Granny's Big Family Vegetable Soup

Granny's Soup - I always make a lot because I freeze a bunch of it - then when you are sick or tired or whatever you have this to eat.

Take some beef bones with some little bit of fat and marrow

6 Ribs of celery washing and cut in big dice crosswise
2 large chopped onions
3 cloves chopped garlic
1 coarsely chopped green pepper

Bring to a boil and simmer covered, in about two or three quarts of water with salt, pepper for about two hours. Take out the bones and strip off any meat they have on them set meat aside to add at the end of cooking.

Add to the broth:

2 huge cans of whole or chopped tomatoes
2 pounds of beef stew meat in about 1.5" X 1.5" pieces

Just be sure you have plenty of liquid when you start out bring to a boil and simmer without cover for about an hour.

If you use whole tomatoes kinda break them up with your hands as you put into the simmering broth. You can add some beef bullion if you want a richer broth but it will not be necessary if your bones had a lot of marrow in them (which is best for this dish).

So simmer about an hour.

(Lazy method -Add a large bag of mixed vegetables -do not use that frozen soup or stew kind)

or you can add small bags of: corn, green beans, peas, carrots

or you can peel and slice into rounds about 6 carrots.

Simmer this for about 20 mins

At this point if you want to freeze some of the soup take out what you want to freeze and let it cool.

To the soup you want to eat right away

Add

Peel about 2 large potatoes and cube

1/2 cup rice

1 cup large elbow macaroni

Simmer about another 20 mins and eat.

The reason you freeze the soup base before you put in the potatoes, macaroni and rice is that if you freeze the soup with all that in it then when it thaws the potatoes get grainy and starchy and the macaroni and rice deteriorate into the soup in a mush. So if you freeze the base just add the potatoes, rice and mac and boil for about 20 mins or half an hour before you serve.

Good Good with cornbread or biscuits.