Recipe: Vegetable Beef Soup

We had spring thunderstorms all day yesterday, so it was a perfect day for warm hearty soup.  This thick and flavourful soup has a wonderful tomotoe herb base, with ground beef and vegetables.  What I liked most about it, is that it wasn't too beefy at all.

I modified this recipe to what I had on hand.  The recipe had some big gaps in it where it mentions an ingredient but never says what to do with it.  It was a good base to go from, and the end result was delicious.

Although I loved this soup, the kids didn't really care for it.  I served some to my friend who was visiting that afternoon and she really enjoyed it.  It's so difficult sometimes to find a dish that everyone likes.

VEGETABLE BEEF SOUP
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1 24oz. can  of diced tomatoes
1 cup fresh parsley leaves
1/2 teaspoon dried marjoram
1/2 teaspoon dried or 1 Tablespoon fresh basil
1/2 teaspoon thyme
dash salt & pepper
Put herbs in food processor with juice from tomatoes and process 20 seconds. Add tomatoes and pulse 4 times. Put in bowl and set aside.

1 lb. ground beef
1 large white onion
3 garlic cloves minced
1 cup tomatoe juice
Blend together in food processor 30 seconds. Place in wide bottomed soup pot and boil 20 minutes until ground beef is fully cooked.  Add tomatoe and herb mixture that was set aside.

3 cups tomatoe juice
3 cups beef broth
1 cup pearl barley
4 celery stalks, thinly sliced
3 medium carrots, thinly sliced
4 small (or 1 large) red potatoe, diced
2 bay leaves
Add to cooked ground beef mixture and simmer on low heat until carrots and potatoes are tender. Discard bay leaves.

I made this around 2:00pm so I'd have it ready for after school.  I transferred it my slow cooker and placed it on low (or keep warm setting).  I froze the leftovers into lunch-sized portions for later.

Enjoy!