The Best Vegetable Beef Soup Recipe From Grandma's Kitchen!

There is nothing better than a hearty bowl of vegetable beef soup on a cold winter night! Served with some lightly browned garlic bread, this inexpensive soup becomes comfort food. It warms you inside and out and leaves you wanting more. It can be made from fresh beef, usually chuck steak, or even leftover beef, which is my favorite way to make it.

This week, my 8 year old granddaughter was visiting. She and I love to cook together! She enjoyed making and eating this soup so much that it has become the first entry in a cookbook which she plans to sell when she is a 'grown-up'. She decided to write each good recipe we make together, keep them in a notebook and sell them when she gets older. What a great idea! Don't know how the selling part will go, but what a collection of memories she will have, provided I last long enough for her to fill a cookbook!

I think she loves cooking with me because I let her do the real work. She is only 8, but I let her cut vegetables (I have taught her how and she uses a knife suited to her size), peel carrots, pour and measure any ingredients that need to be measured, etc., so for her, cooking is real, not just the easy things we normally let our kids do in the kitchen. The only thing that she is not allowed to do yet is stand near the stove and do any type of stirring or frying. Still a little young for that!

This week I had made a large london broil. It was cooked rare, so the leftovers were perfect for vegetable beef soup. The recipe can be modified for fresh beef, using the same amount of beef that is uncooked.

Vegetable Beef Soup Recipe

• 4 tablespoons of canola oil
• 3 to 4 cups of beef, cut into bite-sized pieces
• 4 carrots, peeled and chopped
• 1/2 head of celery, chopped (we use the inside of the celery and include all of the leaves)
• 1 large onion, finely chopped
• 4 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
• 6 to 8 russet potatoes, peeled and chopped into bite-sized pieces
• 1 can of corn, drained
• 1 can of green beans, drained
• any other vegetables you have around that you want to add
• 1 quart box of beef broth (I use organic, low sodium with no additives)
• 1 large can of diced tomatoes
• enough water to fill an 8 quart stockpot
• 1 Tablespoon of salt
• 1 teaspoon of red pepper flakes
• 1/2 teaspoon of ground, black pepper

You will need an 8 quart stockpot for this soup and any leftovers can be frozen.

Heat the oil in the pot. Add the beef and brown on all sides. Next, add and sauté the onions. When they are tender, add the carrots, celery, garlic, salt and red pepper flakes. Sauté the vegetables for another 10 minutes. Stir in the beef broth and the can of tomatoes. Fill the pot to about 1 inch from the top with water and bring to a boil. Allow the soup to boil gently for 2 hours, with a lid tilted over the pot. Add the black pepper during this time. After the 2 hours is up, add the potatoes and allow to cook for an additional hour. During the last 10 minutes, add the corn and green beans. Test for any needed salt. Serve with toasted garlic bread.

Simple Garlic Toast Recipe

• 1 stick of butter
• 1/4 cup of olive oil
• 1 heaping teaspoon of garlic powder
• 2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
• 2 Tablespoons of grated parmesan cheese
• 4 to 6 large slices of sourdough bread, sliced into 2 inch wide strips (perfect for kids and they look a little bit like breadsticks)

Put the garlic, garlic powder, butter and oil into a microwave safe bowl. Microwave until the butter is melted and steaming. Stir in the parmesan cheese after the liquid comes out of the microwave. Place the strips of bread onto a cookie sheet and brush both sides with the butter mixture. Place into a 375 degree oven. After about 5 minutes, turn the bread. Return to the oven and bake about 5 more minutes. Remove and place on a paper towel-lined plate. Enjoy!

In the years that I have had children and now grandchildren, I have learned one thing, at least. When kids cook something, they want to eat it. My granddaughter loves this soup! Probably because she made it and was proud of the result. Her favorite part was the broth and the celery, but when she saw the small bowl that I served her, she immediately said, "Grandma, I think I need a big bowl of this!". I gave her a bigger bowl and she did not leave one bit of the soup in the bowl. Every vegetable was eaten! She also thoroughly enjoyed brushing the bread with the butter and oil mixture! She thought it was the best garlic toast she had ever had, again because she made it!