BEEF, BEAN and VEGETABLE SOUP
about 7 cups water + 1 heaping TB good beef broth powder (or 7 cups beef broth)
1-2 TB extra-virgin olive oil
BEANS: about 3/4 cup dried beans (I used pinto beans and also black-eye peas {both partial packages} ~ but any dried beans would work)
BEEF: about 1 to 1-1/2 lbs. inexpensive beef/beef bones (I like cross-cut beef shanks. They're very meaty and the marrow in the bones helps flavor the broth. Beef neckbones are good too.)
VEGETABLES: take a stroll around your grocery produce section and take whatever is on sale or marked down! Note that I used a big bag of "stir fry vegetables" ~ other times I've used butternut squash cubes ~ or cauliflower & broccoli mix ~ even coleslaw mix would work!. I like LOTS of fresh veggies in there, so I added 3-4 stalks of celery, 1 whole white onion (chopped), 2 small zucchini (sliced), 2 large carrots (sliced). I also bought an 8 oz. package of mushrooms, but didn't have room in my Dutch oven for them!
HERBS & SPICES:
1/4 cup fresh parsley (chopped) ……………..…... 2 heaping TB minced garlic
1-3 tsp. Kosher salt...………………………………….. 1 tsp. black pepper
1/2 tsp. crushed or cracked red pepper...…….. 1/2 tsp. ground cumin
1 tsp. smoked paprika...……………………………… 2 tsp. dried basil leaves (crushed)
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Heat the oil in a large Dutch oven on medium-high. Then add the beef and sear on one side. Flip to sear it on the other side and add the onions & garlic. Stir the onions & garlic (so they don't burn). When the meat is seared on both sides and onions/garlic are softened, you can add the beans, water (broth) and all of the herbs & spices. Stir it all up and bring to a boil. Then lower the heat, cover and simmer for about 2 hours.
After a couple of hours, take the beef & bones out. Cut the beef off the bones & into small bite-sized pieces. Push any marrow left in the bones out, and put all the beef & marrow back into the pot. I put the veggies into the pot now too. Cover and let it simmer for an hour (or 2). Serve with crusty bread. (I like to serve a fruit salad with it too).