Mom's Vegetable Ground Beef Soup.

What's cooking?
Post Reply
User avatar
worth1
Reactions:
Posts: 14278
Joined: Tue Dec 10, 2019 12:32 pm
Location: 25 miles southeast of Waterloo Texas

Mom's Vegetable Ground Beef Soup.

#1

Post: # 9128Unread post worth1
Thu Feb 06, 2020 4:52 pm

Mom's Vegetable Ground Beef Soup.

When I was a kid growing up my Mom had one of those giant granite cook down kettles for making preserves and so on.
The thing was her kitchen work horse.
Used for everything.
One if the things she made that is near and dear to my heart is Mom's Vegetable Ground Beef Soup.
It consisted of all manner of vegetables and our own farm raised beef.
Matter of fact everything that went into this soup was raised and grown right there on our farm.
Minus salt and black pepper and s few other spices.
It was and still is my favorite food, my Wife was astounded I could eat it for days on end.
Breakfast dinner and supper.
Sadly my wife was raised on crap out of a box.
Her mother worked all day so that is what they had.
My Mom was a farm Mom and she worked her tail off all day too.

One thing I remember is how down right silly happy i was to see the makings of the soup.
Teen aged girl giddy I was so happy.
Hanging out at the stove like a hungry dog helping every chance I got.
Later after I left home and was working in the oil fields of west Texas I had an apartment with one of my brothers.
His drunken friends were over one night and I asked them if they wanted something to eat.
Looking at me being only a kid they said no.
Then they started smelling my (Mom's Vegetable Ground Beef Soup.)
Man that smells pretty good I might try some.
Wow that is good and the whole bunch started eating my soup.
Then my reputation started spreading about my cooking to their wives.
They were eating at my place instead of coming home.
The wives started coming over to meet this kid.
They would take my money and go grocery shopping for me because I didn't get off work in time back then.
Everything would be put away when I got home and I always paid them to do it.

So the story sort of went a little long but to be realistic when I started cooking on my own it was Mom's Vegetable Ground Beef Soup that was first.
Making it tonight in a 16 quart kettle.

To be continued.
Last edited by worth1 on Thu Feb 06, 2020 5:43 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Worth
25 miles southeast of Waterloo Texas.

You can't argue with a closed mind.
You might as well be arguing with a cat.

User avatar
MissS
Reactions:
Posts: 5598
Joined: Fri Dec 13, 2019 4:55 am
Location: SE Wisconsin Zone 5b

Re: Mom's Vegetable Ground Beef Soup.

#2

Post: # 9130Unread post MissS
Thu Feb 06, 2020 5:07 pm

That's a very nice story Worth.
~ Patti ~

User avatar
worth1
Reactions:
Posts: 14278
Joined: Tue Dec 10, 2019 12:32 pm
Location: 25 miles southeast of Waterloo Texas

Re: Mom's Vegetable Ground Beef Soup.

#3

Post: # 9136Unread post worth1
Thu Feb 06, 2020 5:36 pm

First off I made crude meat balls about the size of golf balls from 5 pounds of ground chuck and set it on the bottom of the kettle to cook a wee bit covered.
Next I put a giant 102 ounce can of peeled whole plumb tomatoes with the juice on top of that.
These things have been driving me crazy as too what to do with them. :lol:
Around 5 pounds or so of russet potatoes not skinned and cubed up into 6ths or so very crude all done with a paring knife no fancy chef work.
My Mom did almost everything with a carbon steel paring knife and I have one just like it.
Over 1/2 bag of the giant whole carrots you get at the store biggest they have cut up crudely with knife not skinned but washed.
5 or 6 yellow onions cubed up crudely into 4ths.
1 tablespoon at least of fresh ground black pepper and the same garlic powder.
Some water maybe a pint.
Letting this cook on the stove for awhile.
Not finished yet kettle about 2/3 to 3/4 full.
To be continued.
Worth
25 miles southeast of Waterloo Texas.

You can't argue with a closed mind.
You might as well be arguing with a cat.

User avatar
worth1
Reactions:
Posts: 14278
Joined: Tue Dec 10, 2019 12:32 pm
Location: 25 miles southeast of Waterloo Texas

Re: Mom's Vegetable Ground Beef Soup.

#4

Post: # 9146Unread post worth1
Thu Feb 06, 2020 6:21 pm

Somewhere during this concoction soup cook I added a handful of sweet paprika and a handful of Fiestas brand chili powder.'
Next I added 3 15 oz or so cans each of sweet peas, sweet corn and green beans juice and all.
I then took one of the cans and used it to put 3 more cans of water.
(((NOTICE))) no salt was added at any time.
To me salt can be added at the table.
I think it needs more black pepper.
My Mom's was black pepper hot big time.
The kettle is on full throttle to come to a boil and cook for awhile so I can eat.
The steaming 16 quart beast will go into the cold garage tonight to cool down and tomorrow it will go in the refrigerator.
Sometimes it goes on the front porch.

