Souper Douper Soup

I usually stock up on canned vegetables at the grocery when they have a sale, and then stack the cans up in the back of the pantry. I don't eat enough vegetables so when the fridge gets empty, I find myself with some meat in the freezer and enough canned vegetables to build a fort. Some Souper Douper Soup is just the thing to use up that beef from the freezer, clear out several cans of vegetables, and use up the last little bits of other things.

• stew beef (or hamburger, etc.)
• olive oil
• a few stalks of celery
• an onion
• a few cloves of garlic(optional)
• 2 big cans of Veg-All
• 2 cans of diced tomatoes
• a bay leaf
• fresh ground pepper (to taste)
• a big pinch of thyme (about a teaspoon)
• a red pepper
• whatever else is in the fridge or cupboard that can be thrown in and might blend (a can of corn, can of weird zucchini, green beans, that half-empty bottle of V-8, a dash of catsup, etc.)
• Any other herbs that strike you (opt.) (Parsely is good, or a bit of marjoram)
• You could add a quarter to a half cup of barley, rice, kasha or pre-cooked pasta. Or any kind of beans (pre-soaked if dry, or canned). (optional)

You'll need a medium pan for browning the beef and some of the veggies and then a soup pot with a lid to cook it all in.

• Brown the meat in the pan in olive oil and move the meat to the soup pot.
• Chop up the celery, onion and garlic to your desired size and sauté them in the same pan. Move them over to the pot.
• Dump everything else in the pot and cover with water. Heat to a boil, cover, lower the heat and simmer for an hour or two.
• Serve with deli bread or old toasted hamburger buns and bits of cheese or another drizzle of olive oil (and red wine or cold beer!) It gets better the next day, too. Don't worry about making too much: it can be frozen in Cool Whip tubs, Tupperware, etc. for another meal