Poor Man's Vegetable Beef Soup

What a wild and crazy weekend!

I don't even remember what I did Friday, but I DO know that Saturday was emotional to say the least.  If you follow me in Facebook, you know that my husband and I got our first smoker recently.  To christen our smoker we decided to smoke a Boston butt or pork shoulder.  I researched this thoroughly and read the instructions more than once.  I felt prepared and educated going in, but sometimes all the education and preparedness in the world can't help you.  Long story short.  We still have some learning to do, but the end result was TASTY!  Of course Sunday was the Super Bowl.  We had friends over and a buffet of yummy football goodness.  It was a great weekend!

However, here we are at Monday.  I am tried, and I don't feel like cooking a big heavy meal.  Not to mention it is COLD out there.  So I decided to hit my pantry to see what I come up with.  After perusing over my stock pile, I was reminded of this soup they used to make the children at one of the Early Learning Centers I used to work with.  It was a vegetable beef soup made with ground beef.  I was inspired so today I am going to share with you my version of this Poor Man's Vegetable Beef Soup!  It is quick, easy, inexpensive, and PERFECT for these cold winter nights!

I can't wait to share it with you, so let's get started!


Poor Man's Vegetable Beef Soup:
Prep Time:  10 min.  *Cook Time:  30 min. *Difficulty:  Easy  *Servings:  8-10

Ingredients:

• 1 lb. Ground Beef 
• 1 lb. Baby Spinach
• 4 c. of Tomato Juice
• 4 c. Beef Stock
• 2 c. Frozen Peas
• 2 c. Frozen Corn
• 2 15 oz. can Cannellini Beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 15 oz. can Diced Tomatoes
• 2 Carrots, peeled and sliced
• 2 Stalks of Celery, diced
• 1 Onion, diced
• 3 Cloves of Garlic, mined
• 2-3 tbsp. Vegetable Oil
• 1 tbsp. Dried Thyme
• Salt and Pepper, to taste

To begin, place your soup pot over a medium/high heat.

Add the vegetable oil to the pot and allow the oil to get hot.

While the oil in your pot is heating, take the time to prep all of your vegetables and open your cans.

To the hot pot add the onions.
Cook until soft and translucent.

Now add the garlic.
Cook until you can smell the garlic coming from to pot.

Now you can add your seasoning.

Season with salt and

Pepper.

Now you can add the thyme to the pot.
Adding dried herbs at this point will help to reconstitute the oils in the herbs and wake them up after sleeping on your spice rack.

Now you can ad the carrots and

Celery.
Allow the ground beef to finish browning.

To the cooked ground beef and vegetables add the diced tomatoes,

Tomato juice,

And beef stock.
Bring to a simmer and let cook for 30 minutes.  This will help all of the flavors meld together nicely.

After the 30 minute simmer you can add the frozen corn,

Peas,

And drained and rinse beans.

Add the fresh spinach to the soup and cover until the vegetables and beans are heated through, and the spinach is wilted, about 5 minutes.

It should look at little something like this.
Taste for seasoning and make any adjustments you feel it needs.

And there you have it it!

A quick, simple, delicious soup that is PACKED full of healthy veggies!  This soup is perfect for getting your week of to a good dinner start, and it is a GREAT way to get the kiddos to eat those veggies.  It's perfect with a nice crusty piece of bread to soak up that amazing broth too.
So raid the pantry tonight and make this wonderful Poor Man's Vegetable Beef Soup!  You won't regret it!

And as always...

Happy Reading, Happy Eating, & Happy Living,
~The Kitchen Wife~

Poor Man's Vegetable Beef Soup:
Prep Time:  10 min.  *Cook Time:  30 min. *Difficulty:  Easy  *Servings:  8-10

PRINTABLE RECIPE

Ingredients:

• 1 lb. Ground Beef 
• 1 lb. Baby Spinach
• 4 c. of Tomato Juice
• 4 c. Beef Stock
• 2 c. Frozen Peas
• 2 c. Frozen Corn
• 2 15 oz. can Cannellini Beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 15 oz. can Diced Tomatoes
• 2 Carrots, peeled and sliced
• 2 Stalks of Celery, diced
• 1 Onion, diced
• 3 Cloves of Garlic, mined
• 2-3 tbsp. Vegetable Oil
• 1 tbsp. Dried Thyme
• Salt and Pepper, to taste

Directions:

1. Place a soup pot over medium/high heat.
2. Add oil to the pot and allow to get hot.  
3. Add the onions and garlic to the pan.  Cook until the onions are soft and translucent and you can smell the garlic coming from the pot.
4. Add the ground beef and break up with your rubber spatula.  
5. Add salt, pepper, and thyme.
6. Add the carrots and celery and allow the ground beef to finish cooking. 
7. Add the tomatoes, tomato juice, and beef stock.  Bring to a simmer and let cook for 30 minutes. 
8. Add the beans, peas, corn, and spinach to the pot.  
9. Let heat through for about 5 minutes until the spinach has wilted.  
10. Taste for seasoning and make any adjustments you feel it may need. 
11. Serve and Enjoy!