This soup didn't actually have a recipe. My mom just threw stuff together.
One day, I jotted it all down as she went. I was about 13 years old at the time so my directions were horrid and I'm sure I left stuff out. Doesn't matter, it is comfort food in a bowl and so good. Not highly seasoned, this isn't gumbo y'all! Make sure to have a good loaf of bread to sop up all the goodness the spoon can't reach!
Mumu's old fashioned vegetable beef soup*
2 pounds stew meat
1 large can WHOLE tomatoes, squished.
1 quart water with beef boullion cubes (you may need to add more water later)
1 large onion-WHOLE
Put the above ingredients into a large stock pot. Cover, bring to a boil and then turn down to medium. Let it simmer for 1 hour. After an hour, carefully remove the whole onion. Squish it a bit to get the juices out.
After an hour, add:
1 can lima beans
1 can shoepeg (white nibblet) corn
2 potatoes, diced
1 onion, diced
2 celery stalks, diced
2-3 carrots, diced (I use frozen carrots to save prep time) We like a LOT of carrots.
Simmer until carrots and potatoes are almost tender. The last 10 minutes, toss in a handful of broken spaghetti. continue cooking until the pasta is done.
Taste test for salt and pepper, serve!
Modifications:
*The original recipe calls for cubed arm roast but use stew meat because it takes less prep time. *You can use a large can of diced tomatoes instead.
*You can sub beef stock/broth if you want. Might change the flavor a bit...don't know, never tried it!
*Some folks in my family don't want the pasta so I use a cup of ditalini pasta and cook it separately. That way, people can just add it to their own bowls.
*Remember that if you add more veggies, you need to compensate with more liquid.
