Vegetable Beef Soup

This superfast soup is a great way to use up any extra veggies you have laying around.  I always keep grass fed ground beef (in 1 lb packages) in my freezer.  You can use the beef from frozen in this recipe which is great for an impromptu meal.

1 lb grass fed ground beef
2- 32 oz containers of organic vegetable or chicken broth
2 tbsp butter
5 stalks celery, chopped
1/2 large onion, chopped
1/2 – 1 tsp italian seasoning (to taste)
1/4 – 1/2 tsp black pepper (to taste)
sea salt to taste (about 2 tsp)
2 tomatoes (preferably blanched and peeled – check notes below) or a can of organic crushed tomatoes
Other Options:  1 bunch spinach, coarsely chopped, chopped zucchini, fresh or frozen green beans, bell peppers, crushed red pepper if you like it a little spicy 🙂

Optional for core plan:  carrots, peas

Melt butter in a stockpot and add celery, onions, and ground beef.  When beef is browned through, add the vegetable broth, italian seasoning, black pepper, sea salt and tomatoes.  Let cook for about 10-15 minutes.  Add spinach.  Serve.

NOTES:  to blanch and peel tomatoes just boil a pot of water and drop the tomatoes in for a few minutes.  When you see the skins begin to split apart, remove them from the water.  Then they are very easy to peel.  Once peeled, cut the tomato in half and remove as many seeds as possible then chop.

This soup is even better re-heated the next day.