Comforting Homemade Vegetable Beef Soup
Here is how to make hearty and delicious Comforting Homemade Vegetable Beef Soup. It is slow cooked with steak cubes and tasty vegetables and spices. It is made in such a way as to make it the lowest fat version of soup that has meat in it.
Here is how to make hearty and delicious Comforting Homemade Vegetable Beef Soup. It is slow cooked with steak cubes and tasty vegetables and spices. It is made in such a way as to make it the lowest fat version of soup that has meat in it.
- 1 onion chopped
- 1 tablespoon salt
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper ground
- 3 bay leaves
- 1/2 tablespoon worcestershire sauce
- 2 pounds lean beef cubes trimmed of fat (i used 1 pound of eye of round steak and 1 poun
- 1 to 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 3 quarts (12 cups water)
- 3 cups tomato juice
- 2/3 of an 8-oz. can tomato sauce
- 3 cups mixed vegetables (i used a 16-oz. package of frozen vegetable soup starter. if yo
- 6 additional cups water
- saltine crackers
- Carbohydrate 81.8397406273332 g
- Cholesterol 0 mg
- Fat 8.17507125011736 g
- Fiber 7.4914813352305 g
- Protein 12.0243268753942 g
- Saturated Fat 1.83993850003528 g
- Serving Size 1 1 Serving (278g)
- Sodium 1237.64950000158 mg
- Sugar 74.3482592921027 g
- Trans Fat 0.63302875000504 g
- Calories 441 calories
Step-by-step
- Chop 2 pounds of lean beef into cubes. (I prefer to use steak, because it is less fatty than stew meat.)
- Heat 1 to 2 tablespoons olive oil in a deep skillet.
- Brown the beef cubes in the oil, until there is no pink on the outside.
- Pour 3 quarts (12 cups) water into a large pot.
- Add 1 tablespoon of salt, and then add the browned beef cubes.
- Cook, uncovered, over low heat for about 3 hours.
- Most of the liquid will evaporate or be absorbed by the meat. (you might want to check the meat while it is cooking, to make sure it doesn't boil dry.)
- Remove the fat from the stock that remains.
- Add 3 cups tomato juice, 2/3 of an 8-oz. can of tomato sauce, 3 bay leaves, 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper, 1/2 tablespooon Worcestershire sauce, 1 chopped onion, 3 cups frozen (or canned or fresh) mixed vegetables, and 1 teaspoon chili powder.
- Add approximately 6 cups of water, and cook 1 hour longer.
- Serve immediately with saltine crackers.
- This is a great soup for these snowy wintry days that we have been having all over the country (and in other parts of the world).
- The aroma of the soup makes a cheery house when it is bitterly cold outside!
- Enjoy!!!
Evaluating Doneness Without a Thermometer
Start the process by browning lean steak cubes in a deep skillet until no exterior pink remains, ensuring the surface develops a deep sear before transferring the meat to water. Simmering lean beef over low heat for three hours softens connective tissue through gentle thermal breakdown rather than rapid boiling. Test doneness by pressing a cube against the side of the pot with a wooden spoon; properly cooked beef should yield completely under light pressure and pull apart cleanly. Skimming excess fat from the surface of the stock prevents an oily film from masking the brighter notes of the tomato juice added later in the sequence.
Balancing Soup Texture
Achieving the correct consistency requires monitoring moisture evaporation during the initial three-hour simmer and replenishing exactly six cups of water before adding the mixed vegetables. Adding frozen or fresh vegetables during the final hour of cooking preserves their structural integrity, preventing them from turning to mush in the simmering liquid. Stirring intermittently ensures the tomato sauce and spices disperse evenly throughout the twelve cups of initial water without scorching on the base of heavy-bottomed cookware.
