Beef Vegetable Soup

Every fall and winter my mom makes all kinds of soup and chili. Now that I'm married it's my turn to try and learn all of my mom's amazing recipes my self. If I had been smart I would have learned from her last year. Alas, I am learning on my own in my kitchen. At least mom is only a phone call away, right?

One of my favorites has always been her Beef Vegetable Soup. She used to make big batches of it when I was home during college and then deep freeze it so I could take some back with me. Let's just say I became pretty popular whenever I would return to school with my loot. Well, it was really cold here last week so I got into full on "soup mode." I bugged my mom for her recipe all week and tackled it my self on Sunday.

Here we go!

Vegetable Beef Soup

Ingredients

2 tablespoons of butter

3 pounds chuck roast

2 teaspoons salt

1 teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper

1 large yellow onion, peeled and chopped

2 bay leaves

2 large sprigs each fresh parsley, thyme and oregano (chopped), when available (dried, otherwise)

10 cups water

2 cups canned tomato puree

3 large celery stalks, peeled and diced

3 to 4 large carrots, peeled and diced

3 medium turnips, peeled and diced**

3 medium parsnips, peeled and diced**

2 medium potatoes, peeled and diced

½ small green cabbage, cored and thinly sliced into 1-inch-long strips (about 3 cups)

Melt butter in a large, heavy soup pot over medium-low heat. Add beef. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Scatter onion evenly over top. Add bay leaves and chopped herbs. Cover tightly. Reduce heat to low; simmer about 2 hours.

Add water and tomato puree; increase heat to medium and return to a simmer, skimming off any scum that rises. Add celery, carrots, turnips, parsnips and cabbage. Return to a simmer and cook, over medium-low heat, until meat and vegetables are very tender, about 2 hours.

Remove meat and cool slightly. Cut into bite-size pieces. Add back to soup. Skim off any excess fat from top of broth.

** I don’t use these two vegetables. I usually add lima beans, green beans and black-eyed peas (frozen). Add whichever vegetables you like. You MUST, however, use the cabbage. It disappears as it thickens the soup.

Enjoy with a grilled cheese! :)