Simple Fare, Fairly Simple

Here's another recipe from childhood. Not my childhood but that of my kids. I would make this in the wintertime and for some weird reason...they would always eat it...veggies and all!  None of my kids are tomato lovers...but they ate this soup which has tomatoes IN it. Okay, okay...lots of time I would find tomatoes hidden under the couch cushions or in the azaleas but I like to delude myself into thinking I fed my kids healthy food once in a while, dad-burnit!! Anyway...if you're kids are good eaters, then they should enjoy this. And leftovers aren't bad, either!!

Vegetable Soup



1 pound ground beef
1 small onion – diced
1 clove garlic – minced
1 15-ounce can kidney beans
1 or 2 cans diced tomatoes
1 cup diced carrots
1 cup diced celery
3 – 4 cups water
5 beef bullion cubes
1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon pepper
½ cup rice

Drizzle a little olive oil in a hot skillet. Throw in the diced onion and garlic and sauté until just soft. Add ground beef and cook until beef is almost browned. Drain off fat. Add meat mixture and the rest of the ingredients (except rice) to a crock pot. Stir it up and let it cook on low for 6 – 8 hours. Add rice the last 30 minutes or so.

This can also be done on the stove top. Just brown the onion, garlic and meat in a large stock pot then add everything else…except the rice….and let it simmer for 2 – 3 hours or until veggies are tender. Add rice the last 30 minutes.

This can be changed up quite easily. Add potatoes in place of the beans….leave out the diced tomatoes and add a 15 ounce can of tomato sauce instead. If you enjoy a little crunch...add some croutons on top!



I increased the ingredients for a larger batch. 

Easily done!



Saute the onions and garlic a bit in some olive oil.

 

Add the meat and cook it some. 

It doesn't have to be completely browned 

because it will cook in the crock pot or stock pot.

 

Add the veggies...but no rice yet!

 

All done.....rice included.

 

Eat up!