Hamburger Soup

The recent relief from the 80 degree weather has made me crave soup. Simple, homey goodness. This recipe’s name, hamburger soup, is simple enough, but it tastes wonderful and is truly satisfying on a cool day. I grew up with this soup, and it always takes me back to my childhood, sitting at the dining room table with my mom, dad, and brother. Of course, I have made some changes to my mother’s recipe – even perfection can be improved upon.

Ingredients:

1 pound ground beef

½ onion, diced

2 garlic cloves, chopped

6 cups water

1 15 oz. can tomato sauce

1 T soy sauce

4 cubes beef bouillon

½ t celery seed, crushed

1 cup macaroni, uncooked

1 14.5 oz. can sliced carrots, drained

1 t salt

½ t pepper

½ t dried oregano

½ t dried basil

1 cup cream

Directions:

Cook ground beef, onion, and garlic together in a large stock pot until ground beef is browned; drain and set aside.

Place water, tomato sauce, soy sauce, beef bouillon, and celery seed in the stock pot. Heat until boiling, then add ground beef mixture, uncooked macaroni, carrots, salt, pepper, oregano, and basil.

Reduce heat to a simmer, cover, and cook until macaroni is tender, about 10 minutes, stirring frequently to prevent the macaroni from sticking to the bottom of the pot.

Add the cream to the soup and additional salt and pepper to taste. Bring back to a simmer before serving.