Thursday, January 26, 2012

Hamburger Soup

I think I posted this recipe one cool rainy day this past summer, but since I promised to post this recipe which I used in Last Night's Leftovers to create Super Soup & Noodles, I figured it couldn't hurt to post this again.  HANDS DOWN, this is our favorite vegetable soup recipe.  Over the weekend I made it without the macaroni.  I just used more potatoes.  If you do serve with pasta, keep the pasta separate as the pasta breaks down and becomes mushy when you eat this leftover.  This recipe is very garlic-y.  This was the first vegetable soup my kids would eat since it was similar to spaghetti and they could eat the broth/meat & pasta, until they got used to the vegetables.  Sometimes I either buy or make bread bowls to ladle this soup into.  Its really, really good!

Don't forget that this soup is great for leftovers - ladled over wide egg noodles or rice!

This is how I make Hamburger Soup AT HOME MY WAY:
(NOTE: remove the bay leaves BEFORE serving!) (DO NOT EAT BAY LEAVES)
  • 1 to 2 pounds hamburger (we use a little more than 1 pound)
  • 1 can crushed tomatoes + 1-8oz can tomato sauce (plus each empty cans filled with water) (OR if you don't have crushed tomatoes, which we did not last night, THEN USE 2 -8oz cans of tomato sauce + 2 cans of water)
  • 1 can carrots (undrained)
  • 3-5 med. potatoes (peeled and chopped)
  • 1 can green beans (undrained)
  • 1 small can mushrooms (stems & pieces) undrained  (optional)
  • 1 Tablespoon onion powder
  • 1 Tablespoons garlic powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon basil or oregano
  • 2 bay leaves (large ones so you can find them)
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon pepper
  • 1 1/2 cup additional water
  • EXTRA INGREDIENT: Cook 2 cups macaroni and serve with the soup. (If you put it in the pot, it gets mushy so we keep it separate and just add to each of our bowls.)


Brown hamburger in a soup pot with the onion powder, or if using real onion, brown with the meat until all clear. Drain. Add all remaining ingredients, including the cans of water and extra water. Crack the lid and simmer, stirring occasionally at least 45 minutes or longer or until potatoes are soft.


REMOVE THE BAY LEAVES and serve.


Serve with cooked elbow macaroni and/or in bread bowls! Yummy!