Soup-er Easy

I'm on a soup kick. I think I have been genetically programmed to get in front of a stock pot as soon as the cool weather comes in. I remember my mom used to make soups and stews whenever it snowed. I've taken it even further and have to have a new batch of soup in my fridge every week as soon as the leaves turn and it drops below 60 degrees.

Before the 17 Day Diet I supplemented my soup addiction with prepared foods. Either canned or from the big vats of soup at my local grocery. Now that I am hyper-aware that I need to stay away from processed/unhealthy foods as much as possible those are not an option for me. Besides...it is SUPER easy to make soup from scratch.

This weeks soup isn't going to win any major awards. I am not falling out of my chair like I did with the cauliflower pizza crust I made last week. But...it fits the bill. The soup actually gets better as it sits, so while I was not wowed by it as I tasted it from the pot, it got significantly better the next day.

The recipe is from the Williams Sonoma website. I did not tweak it too much. I left the potatoes out because I wanted to be able to eat it later in the day. No starches after 2 pm on this diet. I also left out the parsley...just because I hate parsley. I subbed asparagus for the green beans, and cut the beef into bite size pieces before cooking. The last thing I did was not purposeful, but my can of San Marzano tomatoes was more of a smooth puree rather than crushed. But that shouldn't make a difference. Just texturally smoother.

Gourmet? No. Healthy and easy? For sure!

Hearty (and Healthy) Beef and Vegetable Soup