

In a stock pot, heat a bit of olive oil over med/high heat.

Brown the beef.

When I worked, I browned the meat in a large fry pan in the morning,

then cooked the soup in my large crock pot.

First, spray the crock pot with cooking spray.

Place browned meat in the pot

and add all the ingredients except the spaghetti.

Cook on low while you're at work all day.

When you return home, break spaghetti into 1 to 2 inch pieces.

Cook according to package directions and

add to soup before serving.

If I made this soup on weekends when I had more time,

I preferred the stove top method.

Once beef is browned, add enough

beef broth to the stock pot to cover the beef (about 1 1/2 inches)

and add a large spoonful of minced garlic.

This will flavor the meat.

Bring to a boil, then lower heat and

simmer for about 15 minutes.

While the meat simmers,

puree the stewed tomatoes in your food processor

or blender...

Until smooth, like this:

I liked to use up leftover veggies

I cooked for dinners during the week.

I would keep the leftovers together in one bowl in the fridge.

Run a knife through them.

They are easy to cut up since they're already cooked.

This adds nutrition and flavor and you won't waste food.

Once the meat has simmered about 15 minutes,

add the 2 cans of Veg-all including the liquid.

I LOVE this product!

It contains a large variety of veggies

including corn and potatoes and

I didn't have to cut it all up.

Add the pureed stewed tomatoes.

Add what's left of the 2 cartons of beef broth.

Raise heat to bring soup to a boil.

Once it boils, lower heat to low

and simmer for about 45 minutes or

until veggies are soft.

Add the spaghetti and

the basil and parsley.

cook an additional 10 minutes.

Do not boil herbs for a long time or they get bitter.

You can add salt to your own taste.

I find I don't need to add much because of the stewed tomatoes.

If you're trying to avoid salt, you don't need any at all.

I often made this on the weekend

and brought it to work for lunch all week.

This soup is a hearty, nutritious lunch or dinner!