Barb's Hearty Beef and Vegetable Soup

Name: Barb's Hearty Beef and Vegetable Soup
Prep time: 45 min
Cook time: 3 h
Total time: 3 h 45 min
Yield: 8-10 serving(s)
Ingredients: 2 lbs stew meat, cubed; 1 large onion, chopped; 2 bay leaves; 1 tablespoon beef base (such as McCormick); 5 -6 cups water (more water if needed}); 2 (14 1/2 ounce) cans tomatoes, chopped; 1 stalk celery, diced; 1 1/2 cups potatoes, diced; 1 cup diced carrot; 1 cup green beans, 1 inch long; 1/2 cup peas, frozen; 1/2 cup corn, frozen; 1 cup zucchini, sliced (may use other squash); 2 cups cabbage, chopped; 1 teaspoon dried basil; 1/3 cup orzo pasta or 1/3 cup other small shell pasta; salt and pepper

Submitted by Barb G.

"I have been making this hearty soup for as long as I have been cooking. My mom and my grandmother always made soup like this,it does take time but worth it. My family loves this soup & looks forward to coming to dinner when I say, I'm making soup. It is loaded with vegetables. A great to use left over vegetables."

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photo by Julia Lynn

Ready In:: 3hrs 45mins
Ingredients:: 17
Serves:: 8-10

ingredients

2 lbs stew meat, cubed
1 large onion, chopped
2 bay leaves
1 tablespoon beef base (such as McCormick)
5 -6 cups water (more water if needed})
2 (14 1/2 ounce) cans tomatoes, chopped
1 stalk celery, diced
1 ¹⁄₂ cups potatoes, diced
1 cup diced carrot
1 cup green beans, 1 inch long
¹⁄₂ cup peas, frozen
¹⁄₂ cup corn, frozen
1 cup zucchini, sliced (may use other squash)
2 cups cabbage, chopped
1 teaspoon dried basil
¹⁄₃ cup orzo pasta or 1/3 cup other small shell pasta
salt and pepper

directions

Brown stew meat in a large stew pot sprayed with cooking spray; add the chopped onion, bay leaves and the water; cook until meat is tender.
Add celery, carrots, potatoes, and cook until just tender.
Add canned tomatoes, green beans, peas, corn, squash, cabbage, basil, salt and pepper to taste.
Let simmer( just bubble) 45 to 55 minutes so that flavors can blend.
Add pasta and cook until pasta is tender, taste & adjust spices.
Serve with your farorite cornbread or crusty bread, enjoy.

Questions & Replies

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Reviews

This was fantastic soup! Instead of noodles, I added barley. I soaked about 1 1/2 cups barley in a bowl of water. That way they would be plumped up from water & not all the yummy stock. When i added the barley, it prevented the barley from turning into a mushy mess. LOVED IT!!! My kids ate every single veggie loaded into the soup without any complaints-delicious! 04/30/10 (update) I LOVE this recipe! Made it for the Crockpot - just fried the meat ahead of time. Threw it all together, cooked on Low for 8 hours & it was perfect!!!! Also, i only had 1 can of tomatoes, so this time I topped it up w/ tomatoe juice....turned out fantastic again!!!! LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this recipe!

um-um-good
Barb, this soup is so tasty! Even though it's 100 degrees outside, I was craving some vegetable soup. Used lean ground beef in place of stew meat and used up some frozen brussels sprouts, asparagus and yellow squash I had in the freezer in addition to the other veggies (except left out the celery since I didn't have it). I made a half recipe and added thyme. So delicious!! I thought the 1/2 recipe would serve more than 4-5, but after 2 large bowls for supper tonight, I think serving size is right! : )

StacyMD187373
This was amazing, Barb Gertz, and out of such beautifully simple ingredients! I used meaty beef bones and liberally sprinkled them with kosher salt while browning. I omitted the green beans and cabbage. I used little star pasta and added a little extra peas and corn. So awesome!!!

lolablitz
excellent! It is hard to find a good soup with the perfect proportion of starch and veggies! I added an extra cup or two of water. Next time I think I would throw in some thyme, too.

cathyinhawaii
This soup is heart warmingly delicious. I used leftover roasted green beans and leftover roasted potatoes. I added the potatoes in step 3 since they didn't need to really cook and soften like a raw potato would. I ended up adding a total of 9 cups of water in the end and probably could have used more b/c so much of the yummy broth evaporated!! I was just nervous I would water it down. I used the orzo, but next time I will probably skip it because it would still be wonderful without it! You couldnt even really tell it was in the soup. Thanks for a wonderful recipe I hope to use for years to come, Barb.

Julia Lynn

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Tweaks

Barb, this soup is so tasty! Even though it's 100 degrees outside, I was craving some vegetable soup. Used lean ground beef in place of stew meat and used up some frozen brussels sprouts, asparagus and yellow squash I had in the freezer in addition to the other veggies (except left out the celery since I didn't have it). I made a half recipe and added thyme. So delicious!! I thought the 1/2 recipe would serve more than 4-5, but after 2 large bowls for supper tonight, I think serving size is right! : )

StacyMD187373