January 21, 2011

The weather had been kind of icky so I decided to make some Vegetable Beef Soup.  It's a good hearty meal, but very good for you.

Hearty Beef and Vegetable Soup

2 tbsp vegetable oil

1 lb beef stew meat, cut into ½-inch cubes

1 cup finely chopped onion

2 garlic cloves, minced

14 ½ oz can whole tomatoes, drained, (juices reserved) and chopped

4 boiling potatoes cut into 1-inch cubes

2 cups cut okra*

1 c chopped celery

1 c sliced carrots

1 c pearl barley

1 cup shredded cabbage

2 bay leaves

1 tsp dried basil

5 ½ c canned beef broth

1 cup water

2 10oz packages frozen mixed vegetables

1 bag of baby Lima beans.

Chopped fresh parsley

Heat oil in heavy large dutch oven over medium-high heat.  Add beef and cook until brown stirring occasionally.  Add onion and garlic and sauté until tender. *At this point, I added some red wine to deglaze the bottom of the pot.  Adds a good rich flavor to the soup.  I use anywhere between 1/4 cup to 1/2 cup.  Stir in tomatoes with juices and all remaining ingredients except frozen vegetables and parsley.  Cover and simmer until meat is tender.**  Stir in frozen vegetables.  Cover and simmer until vegetables are tender.  Serve with warm bread or crackers.

*You can leave the okra out and be fine.  I usually don't add it, but my husband asked me to so I did this time.  

**You may need to add more beef broth as you cook.  I let the meat and fresh vegetables cook for at least two hours and then I cut the heat off.  If there is any fat sitting on top of the soup, you can skim it off.  My last batch didn't have a lot because my stew beef pieces were very lean.