Great Aunt Carol's Vegetable Beef Soup

After our little guy was born, Great Aunt Carol came for a few days to help out. It was wonderful! I hope that all new moms have a Great Aunt Carol in their lives. :) One of the things she did of course, was to cook some tasty food for us. This vegetable beef soup was so hearty and healthy that I begged her for the recipe and asked if I could post it for you! 

Vegetable Beef Soup

Ingredients:

1 large onion, chopped

2-3 Tbsp olive oil

2-3 cloves of garlic, diced

2 pounds of top round or sirloin steak cut into 1 inch cubes

salt and pepper

2-4 cups of beef broth

2 14 oz cans of sliced stewed tomatoes

1 bay leaf

1-2 potatoes, chopped

3-4 carrots, chopped

1-2 cups shredded cabbage

2-3 celery, chopped

1-2 Tbsp tomato paste

1 package of your choice of frozen vegetables

Lots of chopped parsley

Heat a soup pot with the olive oil on medium high heat and add the onions. Saute for 5-7 minutes until soft. Add the garlic the last min. Remove to a separate dish. 

Season the beef with salt and pepper. Turn the heat to medium high. Brown half of the beef in the pot and remove. Do the other half. The key here is to brown the meat and not steam it, so give it space to cook. Add all of the beef, cooked onions and garlic, beef broth, stewed tomatoes and bay leaf. Reduce heat, and simmer until the meat is tender, about 1 hour.

Add potato, carrots, cabbage and celery. Continue to simmer for another 30 minutes or until these are soft. Add tomato paste, parsley, and any final frozen veggies of your choice and cook for another 5 minutes. 

Season to taste, and enjoy!