Hearty Experimental Vegetable Beef Soup =)

So, as you've probably figured out by now; everything on this website started out as an an experiment that turned out well enough for me to want to share it with all of you. ( No, don't worry, I won't share the ones that did not turn out. ;) But this one was one was my experimenting, rather kind of on a whim. One day, I really just wanted beef vegetable soup... with... LOTS and lots of vegetables. SO! Here it is. And it's hearty with lots of vegetables as promised. It is especially nice for a somewhat chilly day. ( I seem to be on a soup posting phase..lol. I'll blame it on the cold weather we've been having. ^_^ )

Hearty Experimental Vegetable Beef Soup

1 large Onion ( diced)

3-4 Medium carrots ( pealed & diced)

3 stalks celery ( diced)

Aprox 2 ½ cups cabbage ( shredded)

1 medium turnip

1 medium rutabaga

2 small potatoes ( two more small potatoes could be substituted for turnip and rutabaga)

5 cups beef broth

[ As a note; (And I'll probably comment on this later,but, ) IF you are using commercial beef broth be sure to double check the labels. Most of them contain soy ( either lecithin or protein) Milk ( as natural flavoring) garlic... or even gluten ( masquerading under the amazingly un-suspicious name of “modified food starch.” It IS possible to find them without these things, but it takes some searching.) I usually just make my own broth at home and freeze or can it for convenient use later.]

1 16 oz can tomatoes ( not drained)

1 medium/small zucchini

1 medium/small summer squash

¾ cup wilted ( or frozen) spinach ( opt)

2 1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp parsley flakes

½ tsp pepper

½ tsp onion powder

1 16 oz can pre-cooked beef

In large kettle, put in onion, carrots, celery, and broth, bring to simmer, cook 5-10 minutes.

Put in cabbage, tomatoes, turnips/potatoes, salt, pepper, parsley and onion powder. Cook 15 minutes.

Then add zucchini, summer squash and spinach.

Cover and cook another 5-10 minutes or until all vegetables are tender.

Add beef and cook 5 minutes longer.

Serve! =)

If you reeeeeeeeally like you can take the extra time and effort to saute` the carrots, celery and onion. But imho this just adds an extra step and doesn't really make that much of a difference flavor wise. X)

Options:

2 cloves minced garlic ( can be added with the tomatoes)

Another potential is to add 2 cups of frozen green beans with the carrots and onions. ( You may want to add just a little bit more broth ( or even a little water) if you do this though; just to keep the vegetables moist while they're cooking.)