Belly Warming Beef Soup Recipe

Fall is in the air.  The days are getting colder.  Comfort food that warms the belly is the perfect ending to any brisk fall day.

Soup is one of my mom's specialties.  My mom, the queen of quilts, is an avid crafter.  Growing up, dinner would be ready when whatever craft she was working on was done.  Sometimes that meant we ate a burnt lasagna.  Soup, though, was something that could be left unattended, and regardless of when she completed her project of the day, was still delicious.

This belly warming beef soup is one of my mom's specialties, always cooked with love and never burnt.

Ingredients:
1 box of beef stock and 2 cubes of beef bouillon
2 large onions - diced
1 bag of shredded carrots
1 stalk of celery - diced
3 red potatoes - diced
1/2 a bag of shredded cole slaw
1 stick of butter
1 cup of flour
salt and pepper, garlic powder and thyme to taste
1 1/2 lbs of beef - chopped or diced (stew beef, chuck, round or sirloin)
1 cup of crushed tomatoes

Yields approximately 2 quarts.

Directions:

Melt butter into a soup pot.  Add beef and onions to the pot.  Cook until the beef is cooked through and the onions get tender.  Add in the bag of shredded carrots, 1/2 a bag of shredded cole slaw, the diced potatoes and diced celery.  Stir well and cook for an additional 10 minutes.  Add a cup of flour, stir well.  Add 2 beef bouillon cubes, stir well.  Add a box of beef broth, stir well.  Add a cup of crushed tomatoes, stir really well.  Season with salt and pepper.  Add a dash of thyme and garlic powder.  Simmer for at least an hour.

I like to make this soup a day in advance.  The flavors of this belly warming soup grow more pronounced the longer it sits.  I will simmer for at least an hour and then refrigerate over night.  The next day, I will let it simmer for at least an hour or two before serving it for a delicious dinner.

Serve with warm rolls and enjoy.

Bon appetit.