Vegetable Soup

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I don’t know about you, but when the weather starts getting cold, I start thinking: soup time! I get excited about pulling out my soup recipes. Of all the recipes though, I especially love my vegetable soup recipe. I got it from my great grandmother, and I learned all of her old tricks for making it taste delicious. It makes me sentimental and miss her when I make it, but it’s also a comfort food for that reason.

First Thing’s First: The Meat

You’ll first need 1 or 1.5 pounds of ground beef. You’ll need to brown it in a pan. I like to throw onions in mine as it cooks, and then I sprinkle some of Lawry’s seasoning salt over it.

Drain the grease, friends! Then, get your crockpot liner ready 🙂 and put it in that crockpot.

The Vegetables

The order in which you add these next few items does not matter, but I will share the order that I typically do. First, I add in a can of tomato soup (I like Progresso’s best). I use this because it naturally is sweeter than tomato sauce. The canned sauce tends to be on the sour side to me. Next, I add the diced tomatoes and tomato paste.

Do I really need tomato paste? Well, technically no. However, I like my soup to have a slight thickness to it. I don’t like it to be total liquid. It’s a personal preference! My husband also prefers it to be thicker too, and he’s more likely to eat it twice if I make it this way 😉

Next, I add the can of corn and frozen green beans. After that, I add the diced carrots. Then I add the diced potatoes. Now hear me out on the potatoes… I know everyone likes Idaho and Russet potatoes, but you need to try it with sweet potatoes at least ONE time. The sweet potatoes naturally sweeten the soup, and they’re healthier than normal potatoes! Just saying! My husband prefers the sweet potatoes, and I about do too. You could even get crazy and add both potatoes. It is VEGETABLE soup after all 😉

Next, I add the meat and onions. Lastly, I pour in a little beef broth to make the soup go just a little further. It also naturally adds a little salt to it. I do add a little more seasoning salt over the top and some pepper. I give it all a good stir, and then I let it cook on high in the crockpot for 4 hours. It’s super easy and delicious!

Pro tip: my Mammaw Ann used to add macaroni to her vegetable soup. I think it’s because she lived through the Great Depression and did what she had to to make their food last a little longer. Pasta is a good filler to add to anything to help fill you up. I don’t usually add it because I try to cut carbs when I can, but I do like it with macaroni.

Possible Sides for Vegetable Soup

What pairs well with soup? Crackers and sandwiches! Personally, with vegetable soup, we like to eat grilled cheese sandwiches or pimento cheese sandwiches. You can also just put pimento cheese on crackers while you eat your soup. My husband usually crumbles up crackers to add to his soup and has his sandwich on the side. It’s a preference!

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