Hamburger Soup

This hamburger soup is quickly becoming one of my favorites. It is hearty, filling, and has a great flavor! Don't be thrown off by the name though. This hamburger soup contains no mustard, ketchup, or any other bizarre combination of condiments. 

Ingredients:

(serves 4-6)

1 lb. lean ground beef

1 cup diced onion

3/4 cup diced carrots 

3/4 cup diced red bell pepper

4 - 5 cloves of garlic, minced

1 cup sliced okra

4 cups chicken broth

1 (15oz) can diced tomatoes

2 bay leaves

2 Tablespoons worcestershire sauce

1 tsp. dried oregano

1/2 tsp. garlic powder

1/2 tsp. paprika

1/2 tsp. kosher salt

1/4 tsp. fresh cracked pepper

Optional: 1 cup chopped cabbage, 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes, and/or 3/4 cup green beans.

The best way to begin this recipe is to get all the prep work out of the way. Believe me this will make it smooth sailing when you start cooking. Dice your onion, carrots, red bell pepper, and garlic. Heat a large stock pot over medium heat. Combine diced vegetables, ground beef, garlic powder, paprika, salt, pepper, oregano, and worcestershire sauce in the stock pot. 

Cook the beef until it is browned, breaking it up with a wooden spoon as it cooks. 

Once the meat is browned and the vegetables are sautéed, about 5 - 7 minutes, add the rest of the ingredients to the stock pot (2 bay leaves, chicken broth, 15 oz can of tomatoes, and 1 cup sliced okra).

Stir ingredients in stock pot together and bring to a simmer. Turn heat down to low, cover with lid, and simmer soup for 1 to 2 hours (stirring occasionally). Once soup has cooked down is combined, remove pot from heat and serve. Enjoy!

'Till next time,

Caroline

Vegetable Soup

Over the years, many have inquired about my vegetable soup recipe. The only problem is I don't actually have a recipe. The good news is you can't hardly mess up this soup.

I love vegetable soup. It's probably up there in my top five and here is why: it's incredibly healthy, it's rich in color and taste and it reminds me of home and family. I think there is a nostalgia to vegetable soup. It's timeless and suitable for almost any occasion.

The best thing about vegetable soup: it's an organic process. Ever-evolving. If you don't like a vegetable or it's out of season just eliminate it and try something else. 

Ingredients:
Obviously, fresh is always best, then frozen, then canned. I'm going to write this recipe for exactly what I used this Souper Sunday.

Carrots (1 bag of mini-carrots)
Green pepper (1)
Yellow onion (1)
Potatoes (3 baking size Idaho potatoes)
Garlic (4 cloves)
Celery (5-6 stalks)
Okra (1 package frozen)
Green beans (1 package frozen)
Lima beans (1 package frozen)
Black eyed peas (1 package frozen)
Corn (4 stalks of fresh corn and 1/2 package of frozen corn)
Diced tomatoes (1 can)
1 can of chicken broth
1 can of beef broth
2 bottles of V8 juice ( I bought a bottle of low-sodium and 1 bottle of spicy) You will find the container of V8 in the juice section.



Warning: This makes ALOT of soup so depending on the size of your pot, you may want to put the ingredients in evenly in case you can't use everything or you could always do two pots. This freezes very well so I always make up a ton or eat off of it all week.

Chop up your carrots, celery and potatoes. I chopped my garlic, onions and bellpepper in my food processor. 

Remove your corn from the cob. Saute onions and garlic in olive oil until translucent. Add in chicken broth and the bottle of V8-low sodium. Bring to a boil and add your potatoes, celery, carrots and corn. Slow boil for about 15 minutes. You can then add in everything else except the okra.  If the okra cooks too long it falls apart. At this point, you can add in the V8-spicy (3/4 a bottle), your beef broth and water depending on how thick you like your soup.

Let your soup simmer (not boil). Stir occasionally and add okra about 30 minutes before you are ready to eat it. I usually add salt at this time too. I do not put a lot. If you usually salt everything then I would suggest that you not add it at all and just add it to your individual serving. Also, add pepper the last 10 minutes or so. I LOVE pepper so I add even more pepper in my serving but pepper really makes this soup come together if you ask me. I also add a pinch of sugar. This is my secret weapon for almost every soup.

A nice glass of sweet tea felt the most suitable for this Sunday afternoon. Oh and by the way, a shout-out to my alma mater is a must. ROLL TIDE! 

This soup is good enough to eat completely by itself but I also like it with saltines or cornbread. It's a very healthy soup as you can see and I love using V8 juice because you are getting so many more nutrients beyond what is in the ingredient list. I hope you enjoy as much as I do.

'Till next time,
Natalie