Beef Vegetable Soup

I made some beef vegetable soup this week and it turned out pretty nicely.  I used lots of bits and pieces with very low cost so I thought it was worth sharing here.

I prepared several beef pot roasts for my freezer meal swap recently and I had some beef bones left over.

I simmered the bones overnight.  It looks totally gross, but I assure you that is very yummy broth!

 I pulled out the big bones and poured the stock through a strainer.  Then I put the stock in the refrigerator to separate and the meat in the refrigerator overnight to await addition to the soup.

I sauteed 1 stalk of celery, 2 small carrots, and half an onion in 2 T olive oil.

They got nice and soft and I added a Tablespoon of fresh pressed garlic.

I chopped the meat into smaller pieces before I added it to the veggies.

I chopped these three tomatoes from the garden for the soup.

Doesn't that look yummy?

Then I took the broth out of the fridge.  Yep, it still looks gross.  I scraped the fat off the surface so it would be healthier.

I added it to the pot.  Still looks gross, huh?

But doesn't that look great?  After it warmed up I added some rosemary, basil, and crushed red pepper, salt & black pepper.

Then I added some green beans just picked from the garden.

And the last, small crookneck squash also from the garden.

And viola!  

It was pretty yummy with far more vegetables than meat.  I think it would be nice with a little shredded parmesan garnish, too.

Katie