There is less than 30 days left until Spring arrives. If you are like me, you are looking forward to the birds chirping and the warmer weather. In my household, Spring also means that soup season is over. While we still have the chance, why not indulge ourselves in a warm, meat filled soup!
We all get tired of doing the same things to eat. Take grounded beef for example, the most popular things we will make with ground beef would be your classic hamburgers, spaghetti with meat sauce, Shepherds Pie, tacos, meatballs (I have a great stroganoff meatball recipe)… name it. How about soup? Yeah, I was thinking the exact same thing you are thinking… ground beef and soup don’t mix. Guess again!
In order to make this recipe, you will need:
- 1 Lbs of ground beef
- 1 egg
- 1 tsp of oregano
- 1 clove of garlic
- 1 Tbsp of butter
- 1 large onion
- 7 cups of water
- 1 large carrot, sliced thinly
- 1 celery stick, sliced thinly
- 3 Tbsp of Beef Bouillon powder
- 4 -5 branches of fresh parsley
- 1 bunch of fresh basil
- 3 tsp of Worcestershire sauce (forgot to put it in the picture… oups)
- Salt & Pepper
First, you want to prepare your meatballs. In a bowl, mix together your beef, the egg, your oregano, the garlic and add some salt.
Shape into 20 small balls.
If you are you fresh meat (not from frozen), you can double the recipe, cook the meatballs through and pack them in a freezer tight container and freeze them for later use. They can be used in tomato sauce for a fast & easy spaghetti with meatballs. If you are using meat that came from the freezer, DO NOT REFREEZE!
In large heated saucepan, add your meatballs and cook them, turning them once, for about 5 minutes.
Once your time is up, take them out of the pan and place them onto a paper towel covered plate. This will soak up the excess fat from the meat. Don’t worry with the fact that they aren’t cooked all the way. We will add them to our broth to finish the cooking process.
Keeping the meat fat goodness at the bottom of your pan, add your butter and let it melt.
Once your butter is all melted, add your onions. Bring your heat to medium low and let these onions sweat for about 5 – 10 minutes.
While your onions are cooking, prepare the rest of your vegetables. Slice thinly your carrot & celery. Chop up your parsley and basil. Once your onions are translucent, stir in your 7 cups of water, your carrots & celery, your beef bouillon powder, the Worcestershire sauce and your fresh parsley & basil.
It’s now time to add in your meatballs to your soup mixture. Bring to a boil and let simmer for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Once your time is up, set your saucepan aside and let rest for 5 – 10 minutes. You can take this time to heat up some bread or dinner rolls. A little bit of bread goes well with this soup.
Top off with fresh Parmesan strips and some fresh parsley. This soup makes a great meal! Go ahead, try ground beef in your soup… you’ll love it!
