Lots of Snow and Veggie Soup

The snow keeps coming down and I don't think it will stop soon. It will quit for a couple hours but then it starts again. They say this will happen for most of this week! I am definitely not a snow girl. I get cold fairly easily and would rather not go outside to brave the weather!

I was happy that veggie soup was on my menu for this week. Vegetable soup is kind of a personal soup. You can never make it exactly the same everytime and everyone has different preferences as to what makes vegetable soup good. Some people enjoy the broth based soup with big chunks of vegables and others like to take can of vegatables, juice and all, and dump them in a pan with a little bouillon and pasta. I like a tomato base soup that is hearty and spicy with lots of vegatables and meat. My Grandma used V8 juice in her soup so I never make vegatable soup without adding a couple of cups. We also like it spicy so I added a little over a teaspoon of red pepper flakes. My husband said it could have used more, but it had a nice kick that was enjoyable.

This recipe makes plenty, we had it for dinner, I had some for lunch today, and I was able to put 2 quart size bags in the freezer! Sometimes I double the recipe and use my stock pot. The recipe below fit in my 6 qt cast iron dutch oven. It was YUMMY! I hope you like my vegatble soup version!

Vegatable Soup

2 lbs stew meat
2 tsp Italian Seasoning
1 large onion, diced
2 stalks celery, diced
2 Tbsp Worchestershire Sauce
1 tsp Garlic Powder
2 tsp Seasoning Salt
2 tsp pepper
32 oz Beef Broth
14 oz canned Corn, drained
15 oz canned Cut Green Beans, drained
15 oz Petite Diced tomatoes (I used the ones with Green Chilis)
8 oz canned Lima Beans, drained
15 oz canned Peas and Carrots, drained
2 cups V8 Juice
2 cups potatoes, diced
Red Pepper Flakes or Hot Sauce to suit your taste, optional

In a heavy botton pan place a little olive oil, meat, Italian Seasoning, onion, celery, Worchestershire Sauce, Garlic Powder, Seasoning Salt, and pepper. Cook until onion and celery are tender and meat is browned. Add broth, canned vegatables and V8 Juice. If you choose to spice up the soup, you can add Red Pepper Flakes or Hot Sauce at this time. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat. Simmer covered for about 2 - 3 hours. Add potatoes about one hour before serving.

Print Recipe