Vegetable Beef Soup

     Making some vegetable beef soup today. Ive been waiting for an excuse to use my pressure canner. Also I have had some homemade beef stock in the freezer that needed to be used. But for those of you that dont have a beef stock recipe here it is!

Beef Stock:

     Beef soup bones

     Beef neck bones

     4 large carrots

     4 ribs celery

     1 large onion

     4 cloves garlic peeled

     1 tbs. pepper corns

     1/4 cup sea salt

     1 1/2 tsp dried basil

     1 1/2 tsp dried thyme

     1 1/2 cup red wine

     Start of by placing beef soup and neck bones in a roasting pan and roast in a oven at 425F for 1 hour, turning them at 30 mins. This will give more flavor to the stock.

     Wash carrots do not peel and wash celery. Cut cut carrots and celery into large chunks. Peel and quarter onion.

     Fill a large stock pot 3/4 full of water, bring to a boil. Add beef and neck bones. Then add all remaining ingredients.

    Reduce heat and simmer for 5 hours skimming off foam when needed. Once cooking is done, strain and reserve stock.

     Ok now that you have the stock down time for the Vegetable Beef Soup!!!

Vegetable Beef Soup:

     Beef stock
     1 large onion
     3 large carrots
     3 ribs celery
     1 rutabaga
     3 parsnips
     3 medium yukon gold potatoes
     4lbs. beef shoulder or chuck roast.
     2 14.5oz. cans diced tomatoes (drained)
     1/3 cup pearled barley

     Trim and cube and season beef with salt and pepper. Sear beef using olive oil in a large stock pot until meat is brown.

     While meat is browning wash, peel, and chop onion, carrots, celery, rutabaga, parsnips and potatoes.

   
     Once beef has browned, add beef stock to pot, bring to a boil. Once the stock is boiling add onion, carrots, celery, rutabaga, parsnips and potatoes to stock. Then add the drained canned tomatoes to stock. Reduce heat and simmer for one hour skimming top and stirring occasionally.

     After an hour of cooking add the pearled barley. Continue cooking for another hour still skimming and stirring. At this point taste soup to see if additional salt and pepper is needed.

     This last step purely optional. Some people like soup with a thin stock, some like it a bit thick. So to thicken your soup make a cornstarch solution. Mix 3tbs. cornstarch with 1/2 cup cold water. Add cornstarch solution to soup while simmering and stir to thicken.

     And there you go a nice hearty vegetable beef soup. Enjoy!