How did we get that fresh corn???
I was made to work in the garden growing up.
My parents didn't want to fool with corn.
I did and would sneak in a few rows behind their back along with cantaloupe and watermelon.
What the hell is that coming up?
Corm.... :lol:
We had a huge garden and I had to take care of it.
Worth
25 miles southeast of Waterloo Texas.

You can't argue with a closed mind.
You might as well be arguing with a cat.

User avatar
brownrexx
Reactions:
Posts: 2079
Joined: Thu Dec 12, 2019 1:05 pm
Location: Southeast PA, zone 6b

Re: Mom's Vegetable Ground Beef Soup.

#5

Post: # 9161Unread post brownrexx
Thu Feb 06, 2020 7:01 pm

Those are nice stories. I did not grow up on a farm, but my mom cooked from scratch every single night. I often think of my mom as I cook my own meals from scratch. I have a few of her old pieces of cookware and her recipe file. I enjoy making things that she used to make from those recipes and in that cookware. She passed away in 2003.

MsCowpea
Reactions:
Posts: 870
Joined: Sat Dec 14, 2019 1:01 pm
Location: S Florida USA Zone 10

Re: Mom's Vegetable Ground Beef Soup.

#6

Post: # 9170Unread post MsCowpea
Thu Feb 06, 2020 8:25 pm

ditto-that is a really nice story. Well written too.
Last edited by MsCowpea on Fri Feb 07, 2020 9:01 pm, edited 1 time in total.
"When we kill off the natural enemies of a pest we inherit their work."
Carl Huffaker

User avatar
worth1
Reactions:
Posts: 14278
Joined: Tue Dec 10, 2019 12:32 pm
Location: 25 miles southeast of Waterloo Texas

Re: Mom's Vegetable Ground Beef Soup.

#7

Post: # 9187Unread post worth1
Fri Feb 07, 2020 5:42 am

Here are a few pictures.
20200206_190625.jpg
20200206_170324.jpg
20200206_190612.jpg
You do not have the required permissions to view the files attached to this post.
Worth
25 miles southeast of Waterloo Texas.

You can't argue with a closed mind.
You might as well be arguing with a cat.

User avatar
brownrexx
Reactions:
Posts: 2079
Joined: Thu Dec 12, 2019 1:05 pm
Location: Southeast PA, zone 6b

Re: Mom's Vegetable Ground Beef Soup.

#8

Post: # 9192Unread post brownrexx
Fri Feb 07, 2020 7:34 am

I like ground beef in soup so much better than beef cubes. My Mom always used beef cubes and even though they were tender, I always ate around them.

Your soup looks good [mention]worth1[/mention]

User avatar
bower
Reactions:
Posts: 5475
Joined: Thu Dec 12, 2019 12:44 pm
Location: Newfoundland, Canada

Re: Mom's Vegetable Ground Beef Soup.

#9

Post: # 9222Unread post bower
Fri Feb 07, 2020 11:24 am

My mom also cooked everything from scratch, but we were no farm, so the 'ground beef stew' was not as fulsome and appealing as yours, Worth. All store bought stuff, basically onions carrots ground beef and seasonings. Maybe a bit of rutabaga. She served it over rice and we always used ketchup on it. We kids liked it well enough (but I think it was mainly the ketchup! ;) ) That is something we ate probably once a week for most of my early childhood, until we went overseas where food was different.
Mom's mac and cheese with tomatoes is the thing I remembered and made when first out on my own, and continued to make it (still do from time to time, except I use my own frozen tomatoes now instead of canned).
Way to use up the giant tin of tomatoes! :D The deals on giant tins are great, but using it is the challenge.
AgCan Zone 5a/USDA zone 4
temperate marine climate
yearly precip 61 inches/1550 mm

User avatar
worth1
Reactions:
Posts: 14278
Joined: Tue Dec 10, 2019 12:32 pm
Location: 25 miles southeast of Waterloo Texas

Re: Mom's Vegetable Ground Beef Soup.

#10

Post: # 9246Unread post worth1
Fri Feb 07, 2020 1:07 pm

In the summer I cooled the soup with milk.
It is one of the few foods I could eat till I was ready to pop.
Even today I have to restrain myself.
I have always found it odd that many country folks I have met don't like soup of any kind.
They want thier vegetables separate.
Weird to me.
Worth
25 miles southeast of Waterloo Texas.

You can't argue with a closed mind.
You might as well be arguing with a cat.

