With the holiday's coming up and our freezer recently being depleted, it was time to restock. When it comes to freezer meals and winter time I want things that are going to be warm, tasty, and good for the entire family. Last week I went into the grocery store with a big cookbook, started adding items to my cart, and then ended up putting many of them away. Why? I realized this year I don't want to stock it with lots of heavy meals because all the pasta doesn't make us feel too great, and my son has requested I never ever ever make Lasagna again. As a family we all don't do well with heavy dairy meals which makes freezer meals a bit more challenging.
And so, with 12 pounds of ground beef in hand from my grocery trip, I knew I needed to make something for the whole family that was healthy, freezer friendly, and dairy free. My Mom's Winter Soup was a no-brainer yet one that I haven't made much myself because it's been her go-to for years. Friends from high school have had this and it hails from one of those plastic spiral-bound cookbooks that may be around your home too. Remember a time before Instagram, Pinterest and Facebook threads when people submitted recipes and then they were compiled in a book? This is a recipe from one of those!
The ingredients for this recipe are all things you likely have on hand. They're budget friendly and what I love is that it's one of those meals where you're getting everything you need in one soup. You could absolutely serve it with a salad and some bread, or keep it simple and just eat this. The broth is what's going to have you wanting more so definitely don't skip the wine!
I made a double batch, but here's the recipe for a single batch that serves 6.
Ingredient's You'll Need:
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 3 medium onions, chopped
- 1 lb ground beef
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- 3 cups beef broth
- 1 28 oz can diced tomatoes
- 1 cup diced potatoes
- 3 carrots, chopped
- 1 cup celery, chopped
- 1 cup frozen green beans (I used fresh!)
- 1 cup dry red wine
- 1/2 teaspoon dried basil (I used oregano and it was still delicious!)
- 1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
- salt and pepper for seasoning
- In a large dutch oven melt the butter and cook the onion with some salt and pepper until it sweats. If you double the recipe learn from me and just use 2 dutch ovens!
- Add the beef and garlic and brown the meat with some more salt and pepper. Once it's browned add in the broth, tomatoes, potatoes, celery, carrots, green beans, wine, basil and thyme. Simmer for 1 hour. Check your seasoning and add more salt and pepper as needed!
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