Recipes Discovered

Vegetable Beef Soup Recipe

With all the fresh garden vegetables we have, soup seemed to be a good solution to using them up. This is my mom’s vegetable beef soup recipe. It takes a bit of time, but it’s worth it.

Start by searing either chuck roast or broil over high heat in an 8 quart pot. Chuck roast has a little bit more flavor (more marbling), but I can’t always find it at the grocery store. Once the meat was browned on both sides, I add lots of tomatoes and onions. Canned tomatoes work well in the winter, but since we have hundreds of tomatoes in the garden, I used fresh. To peel the tomatoes, I added tomatoes to boiling water just for a second and then drained them. The skin just peeled right off. I allowed that to simmer for about 2 1/2 hours before adding celery. A half hour after I added the celery, I removed the meat and added carrots, potatoes, and cabbage. When the meat was cool enough to handle, I shredded it apart and added it back to the soup along with fresh corn cut from the cob, peas, and string beans. I let the soup simmer for about an hour before checking for seasoning. I added 4 cups of beef broth and about a 1/4 cup of fresh parsley, and let the soup simmer another hour. Since we all like it seasoned differently, I didn’t add any salt or pepper, but I put it on the table with the soup.

This soup is good at any time. In the winter, it’s a warm comfort food. In the summer, it’s a fresh, healthy meal. It’s also a nice dish to take to someone who needs a little pick-me-up.