Vegetable Beef Soup

This is my Mother-in-laws soup, it is more a method than a recipe. She uses whatever she has on hand, on Christmas Eve she made it with stew meat. Here are her instructions in her own words.

Method:

My soup begins with Paula Deen's fresh green beans with new potatoes, which I use 2-3 times in different meals.

Brown floured stew meat/short ribs/chicken/whatever meat you have.....(the flour helps the broth to be a little thicker) in a skillet.

Add any or all below to a stock pot:

Chopped carrots

Large can of diced tomatoes

Can of tomato soup (undiluted)

1 or 2 cans of tomato sauce (I like a strong tomato taste - you won't have to use that much)Paula's Green Beans or frozen green beans

Potatoes

Beef Stock or Broth

Can pinto/navy beans (or leftover Red Beans and Rice)

Rice or macaroni/noodles

Add enough water to make it the consistency you want for your soup. Before you season, taste it to make sure it doesn't already have enough salt.

Season choices:

salt/pepper (to taste)

garlic & onion powder

Italian seasoning (if you want an Italian flavor)

Add meat to stock pot and let it simmer for a couple of hours or until the meat is very tender. Cube potatoes during the last 30 minutes of cooking (new/red potatoes hold up better in soup). If you want you can add rice or macaroni/noodles do it during the last 20-30 minutes of cooking.