Background

When I was growing up, I will not recount just how many years ago this was, I could always count on the staple bowl of mother’s homemade soup, for supper during most of the colder months.

On an early Saturday morning preparations would begin and culminate in the late afternoon. You could always tell that we would be having soup for supper. The gigantic soup pot would be put out on the counter and cleaning of mounds of fresh vegetables would begin. Just as a note, my parents grew up during the great depression of the 1930’s. That wonderful pot of soup would last for about a week, sometimes less, depending on what was served for lunches. I should also note that growing up we had fewer colds and other illnesses than most. I attribute that to all the fresh vegetables and herbs that were used to make my mother’s wonderful soup.

These days everything is done quickly or instantly by opening a can and heating the contents. I don’t say that there are not some great soups available, but homemade is always better in my humble opinion.

Ingredients

• Beef Broth – College Inn makes several varieties of broths that are great and a time saver.
• Water – I prefer to use filtered water to take out the extra chemicals found in tap water.
• Sliced Carrots – Most grocery stores have the small, 8 ¼ oz cans available.
• Pearled Onions – Most grocery stores have these available in small cans or jars.
• Worcestershire Sauce – Lea & Perrins is the best.
• Celery Flakes
• Parsley Flakes
• Minced Onion Flakes
• Black Pepper
• Garlic Powder

Method

1. Into a two quart pot, add a 14 ½ can of beef broth and two can full’s of water.

Option: Depending how strong of a beef flavor you want, you can subtract one can of water or add an additional can of water.

1. Bring the above to a boil, then reduce the heat so that it is lightly simmering
2. Add an 8 ¼ oz can of sliced carrots and hold on to the can for the next step
3. Fill the empty 8 ¼ oz can with pearled onions and add to the pot

Option: If you are not onion friendly, then reduce the amount of onions.

1. Add 1 Tablespoon of Worcester sauce to the pot
2. Add 4 Tablespoons of Ketchup to the pot

Option: If you would prefer a richer tomato taste to your soup, add one or two additional tablespoons of ketchup to the pot.

1. Add a thin layer of Celery Flakes to the pot
2. Add a thin layer of Parsley Flakes to the pot
3. Add a thing layer of Minced, Dry, Onion Flakes to the pot
4. Add a dash of Black Pepper to the pot
5. Add a dash of Garlic Powder to the pot
6. Simmer your soup while you do the next step. Depending on how much water you added to the pot, you may need to adjust the simmering time.
7. While the soup is simmering, add a handful of noodles for each person you will be serving, to another small pot. Never add dry noodles to your soup until they are cooked.

Option: Depending on your preference, you may want to reduce or add noodles. You may even skip the noodles if you don’t want noodles for your soup.

1. When your noodles are done cooking to your satisfaction, rinse them thoroughly with cold water. Drain the water, and then add them to your pot of soup while it is still simmering.
2. You will be able to tell when you soup has finished simmering by the fantastic aroma that fills your kitchen. Again, the cooking time of your soup will depend on how much water was added to your pot. In general, the simmering time for your soup is about thirty minutes to an hour.

There you have it, a wonderful pot of soup for lunch or any time you have a taste for a hot pot of soup. Enjoy!