I am reblogging this post because it is one of my favorite soup recipes.  Yesterday, I made it using venison from one of my husband’s recent hunting trips and no one knew the difference!

Everyone has their favorite soup recipe but with snowstorm Pax bearing down on us, I thought now would be a great time to share mine!  Soup is one of the first things I learned how to make when I was young…probably because you can literally do anything with it and it is so versatile.  Plus, a newbie cook always feels like they are doing something special when they are browning up onions and ground beef! (Love that smell!)

I eat this soup year round…as a matter of fact, if my husband is out of town, it is a must on my menu (except that I substitute one of his least favorite ingredients…ground turkey).  Gourmet?…not this soup!  Tasty?…very much so!  I use lots of shortcuts so I can whip this up quickly and I definitely change it up from time to time so feel free to experiment with your favorite veggies and spices!

Warning…this recipe makes A LOT!!

Frankie’s Beefy Vegetable Soup

Ingredients

• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 cup chopped onion
• 1 cup chopped celery
• 1 1/2 lbs. lean ground beef
• 1 tsp. ground mustard
• 1 tbsp. onion powder
• 1 tbsp. red pepper flakes
• 1 package of Knorr’s Vegetable Soup Mix
• 6 cups of water (for a hearty soup..more liquid if you like more broth)
• 2 -3 cans of diced tomatoes with juice (depends on how “tomatoey” you like it…I use my tomatoes I froze from my garden)
• 3 cups of V-8 juice (I use low-sodium Hot & Spicy V-8)
• 2 cups of chopped cabbage (I use Savoy Cabbage but Green Cabbage is fine..omit this is you plan on freezing some)
• 2 cups of frozen baby lima beans
• 2 cups of frozen white shoepeg corn
• 1 can of diced potatoes (yes, you can definitely use fresh..but I am doing the quick version 🙂
• 2 tbsp Worcestershire Sauce
• 3 tbsp dried parsley
• 1 tbsp garlic powder
• 2 -3 tbsp of hot sauce (optional)
• salt & pepper to taste

Directions

In a large Dutch oven, heat olive oil.  Add onions, celery, and red pepper flakes and saute until tender.  (I usually add a little salt here).  Add ground beef and brown until cooked through; drain well.

Add remaining ingredients, bring to a bowl, and then allow to simmer for at least 2 hours for the best flavor.  I usually let it simmer all day and this could easily be done in the crock pot after browning the beef. 

Now, dinner isn’t until 7 pm tonight but I can’t resist so here is my yummy lunch!  Enjoy!