Hamburger Soup Recipe

The Recipe: Comfort food at its best, a hearty soup with chunks of meat and a cornucopia of bright-colored vegetables. I've been making this soup for, what, thirty years? Yikes!

The Conversation: The neighborhood of my childhood, where every family called the kids to dinner with a different sound. How does your family call everyone to the table?

COMPLIMENTS!
"... it was sooooo good!" ~ Dana
"... this is very good and my kids also liked it." ~ Crystal

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The playground of my childhood was fifteen acres of woods and riverbank, rounded out with a treehouse, a cattle culvert and a cave; three gullies, boat docks and vegetable gardens; a makeshift baseball diamond, a chicken-coop-turned-clubhouse and a raspberry patch.

But we just called it "the neighborhood", home to six families in seven houses, three owned by brothers. The year I started kindergarten, my mom used to recount, 21 kids got on the schoolbus. Within the neighborhood, we kids knew no boundaries. On the other side of the river was Ontario. Immigration? We'd swim over, boat over, skate over, depending on the season. My mom was big on yard games: in summer, we played endless rounds of croquet in the front yard then switched to badminton matches in the back. One winter, the river froze rough so my dad flooded the front yard for an ice rink.

Come suppertime, we kids could be anywhere. To call us home for dinner, each family had a distinctive sound. The Andersons had the jingle of a bell, one of the Holte families the gong of a triangle. My dad pursed his lips around a conch shell horn, summoning my sister and me with a deep-bass bellow.

These days, my sister calls her boys to supper with the "tink" of a text message. It's modern, not quite so nostalgic, but it works. And you, how are you calling your family to dinner these days?

ALANNA's TIPS Hamburger Soup is a classic "concept" recipe. Add whatever vegetables you have on hand, frozen vegetables work great. Throw in bits and pieces from the refrigerator, a splash of leftover wine, a spoonful of pumpkin, fresh greens, a can of beans. There's even a "lasagna in a bowl" version, try my recipe for Lasagna Soup with Fresh Spinach published at A Veggie Venture, my food blog about vegetables. It's easy to overdo the pasta, one cup doesn't look like a lot. But it really swells up so go easy unless you prefer a Hamburger-Pasta Soup. Substitute rice or a grain for the pasta too.

HAMBURGER SOUP RECIPE

Hands-on time: 20 minutes
Time-to-table: 75 minutes
Makes 12 cups

• Splash of water
• 1 pound ground beef, turkey, elk or other meat
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 red bell pepper, chopped
• 3 ribs celery, trimmed and chopped

• 15 ounces canned diced tomatoes
• 4 carrots, peeled and chopped
• 1 cup frozen corn (no need to thaw)
• 4 cups beef broth
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt (may need less or more depending on saltiness of the broth)
• Generous grind of black pepper
• 1/2 cup ketchup
• "Other" - see TIPS

• 1 cup dried pasta

In a large pot or Dutch oven, cook the meat in the splash of water, breaking the meat up as it cooks, letting each piece get a little "burn" on it before turning over. Add the onion, pepper and celery as they're prepped and cook until the vegetables are beginning to soften. Add all the remaining ingredients except the pasta, cover and bring to a boil.

Turn the heat down to maintain a slow simmer and let cook until the vegetables are cooked. (If serving later, stop here, let cool, refrigerate. Return to a boil before proceeding.)

Add the pasta and cook for 10 - 15 minutes until pasta is fully cooked. Serve and savor!

To reheat leftovers, you may need to add more liquid as the pasta sucks up the broth.

NUTRITION INFORMATION Per Cup: 105 Calories; 1g Tot Fat; 0g Sat Fat; 0mg Cholesterol; 487mg Sodium; 15g Carb; 3g Fiber; 6g Sugar; 11g Protein. WEIGHT WATCHERS POINTS WW Old Points 1.5 & WW PointsPlus 3 & Smart Points 3 Weight Watchers, you have to love this hearty soup recipe. It just proves how a little meat can be so satisfying, especially when paired with the volume of healthful vegetables and just a touch of carbs. It's a great example of how eating well can leave us satisfied and healthy both.

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Kitchen Parade is written by second-generation food columnist Alanna Kellogg and features fresh, seasonal dishes for every-day healthful eating and occasional indulgences. In 2009, Kitchen Parade celebrates its 50th anniversary with a
special collection of my mother's recipes. Is there a favorite hearty soup that calls to you when the weather turns cool, a recipe that other Kitchen Parade readers might like? Just send me a quick e-mail via recipes@kitchen-parade.com. If you like this soup recipe from Kitchen Parade, consider a free e-mail subscription. Once or twice a week when a new recipe is published, you'll be notified via e-mail. How to print a recipe on Kitchen Parade. If you like Kitchen Parade, forward this recipe to a friend who might too!

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A Menu

Hamburger Soup (recipe above)
Cheddar-Olive Spread
with
No-Knead English Muffin Bread

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More Hamburger Recipes

(hover for a description, click a photo for a recipe)

~ more beef recipes ~

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Shop Your Pantry First

(helping home cooks save money on groceries)

~ beef or elk or turkey ~
~ bell peppers ~
~ tomatoes ~
~ carrots ~
~ corn ~
~ ketchup ~

~ All Recipes, By Ingredient ~
~ How to Save Money on Groceries ~

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