Beef Vegetable Soup

Happy Birthday Dad!!!

This recipe was really yummy and made so much food!  We cooked it on Sunday and had leftovers all week.  This is from She Cooks and could be modified to fit whatever meat (or no meat, if you prefer) you like.  The slaw mix, which was a surprise ingredient for me, actually gave it almost a noodle-like texture. 

Ingredients:

3# ground beef (preferably grass-fed)
1 onion, chopped
2 leeks (white part only) cut in half lengthwise and then sliced
1 package brown mushrooms, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
2-14.5 oz cans petite cut tomatoes
1 envelope onion soup mix (as always, check ingredients)
4 stalks celery with leaves, chopped
3 carrots, peeled and chopped
1-14.5 oz can cut green beans, including the liquid
1-1 lb gag shredded cabbage or slaw mix
1-5 oz package baby spinach leaves
32 oz V8 Juice (check ingredients so you do not have sugar added)

1. Brown beef over medium heat in a very large stock pot. When about halfway cooked, add the onions and leeks.
2. When the beef is cooked, stir in the mushrooms, garlic, salt and pepper and cook for 2-3 minutes stirring occasionally.
3. Add remaining ingredients. Add enough water to cover. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer 45 minutes or until carrots are tender.