This is another recipe I'm migrating over from my old blog for you. My mother has been making as long as I can remember. Gary loves it when I think to make it, which hasn't been often enough. It's super-easy to make.
RECIPE
Chop up a whole yellow onion and a few ribs of celery. How much does that add up to? I don't know. Depends. Depends upon how many people you are going to feed.
Fry it with 1 -1.5 pounds of ground beef or turkey. I use lean meat. I don't like grease.
ADD
2 beef bouillon cubes (or 2 teaspoons granular bouillon). I've used chicken or vegetable bouillon in a pinch.
1 large can of chopped tomatoes (or whole tomatoes you've smushed up). I always put in a quart of tomatoes because I bottle them in quarts. Tomatoes are a great soup-extender and I don't mind adding extra.
4 cups hot water
1 whole bay leaf
1 Tablespoon Worcestershire Sauce
1- 10 oz. package frozen vegetables
SIMMER for one hour
Add 1 cup noodles and cook until they are soft. I tend to extend the soup at this point, too. I put in three big handfuls in this batch. That had to be a lot more than 1 cup.
Season to taste with salt and pepper. (If you are a red-pepper-flake kind of person like I am, this soup is good with it sprinkled on the top right before you dig into the bowl.)
Take out the bay leaf before you serve it. You don't want anyone to accidentally get it in their bowl.
That happened to my mom once, by the way. It caused quite a stir at the dinner table. Mom was horrified that she'd forgotten to remove it - so I always think, "Take out the bay leaf!"
Want to make this ahead of time? It's easy. Just follow the recipe up until the point where you put in the noodles and refrigerate. When you are ready to serve it, bring it back to a boil and cook the noodles. You could freeze it, too.
