Cold Weather Recipe: My Vegetable Beef Chili Soup

My Vegetable Beef Chili

Cold weather brings on my warm food cravings.  My Vegetable Beef Chili it perfect for a football Sunday.  Not only a comfort food, but packs a lot of healthy veggies into one big bowl.  

My Vegetable Chili

Soups of some sort are made in my house about once a week during the fall and winter, usually on Sundays.  It makes a lot and feeds a lot.  Most are fairly simple recipes and will be several meals for the next few days.  With this recipe, you can easily make it what you want, with what you have.  I promise it will work and taste great, no fear!  Since there isn't too many beans, the kids will like it too.

Ingredients:

• 1-2 lbs ground beef, cooked & drained
• carrots, 2-3 (sub baby carrots)
• celery, 2-3 stalks
• 1 onion 
• 2 T butter and/or olive oil
• water, as needed
• 2 cups beef broth (sub with stock, bone broth or bouillon)
• 1 15 oz can tomato sauce (sub 3/4 cup tomato paste + 1 cup water)
• 1 15 oz can chili beans
• 1 15 oz can beans of your choice (I used butter beans)
• 1 15 oz can corn (sub with frozen)
• 1 15 oz can stewed tomatoes, broken up (sometimes I use 2 cans)
• Seasonings:
• 2-3 T chili powder
• 1 t cumin powder
• 1 t garlic powder
• 1 t onion powder
• 1/4 t paprika 
• 1/4 t cayenne
• pepper to taste (I've been using smoked pepper for added flavor)
• salt to taste

(Additional ingredients:  Add anything you see fit!  I added 1 can of green beans just because.  Do you like it hot? Add more pepper, cumin and cayenne to taste.  Do you like it sweeter?  Add more stewed tomatoes or a sprinkle of sugar to the entire soup at the end.  This can be made to how YOU like it!  Also, do not get stuck on the ounces... use what you have or buy what you see.  This recipe is so flexible, it will work.)

Toppings: shredded cheese, sour cream, crackers, bacon, chives, bread, etc.

fresh vegetables

chopped fresh veggies

First, cook ground beef in a large soup pot on medium heat.  Season if you would like.  Sometimes I will sneak in some additional seasonings here on the beef, like smoked salt or white pepper or just plain old Seasoned All.

cooked ground beef removed

While that is cooking, slice carrots and celery thinly.  I used my mandoline to be quick!  You could chop baby carrots if that's all you have.  Chop a whole onion.  Onions add lots of flavor even if you are not an onion lover.  You could omit the onion and just add onion powder only if you wish.  Drain ground beef and remove ground beef from pot.  With butter and/or oil, salt and pepper, saute all the chopped veggies on medium high heat for about 10 mins or so.

saute veggies

While the veggies cook, measure out all your spices into one bowl.  This makes it easy to add to the soup later, in one drop.  You can adjust these seasonings to taste later.

measured spices

To speed up the cooking of the veggies (and I like mine thoroughly cooked) I add water to cover the veggies and boil on high heat until they are fork tender.  A lid on the pot will make this even faster (and saving time is everything to me!).  It may cook more once the soup is simmering, but I like to make sure they are indeed cooked.  Plus, the flavors of the veggies and oil/butter will make a vegetable stock to flavor the soup.

boiling veggies in water

Now is the easy part!  Add in all of your canned ingredients with the beef broth to the pot.  With my hand, I break apart the stewed tomatoes into bit size pieces.  Do not drain your corn or chili beans, just dump away and stir.  Add your seasonings also, to taste (I personally add a sprinkle of garlic to top my individual serving).  Bring to a slight boil to meld all the flavors together.

veggie soup before the seasonings

Add the ground beef back in.  Waiting prevents the beef from becoming too dry.  It will add lots of protein and flavors to the soup now.  Bring back to a boil.  TASTE YOUR CHILI BROTH carefully!  If you don't like something with the seasonings, now is the time to "fix" it (see additional ingredients list).  Then simmer for at least 20 minutes, until heated through.  Longer the better for the tomato sauce to become less acidic and more sweet.

Add in ground beef

Boil and simmer all ingredients

If you need more liquids, add in more beef broth, water or tomato sauce.  If it is too much liquid, do not cover with a lid.  This allows moisture to escape in the cooking process.  My soups are all very hearty.  And if they didn't include some sort of protein, it would be a party for one (and by one I mean I would be stuck eating this ALL week;) )

Bam, here we are!

SO healthful and good....  I personally must have saltine crackers with my chili.  I will buy them just for this and then use the rest for Christmas Crack (if you do not know what this is, I do not have a recipe up yet BUT google it!  It's a must make holiday recipe).

Even just as good the next day for lunch!

Enjoy!