Soup for lunch

I made beef vegatable soup for lunch today, and it was really quick and easy after spending a little extra time yesterday during my dinner prep. Last night's dinner was short rib meat in the crock pot with onions, garlic and spices. I used the bones which I cut off the meat to make a beef broth. So, while I was preparing dinner last night, I put a pot of water on to boil with the bones that I otherwise would have thrown out. Today, after I skimmed the hardened fat off the broth, I added the leftover meat from last night, some soup green (see below), and leftover egg noodles from last night. I brought it to a boil and let it simmer for a while and voila! Delicious, nutritious beef vegetable soup for lunch!

Soup green is something Oma has used forever in her cooking. She has always generously shared her supply with me, but this summer I finally made some of my own. Using the food processor that Oma let me borrow, I shred carrots, onion, red, yellow and green peppers, and celery, one at a time. The mix is up to your taste, but Oma's suggestion was not too much celery, because it "takes over!" Mix in some salt and that's it. It's an easy way to add nutrition and flavor to spaghetti sauce, soups, taco meat, rice...almost anything. It freezes well, so you can make a big batch at once...which is good because it's messy shredding up all those veggies so I wouldn't want to do it every week. I froze it in quart containers and I keep one in the fridge. No worries about spoilage because of the salt, and I use it within a week or two.

Yum! Besides, I have to try to find a way to feed 5 children without burning through the bread a loaf a day! Now that I bake, I'm infinitely more aware of how much bread we eat! :>)