The last week has been endless wind, rain, tornadoes, flooding, lightning and thunder. When I’m stuck inside, I often start cooking, baking and creating new recipes. Today was one of those days. As I watched the flood waters rise all around Southern Indiana, I felt the need for some comfort food. What is more comforting than a delicious soup? Since I love to focus on batch cooking for families to save time and money, I chose to start a new series with soup, soups and more soups recipes.
A filling vegetable and hamburger beef soup full of nutrients and vegetables. Will warm you on any cold day.
- 3 containers beef broth I used the cardboard containers versus canned with about 3 cups of broth in each.
- 2 cups water
- 2 tbsp Better Than Bullion Beef
- 2 cups diced potatoes I used red potatoes but you can use any kind you have on hand.
- 2 cups baby carrots or diced carrots Again, use whatever you have and need to eat up before it spoils.
- 1 small onion
- 3 cloves minced garlic
- 3 cans green beans I used mixed and you can also use frozen but I didn't have any on hand.
- 2 cans pinto beans
- 1 can light red kidney beans
- 1 can dark red kidney beans
- 2 cans creamed corn
- 1 can whole kernel corn I used white.
- 2 cans Rotel tomatoes with mild green chiles
- 1 can Diced tomatoes I used the large can versus a small one. If using a 15 oz. or so can, use two of them.
- 2 lbs Browned and drained ground beef You could also use whatever leftover beef you have on hand, such as from a pot roast but I liked hamburger with this recipe. It was very country with lots of rich flavors.
- Salt, Pepper, Onion Powder to taste
- 1/2 packet Ranch Dressing Dry Mix I add this to almost all soups
- 1 lemon
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Start browning the 2 lbs. of ground beef.
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Pour all three containers of the beef stock into a large pot.
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Add two cups of water to the pot.
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Set the stove to high to give the liquid a chance to begin boiling as you dice the potatoes.
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Dice and add potatoes. Be careful. I sent some hot liquid flying toward my eye. Maybe spoon them in. LOL
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Throw in carrots.
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Dice and add 1/2 onion.
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Mince and add 3 cloves of garlic.
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Open all cans and pour them in (beans, corn, tomatoes).
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Add seasonings and ranch packet.
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Give everything a good stir.
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Reduce heat to a simmer.
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Allow to cook until veggies are tender.
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Just before serving, squeeze the juice from the lemon into the soup.
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Enjoy with fresh biscuits, rolls, a salad or corn bread.
This recipe is a big batch cooking for families recipe. If you're cooking for fewer people or just want to have less leftovers, you can cut the recipe in thirds most easily. You should still wind up with a hearty meal and some leftovers for the next day or two.
This soup also freezes beautifully if you prefer to meal prep with it.
Cooking in Big Batches to Save Time and Money
This is the first in a series of big batch cooking articles. When you cook in bigger quantities, you’ll have leftovers for days. You can also save money by buying in bulk. One way restaurants save is by limiting ingredients and cooking similar dishes. You can repeat their efforts at home for batch cooking lunch, breakfast and dinner recipes.
What about you? Is there anything you cook a lot of so you can prep food less frequently. I’d love ideas for future recipes. My favorite thing to do is take a dish someone loves and figure out how to make it even better. This particular recipe is a play between hobo stew, cowboy soup and Mexican chili. It turned out better than expected and my house smelled amazing.