User avatar
peebee
Reactions:
Posts: 608
Joined: Tue Dec 10, 2019 6:48 pm
Location: So. Calif zone 10

Re: Mom's Vegetable Ground Beef Soup.

#11

Post: # 9285Unread post peebee
Fri Feb 07, 2020 5:17 pm

At last I can look at the posts here, I had to undergo a colonoscopy yesterday so the day of the prep I tried not to see or smell any food. No matter how much I eat or drink today I'm still starving.
Man that soup looks good. I think I can eat that whole kettle Worth :D
Zone 10, Southern California
Will eat anything once before I judge.
Anything meaning any foods of course.

User avatar
worth1
Reactions:
Posts: 14278
Joined: Tue Dec 10, 2019 12:32 pm
Location: 25 miles southeast of Waterloo Texas

Re: Mom's Vegetable Ground Beef Soup.

#12

Post: # 9289Unread post worth1
Fri Feb 07, 2020 5:37 pm

peebee wrote: Fri Feb 07, 2020 5:17 pm At last I can look at the posts here, I had to undergo a colonoscopy yesterday so the day of the prep I tried not to see or smell any food. No matter how much I eat or drink today I'm still starving.
Man that soup looks good. I think I can eat that whole kettle Worth :D
Thank you and I'm glad the backed tortilla chips turned out good too.

Thinking of the soup reminded me of the amount of black pepper my Mom put in it.
The bottom of the kettle was extremely hot and had a layer of black pepper about 1/2 inch thick. :lol:
Then it reminded me of how mad my father got at us for eating raw garlic.
He would scold us for eating it before we got in the truck.
How dare you eat garlic before being in close confines with other people. :x :x :x
That was his exact words. :lol: :lol: :lol:
We always had garlic at the table and you could see him grimace when we used it.
You know I'm the type of person that will just do stuff to make someone else even more mad.
I got it from my Mom.
He hated hot food and I would slip in a hot carrot slice from the pickled hot peppers in his cooked carrots.
I came from a family of practical jokers including him.
Worth
25 miles southeast of Waterloo Texas.

You can't argue with a closed mind.
You might as well be arguing with a cat.

User avatar
SusieQ
Reactions:
Posts: 128
Joined: Thu Dec 26, 2019 7:38 am
Location: Michigan Zone 5a/4b

Re: Mom's Vegetable Ground Beef Soup.

#13

Post: # 9292Unread post SusieQ
Fri Feb 07, 2020 5:46 pm

Looks great, Worth! That's how I like to chunk my veggies, too. So hearty that way.

User avatar
peebee
Reactions:
Posts: 608
Joined: Tue Dec 10, 2019 6:48 pm
Location: So. Calif zone 10

Re: Mom's Vegetable Ground Beef Soup.

#14

Post: # 9307Unread post peebee
Fri Feb 07, 2020 6:50 pm

My family loves black pepper, I buy several containers at a time & there's always a grinder at the table.
I can't stand raw garlic just like your dad & esp to smell it. Ever since I gave birth to my 2nd child years ago I could no longer tolerate it, weird. Garlic has to be cooked, for me. Or fermented like in kimchi.
Zone 10, Southern California
Will eat anything once before I judge.
Anything meaning any foods of course.

User avatar
Sue_CT
Reactions:
Posts: 4373
Joined: Tue Dec 10, 2019 11:03 pm
Location: Connecticut Zone 6A

Re: Mom's Vegetable Ground Beef Soup.

#15

Post: # 9317Unread post Sue_CT
Fri Feb 07, 2020 9:38 pm

That looks really good, Worth.

User avatar
worth1
Reactions:
Posts: 14278
Joined: Tue Dec 10, 2019 12:32 pm
Location: 25 miles southeast of Waterloo Texas

Re: Mom's Vegetable Ground Beef Soup.

#16

Post: # 9511Unread post worth1
Sun Feb 09, 2020 7:08 am

I haven't cooked since Thursday night because of this soup.
Worth
25 miles southeast of Waterloo Texas.

You can't argue with a closed mind.
You might as well be arguing with a cat.

User avatar
worth1
Reactions:
Posts: 14278
Joined: Tue Dec 10, 2019 12:32 pm
Location: 25 miles southeast of Waterloo Texas

Re: Mom's Vegetable Ground Beef Soup.

#17

Post: # 9593Unread post worth1
Sun Feb 09, 2020 3:44 pm

I was putting my beets in the refrigerator and realized I forgot the pound of Portobello mushrooms I bought for it.
At home we would have gathered wild mushrooms on our place.
Gotta get them from the store now.
20200209_153925.jpg
You do not have the required permissions to view the files attached to this post.
Worth
25 miles southeast of Waterloo Texas.

You can't argue with a closed mind.
You might as well be arguing with a cat.

Post Reply

Return to “Recipes”