Grandmother's Vegetable Soup

By GratefulSea

Made hundreds of times by Mary Davis Blades Raughley, born 1883.

Ingredients

• 1-1/2 pounds lean beef, cut in small pieces
• 7 cups water (plus any leftover vegetable stock)
• 1 carrot
• 1 stalk celery, plus a handful of celery leaves (about 2 T.)
• 2 Tblsp chopped parsley ( several sprigs)
• 1/2 large green pepper
• 2 large, or 3 medium, onions
• 1 medium potato
• 1/3 cup elbow macaroni
• 1 Tblsp rice
• 3/4 cup wide noodles
• 1 Tblsp salt
• 4 beef bouillion cubes dissolved in 1-1/2 cup water
• 1 quart sized jar tomatoes
• 1 Tblsp Worcestshire sauce

Preparation

Step 1

Put beef in cold water on low heat and let simmer about 3 hours. Do not boil.

Chop fine celery, leaves, parsley, and green pepper.
Chop carrot, potato, and onions.

When beef broth is thoroughly cooked and the meat is very tender (after at least 3 hours), add rice, macaroni, 1 teaspoon salt, and the noodles.
Keep cooking, stirring occasionally, so they do not settle.
When pasta and rice are soft, add potato and onions, and cook for 10 more minutes.

Add parsley, celery, and green pepper. Then add tomatoes, the broth from beef bouillon cubes that were dissolved in water, and Worcestshire sauce.

This yields a soup that is often too thick. If that's the case, thin it with more tomatoes, tomato juice, or V8. Test the soup when it is nearly done, adjusting seasoning to your taste. Grandmom would add extra bouillion cubes or tomato juice.