How would you improve this soup? (ingredients, ground beef, chicken, celery)

[pete6032]

This soup is awesome as-is, but I've been eating it the same for years and years. How would you improve this recipe if you were to modify? It comes out pretty thick, almost stew-like.

• 1 lb Ground Beef
• 5 c Water
• 1 lb can stewed tomatoes
• 1 c chopped onions
• 2-3 sliced carrots
• 2 ribs diced celery
• 1/3 c pearly barley
• 1/4 c ketchup
• 1 tbsp beef bouillon granules
• 1 tsp basil leaves
• 1 bay leaf

1. Brown ground beef in fry pan, drain fat.
2. Add ground beef and remaining ingredients into a dutch oven pan.
3. Bring mixture to a boil.
4. Reduce heat to simmer.
5. Cover and cook for 1 hour.
6. Remove bay leaf and taste soup, adding salt and pepper if desired.

[Nodpete]

Sounds good as is, but maybe adding a little pasta would work ! And we prefer concentrated beef bouillon to the granules, it gives a much beefier taste.

[jessxwrites89]

Ketchup? That's interesting! Maybe more veggies and some noodles? It could be like a vegetable soup (nan used to make her veggie soup with beef broth)!

[pete6032]

Originally Posted by jessxwrites89

Ketchup? That's interesting! Maybe more veggies and some noodles? It could be like a vegetable soup (nan used to make her veggie soup with beef broth)!

Yeah, the funny thing is that you can't taste ketchup at all when you eat it. If I didn't know there was 1/4 cup ketchup in there I wouldn't guess that at all. I think it just livens the flavor of the tomatoes up a bit.

[L0ve]

I would ditch the ketchup and ad salt, pepper and garlic. Maybe throw in some Siracha sauce for kick instead. Chunks of cabbage. How about some water chestnuts for crunch? Cubed potatoes, and beef roast instead of ground beef.

[gguerra]

I've never heard of ground beef in soup, Chili yes but not soup. I suppose it would be OK. I would prefer stew meat or make to meatballs out of the ground meat. Sear them in a pan and then add to the soup. Also you can use packaged beef broth (carton or can) instead of granules or cubes.

[maggie2101]

I'm making soup tonight with beef stew meat, beef broth, canned tomatoes, celery, onion, carrots, red potatoes, turnips, garlic, bay leaf, oregano, and ditalini. I usually add cabbage, but I forgot to ask my son to get some when he went to the store yesterday.

[Dirt Grinder]

Leave-out the bouillion.

Add several sprigs of fresh thyme,
four cloves of garlic,
two tablespoons of tomato paste instead of the ketchup,
one tablespoon worcestershire sauce,
add fresh sliced mushrooms (8oz - 16oz),
two cups of red wine and three cups of chicken or beef broth instead of water.

Cook on low for three-four hours.

[Gerania]

Oh... my... gosh! It's this recipe: Retro Recipes: Autumn Soup Recipe by Betty Crocker

I used to have those cards and make that soup. Each pack of cards came with a letter which explained why the recipes were included in the group. This one represented the late summer harvest, the colors of autumn.

While this doesn't address your question, I'd kick up the color of that soup with something yellow like corn, bell pepper or even a small summer squash. Throw in some flat leaf parsley, spinach or another leafy green.

I'd use more dried herbs, too. Rosemary, basil, marjoram--or all of them--would be good choices. Dried basil doesn't have a lot of flavor.

How about a splash of red wine or one clove of garlic? I'd just crack and peel the garlic, add it to the beef while it's browning, remove it from the soup with the bay leaf. I'm sure the ketchup adds a nice little kick to the broth. If you didn't use that, I'd suggest a few drops of Worcestershire sauce.

[Kayekaye]

I would always fry the onion with the meat, it gives the onions another depth of flavor and also flavors the met.

And add Mushrooms chopped to the frying meat and onion.

When meat is almost done add crushed fresh garlic to it.