Thursday, October 11, 2012

New Comfort Food!


{Tasty Thursday | Beef and Vegetable Soup}
Recipes, Tips, and Inspiration from my kitchen to yours.



I'm really excited to share today's post with everyone! This is by far my favorite fall meal this year, and quite possibly my favorite thing to come out of my crock pot. Now, if I'm being honest with my readers, beef vegetable soup is generally not my favorite soup. It's not really one of the soups I'd even consider eating if given a menu full of soup options. But for some odd reason, I was hungry for a hearty, beefy, healthy soup last weekend when the weather turned .... well, downright chilly .... and friends, I think I found a new comfort food.

So, what started out as an experiment with my 2 quart crock pot for two people turned into a happily full 6 quart crock pot with enough meals for half a week. Perfect. (Isn't that always what seems to happen? I know in my kitchen, it happens more often than I'm willing to admit.)

A perfect meal for a chilly, dreary fall day!
Things I love about this soup: It used up lots of leftover vegetables. It's totally customizable to what you have on hand and like. (Trust me, it'll taste good no matter what combination of vegetables you throw in!) It's no-fuss cooking. Throw everything in the crock pot, turn it on, and go about the rest of your day. Come supper time, voila! :)

Biblio Bleez's Beef and Vegetable Soup

1/2 pound ground beef, browned with onion and drained
4 stalks celery, chopped
4 medium sized carrots, peeled and chopped
2-3 medium sized potatoes, cut into quarters
1 c. green beans, cut (could use 1 can green beans instead)
1 can great northern beans, undrained
1 can corn, mostly drained
1 can diced tomatoes, undrained
1 can beef broth
1 can water (to dilute the beef broth)
2 T. Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp. soy sauce
1 1/2 T. oregano
3/4 T. basil
1/2 T. parsley
1 tsp. bay leaf, crushed

Brown ground beef with onion and drain. Set aside. Chop, slice, and dice vegetables to liking, put in crock pot. Pour beef broth over vegetables, plus one can water. Add undrained tomatoes with juice, beans and juice, and corn (with juice if needed). Add ground beef and carefully stir all ingredients to combine. Add spices, stir again to combine, taste and adjust flavors as necessary. Cook on LOW for 6-8 hours, or HIGH for 3-4 hours, stirring occasionally. Soup is ready when vegetables are soft and tender, but leaving it on longer helps the flavors meld even more. Tastes good both the same day and as leftovers.

Serve with warm Italian bread. (But really, any sort of rolls, biscuits, or bread would do.)

This is pretty much a no-fail recipe. All the liquid prevents anything from burning, so there's minimal scraping when the crock pot's empty. It tastes good with the canned vegetables I added, but let's be real. It would be fantastic with all fresh vegetables! And probably healthier, too. :) I was also skeptical about the beans, but I think they added something to the soup without being overly noticeable. And for this type of a soup, I preferred the great northern over pinto or black beans. There's one more bowl left in the fridge.... I know what I'm having for lunch!
I'm especially proud of my clean table, and the fact that it's fall-themed. And my cactus in the window. :)
What are your go-to fall crock pot recipes? Have you tried anything new lately?

3 comments:

  1. umm... this looks DELICIOUS! This WILL be done soon! I'm going to write this down in my recipe box for sure. Thank you for posting this recipe!

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    Replies
    1. :) When you do write it down, don't forget to include the Worcestershire sauce and the soy sauce. I forgot to put them in the recipe when I typed it up last night, so I just added them. Sorry!

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  2. Yay for fall and yay for crock pots! I usually use stew meat/cubed steak for meals like this, but I love the flexibility of using ground beef! I know my hubby would love this.

    In my crock pot right now I have mac and cheese! First time recipe, so I'm a bit nervous. If it works, my life just got a ton easier. I sure love my slow cooker! :-)

    Also, super cute fall decor!!

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