Mom's Vegetable Beef Soup
Source of Recipe
by mercyteapot, from Desperation Dinners
Recipe Introduction
In the dead of winter, fresh produce at the supermarket can look and taste a little lifeless. That's if you can find it at all.
This is the time of year we start stalking the frozen vegetable aisle. We used to feel a bit guilty about this until we read the research. Turns out frozen veggies are just as healthful as fresh.
Researchers at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign compared the nutrients in fresh and frozen vegetables over two consecutive years. The freezing process locks in nutrients and preserves their quality for up to a year, the study results showed. As long as the vegetables are frozen quickly after harvesting, the nutrient levels in frozen vegetables are quite high.
In fact, the study showed nutrients may be higher than in fresh vegetables that have been sitting on the supermarket shelf long past their peak freshness. (These days, produce grown in the United States travels an average of 1,500 miles from farm to supermarket. On average, produce is picked four to seven days before it ever reaches the supermarket shelf.)
Today's recipe for Beverly's mom's 20-minute Vegetable Beef Soup features frozen mixed vegetables, and we don't think we could make it through winter without it.
Serve Mom's Vegetable Beef Soup with cheese and crackers, and pineapple spears.
Send desperate tales of woe or everyday success stories and your favorite quick recipes to Desperation Dinners, c/o United Media, 200 Madison Ave., New York, NY 10016. Visit us on the Web at www.desperationdinners.com; or e-mail: bev-alicia@desperationdinners.com © United Features Syndicate Inc.
List of Ingredients
1 teaspoon vegetable oil
1 large onion (for about 1 cup chopped)
1 pound of 93 percent lean ground beef, defrosted if frozen
1 teaspoon dried basil
½ teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon bottled minced garlic
2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
4 cups water
1 beef bouillon cube
1 chicken bouillon cube
1 teaspoon sugar
1 bay leaf
1 (14.5-ounce) can diced tomatoes
2 cups mixed frozen vegetables, such as corn, peas, green beans and carrots (see note)
1/3 cup quick-cooking (10-minute)
barley (see note) Recipe
Heat the oil over medium heat in a 4-½-quart Dutch oven or soup pot. Peel and coarsely chop the onion, adding it to the pot as you chop. Cook, stirring from time to time, until the onion softens slightly, about 1 minute.
Add the beef the pot and raise the heat to high. Cook, stirring frequently, until the beef is almost completely brown, about 3 minutes. While the beef browns, add the basil, black pepper, garlic and Worcestershire sauce.
As soon as the beef is nearly browned, add the water, both bouillon cubes, sugar, bay leaf and tomatoes with their juice. Cover the pot, and bring the soup to a vigorous boil. Meanwhile, pour the frozen vegetables into a colander, and run warm tap water over them for about 1 minute to begin defrosting. Set aside to drain. When the soup boils, stir in the barley and reduce the heat to medium-high (or medium) to maintain a moderate boil. Cover the pot and boil the soup for 5 minutes.
Uncover the pot, and stir in the partially defrosted vegetables. Cover the pot and raise the heat to high, just long enough to bring the soup back to a vigorous boil. Reduce the heat to medium, cover the pot and continue to boil until the barley is tender, about 5 minutes more. Remove the bay leaf from the pot. Ladle the soup into bowls, and serve.
Notes: Several companies make frozen vegetable blends. Use any mixture that has no sauce and no broccoli or cauliflower, which are too strong for this soup. Quaker makes quick-cooking barley. You'll find it in the supermarket alongside the regular barley. If you can't find it, ask the store manager to order it for you. Or you can substitute medium pearl barley and increase the boiling time to 45 minutes before adding the vegetables.
Start to finish: 20 minutes
Per serving: 324 calories (26 percent from fat), 10 g fat (4 g saturated), 68 mg cholesterol, 29 g protein, 32 g carbohydrates, 8 g dietary fiber, 774 mg sodium.
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