Mama’s Beef Soup – The Original

For years, this has been the staple soup in our house. I am not a huge fan of chicken soup, as it was about the only way my father would willingly eat any foul. Chicken was cheap, not to mention we raised them (and butchered them, ourselves) so plentiful. My mother only made roast chicken when she was particularly angry at my dad. My sister and I loved roast chicken. If she was only a bit annoyed with him, she would concede some by serving “Spanish rice” with it, a rice based with tomatoes, which I decidedly loved. Otherwise, it was mashed potatoes and gravy.

But…I digress…I was going to speak about my beef soup. I got inspired by a local restaurant that made a very tasty beef vegetable soup. I tried and tried, and finally came up with this recipe:

1 beef bone with extra meat attached

1, 3 lb. chuck roast

1, large, sweet onion cut in half and sliced thinly

6 cups water

Cook on medium-high heat until comes to a boil. Turn it down to low heat and let simmer for several hours. (Mine cooked for about 7 hours!) Pull out the meat and bone and set on a large plate to cool. Turn up the broth to medium-high heat and add the following:

1, 12 oz. package of frozen green beans

1, 12 oz. package of frozen carrot slices

1, 28 oz. can diced tomatoes and juice

4 cups chopped cabbage

4 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. ground black pepper

1 tsp. granulated onion

1 Tbsp. turmeric

Let this all cook for about 1/2 an hour, or until vegetables are soft. When meat has cooled pull it from any fat/gristle/bone and shred it into bite-sized pieces. Add it back into the pot and heat everything through. Serve and enjoy!

NOTE: Not only is this a very tasty soup, but by cooking it with the beef bone, it adds many nutrients and seems to be very healing to me! I love this soup!