Description

This is a hearty and delicious soup that’s filled with loads of yummy vegetables and juicy chunks of ground beef. It’s a complete meal that your whole family will enjoy. This recipe makes a big batch so you’ll have plenty to freeze for another day!

Ingredients

2 ½ to 3 pounds of ground beef, browned and drained
2 cups of chopped yellow sweet onions.
8 cups cold water
1 (32-ounce) carton of beef broth or beef stock.
1(16-ounce) package frozen mixed vegetables with green beans
2 cups frozen white or yellow shoepeg corn
2 cups frozen black-eyed peas
2 cups frozen baby lima beans
1 tablespoon salt, plus 1 teaspoon
2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
3 sticks salted butter, divided
4 cups diced raw Yukon Gold Potatoes
1(15-ounce) can diced (petite) tomatoes, undrained
2 (15-ounce) cans tomato sauce
¼ cup white granulated sugar

Instructions

In a large skillet, brown beef and add onions when beef is partially cooked. Cook beef and onions together until ground beef is totally browned and no longer pink and onions are translucent.
Drain the beef and set the beef and onions aside.
In a (very) large pot, add water, beef broth, frozen mixed vegetables, shoepeg corn, black-eyed peas, baby lima beans, salt, pepper, and 2 sticks of butter.
Cook over medium-low heat until vegetables are tender. About 25 to 30 minutes.
Once vegetables are tender, add diced raw potatoes, diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, sugar, brown meat and onions, and the remaining stick of butter. Stir well. Cover and simmer for 20 minutes or until potatoes are fork-tender. Taste to see if you need more salt and pepper. Serve hot with cornbread (recipe here aletiadupree.com/southern-buttermilk-cornbread) peanut butter and jelly sandwich, cracker or grilled cheese.

Notes

Do ahead/freeze tip: Soup can be made two or three days ahead. Keep refrigerated and warm in the microwave or on top of the stove. This recipe makes a lot of soup so you can freeze leftovers in gallon freezer bags for up to three months. You can also add more water and tomato sauce if needed. I usually add extra sauce and water to the soup especially after freezing it. The soup absorbed a lot of liquid after it’s frozen.

Recipe Note: If you don’t have a very large pot, divide up the soup into two pots after all the ingredients have been added and then continue to cook until potatoes are fork-tender.