Hamburger or Leftover Roast Beef Soup

Serves

10 - 12

Ingredients

1 Lb. or 500 gm lean ground beef or leftover roast beef and beef bones(if there are any)
1 Medium to large onion or 2 shallots (chopped)
8 Cups beef broth (I use the unsalted beef broth)
1 14 oz (398 ml) tin diced tomatoes or 3 large fresh tomatoes diced (I use the unsalted tomatoes)
1 Large carrot (chopped)
2 Small stalks of celery (chopped)
1 cup sliced mushrooms (I prefer cremini for the flavour, but white mushrooms will do)
3 - 4 Cloves garlic (chopped)
1/2 Tsp dried oregano
1/2 Tsp dried basil
1/2 Tsp dried parsley
1 bay leaf
1 - 2 Tsp salt or to taste
freshly ground pepper
2 Tbsp olive oil
5 Tbsp alphabet (or any very small noodles)


With a little olive oil and butter in a frying pan, brown the ground beef (if using leftover roast beef , cut into bite-sized pieces) over medium to high heat. Remove the meat to your soup pot.

In the same frying pan, cook the onions and garlic until the onions are soft (but not browned); add the chopped carrots and cook for a few more minutes, then add the mushrooms and celery and cook for a few more minutes. Add the spices to the vegetables in the pan and mix them well in. Add a little of the beef broth to the frying pan to deglaze the pan and then put the vegetable mixture into the soup pot with the meat.

Add the remainder of the broth, the diced tomatoes and the olive oil to the meat/vegetable mixture. Simmer covered at least 2 hours or all day. (If using a two setting crock pot, start at high and when it is bubbling, turn it down).

Add the noodles for the last 45 minutes of cooking. Remove the bay leaf; taste for seasoning and serve with a crusty bread.