Savory Winter Soup

Souper Saturday #4

Today's soup is Savory Winter Soup. (The link is the original recipe-I ended up cutting it in half and modifying some of the ingredients).

Savory Winter Soup (My version)

Source: Taste of Home magazine
Serves: 6-8
Ingredients:

1 pound ground beef
1 medium onion
1 garlic clove, minced
1+ can beef broth (I also added some additional beef broth I had in the fridge)
1 can vegetable broth
1 can (14 oz) diced tomatoes (undrained)
1/2 c. celery
1/2 c. carrots
1/2 c. fresh or frozen green beans
1/2 c. cubed peeled potatoes (these took the longest to cook, I may have not chopped them up small enough)
1 teaspoon dried parsley
1/2 teaspoon dried basil
1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
Salt and Pepper to taste

1. In a skillet, cook beef, onions, and garlic over medium heat until the meat is no longer pink.
2. Transfer to a slow cooker (I used a 3 quart one, although if you're making the original recipe-which serves 14-it says to use a 5 quart slow cooker). Add the remaining ingredients and mix well. Cover well and cook on high for 8 hours or until heated through (mine was ready in about 5 hours-although it could have hung out on "low/warm" for another hour or two). You just basically need to wait for the potatoes to cook.
I served it with some cornbread hot from the oven.
My notes: I'd adjust the veggie amounts to suit your tastes. I would have added more of everything (except the onions and green beans) and maybe have cut down on the ground beef. This is a pretty basic soup, not one I'd make for company, but is tasty on a cold rainy day or when you want something a bit "lighter." It was nice to be able to just dump it in the slow cooker in the morning and not have to fuss with it after that. It made the house smell amazing!