Vegetable Beef Soup is lightened up in this version that cooks up nice and slow in the crockpot. Tender veggies and flavorful meat make this recipe a winner.
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Helloooo, friends! Thanks so much for all your kind words from this morning. It certainly sounds like I’m not alone when it comes to some pretty crappy experiences with the doc. Here’s to hoping we all have fabulous doc visits in 2013, haha!
So today has been BUSY. Like, busy to the point where I almost finally realize how some people can say that they “just didn’t get a chance to eat” because they were so busy. Not that I’m going hungry over here or anything, but I definitely did not get a chance to finish my breakfast like I had hoped or even have a chance to sit down for lunch until almost 1pm. Yikes!
But hey, you know what? Today is absolutely flyyyyying by, which I sooo cannot complain about. It’s been a good day so far – much better than yesterday for sure.
So now, let’s get to the real purpose of this post…I’ve got a recipe to share with you all!
As I mentioned earlier, last night’s dinner was DEEE-licious. My favorite quick bread, paired with a new soup recipe which turned out fantastic. Plus, it’s a slow cooker recipe, so really, who doesn’t love a ‘fix it and forget it’ type of meal, right?
I wound up making this recipe after deciding against our original plan on making Cincinnati Chili. We both decided that neither of us were in the mood for it, but I still had a pound of ground beef that needed to be used up quickly…enter, soup.
It’s basically just a vegetable soup made with ground beef. I did brown the beef ahead of time, but I did that the night before (along with chopping the veggies) so in the morning, I literally just had to throw everything into the slow cooker and let it do it’s job.
I’m positive that it would be just as tasty with another type of meat (ground turkey/chicken) or even without it all together. We also decided it’d probably be good with pasta instead of potatoes, too. Definitely lots of variations on this one, my friends!
But for the original recipe, here’s what you’ll need:
Sweet Tooth, Sweet Life
Tender meat and lots of veggies make this soup a classic one, perfect for any type of weather. And even though it's got all the flavor of a classic, comfort food, it's one you can feel good about eating!
10 minPrep Time
8 hrCook Time
8 hr, 10 Total Time
Ingredients
- 1 pound lean ground beef (I used 93%)
- 1 medium onion, chopped
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/3 teaspoon pepper
- 3 cups water
- 4 medium red potatoes, cut into 3/4 inch chunks
- 1 can (14.5 oz) Italian style diced tomatoes, undrained
- 1 can (11.5 oz) low-sodium V8 juice
- 1 cup chopped celery
- 1 cup chopped carrots
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- 1 tablespoon dried parsley flakes
- 2 teaspoons dried basil
- 1 bay leaf
Instructions
- In a nonstick skillet, cook beef and onion over medium heat until meat is no longer pink; drain.
- Stir in salt and pepper.
- Transfer to slow cooker and add remaining ingredients.
- Cover and cook on low for 8-10 hours or until vegetables are tender.
- Discard bay leaf before serving. Enjoy!
This recipe made a pretty decent size batch – we both had two good size bowls last night, I had another one this afternoon for lunch, and I’d say there’s probably another 3-4 servings left. Perfect for making and eating throughout the week.
Now, let’s just hope that my afternoon goes by as quickly as my morning did, because I have a fun dinner date planned for tonight after work with my friend, Nicole, which I’m really looking forward to! :)
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