Homemade Soup

There's been a lot of good soup ideas from Cheryl at Thinking About Home and from Mrs. Thomasina Tittlemouse recently.   I love to eat soup but I am not very much good at making it.  When I was growing up we always looked forward to my mom's "homemade soup" (the only name we ever gave it), so when I do make soup, this is the kind I usually make.  

I coat the bottom of my pot with olive oil and turn the stove on medium heat.

Then I throw in stew beef, in this case it is venison from a deer my husband killed.

While the meat is browning, I get my vegetables: potatoes, carrots, onions and garlic.

Other vegetables (corn, celery, beans, etc.) could also be used. The vegetables are peeled and chopped into bite size and thrown into the pot after the meat is browned.

I pour over it all a large can of tomato juice (V-8 juice is also good).

Then I look in my fridge for any extra spaghetti sauce or anything else that looks likely.  I also like to add some salsa for a little zip.  I had half a jar left so I dumped it in there.

I don't use a whole lot of spices:  a bay leaf, some rosemary, fresh ground black pepper.  I added the beef bouillon, too, which helps when you are cooking with wild game.

I simmer the soup until the vegetables are tender (an hour or so).  I usually make cornbread to go with it.

Voila!  A very hearty soup for dinner.  This is one of my "peasant meals", simple but filling.

One of these days I will try something a little more exotic.