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It’s early October and here in New England, there is a definite chill in the air. There is nothing better on a chilly fall day than homemade soup! This is my go-to soup recipe. It’s easy, hearty, and makes a ton so I can enjoy leftovers for lunch for a few days.
It tastes best when I can add herbs, carrots, potatoes, tomatoes & onions from the garden. The flavor of garden root vegetables in soups is something commercial soups can’t touch. Fall garden veggies, a delicious warm soup, and a cozy, fuzzy blanket – these are a few of my favorite fall things!
Hearty Vegetable Beef Soup
servings: 10-15 total time cooking: 2 1/2 – 3 hours
ingredients:
- 2-3 pounds meaty beef shanks with bone in
- 1 tablespoon cooking oil
- 2 tablespoons (or two cubes) beef bouillon
- 28 oz beef broth
- 1 teaspoon each, dried oregano, basil, & parsley
- 2 bay leaves
- 2 cups chopped and peeled tomatoes (or one 14 oz can of diced tomatoes)
- 4 cups mixed veggies (fresh or frozen)
- 1 1/2 cups peeled, cubed potatoes
- 1 cup sliced celery
- 1/2 cup chopped onion
- 6 oz egg noodles
- salt & pepper
directions:
In a large pot, brown meat on both sides in hot oil. Drain fat & return meat to the pot
Add beef bouillon, beef broth, herbs, and 10 cups of water
Bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover, & simmer for two hours. Stir occasionally so the meat doesn’t stick to the bottom of the pot
After two hours, the meat should be tender and fall off the bone. Remove the meat from the pot and cut it into cubes, discarding bones. Skim fat from broth. Remove bay leaves
Return the chopped meat to the pot. Add all of the vegetables & uncooked egg noodles to the pot. Make sure all the meat, veggies, & noodles are completely submerged. If they are not, you might need to add more water.
Bring the soup to a boil. Then lower the heat to a low/medium. Cover & simmer for 30 minutes or until the pasta is cooked & potatoes are tender.
Salt & pepper to taste.
Refrigerate or freeze leftovers.
This soup is awesome warmed up as leftovers, but the egg noodles can sometimes soak up a lot of the broth while it sits. It still tastes great but leftovers can end up more of a stew than soup.
