After being away for Friday and Saturday at Northern Voice, I came home to a fridge full of veggies to deal with. What better way to clean out your crisper than make a pot of soup? This one turned out really good, and so I thought I'd share. Feel free to change things and mix it up as you go, adding or taking away veggies or spices or whatever suits you. Soups are very easy to make. We really liked this one topped with crumbled blue cheese, believe it or not!1 lb lean ground beef
3 stalks of celery, minced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 onion, chopped
1/2 sweet red pepper, chopped
3 carrots, peeled and chopped
one (19 oz) can of tomatoes (plus if you have any stray tomatoes in your fridge just chop them up and throw them in)
1/2 tsp thyme
1/2 tsp marjoram
pinch hot pepper flakes
1 Tbsp fresh thyme
bay leaf
1-2 Tbsp pesto
salt and pepper to taste
6 cups beef stock
1/2 cup brown rice
In a deep stock pot, saute the onion, celery, garlic, and red pepper until soft. Add the hamburger and continue to saute, stirring and breaking up with a spoon, until the meat is no longer pink. Add the tomatoes, thyme, marjoram, hot pepper flakes, broth, rice, and bay leaf. Bring to a boil.
Turn down the heat to low and simmer for about 25-30 minutes, then toss in your carrots, pesto, and salt and pepper to taste. Let it simmer a bit longer until the carrots are tender crisp and the rice is cooked through.
We served it in bowls with fresh thyme leaves sprinkled on top and a bit of blue cheese crumbled into it.
Makes 6 servings
