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The Lady & Sons Beef Vegetable Soup

Don’t let the lengthy ingredient list scare you away. It’s really not as bad as it looks. Even my brother, Bubba, can make it. On a cold winter’s day it will make your tongue want to slap your brains out! This recipe serves two or three dozen people, but can easily be cut in half. It keeps for up to five days in the refrigerator or two months in the freezer.

Cooks' Note

The chuck roast will yield more meat, but the bones from the short ribs give the soup an incredible flavor.

Recipe information

  • Yield

    8 quarts

Ingredients

2 1/2—3 pounds beef short ribs or 2 1/2-3-pound boneless chuck roast
2 tablespoons vegetable oil (if using chuck roast)
4 quarts cold water
1 tablespoon dried Italian seasoning
3 tablespoons dried parsley
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 tablespoon beef bouillon granules
1 tablespoon The Lady’s House Seasoning
1 tablespoon The Lady’s Seasoned Salt
2 bay leaves
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon celery salt
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 1/2 cups chopped onion
One 28-ounce can diced tomatoes
1 cup thinly sliced carrots
1 cup diced celery
1 cup sliced green beans, fresh or canned
1 cup frozen black-eyed peas
1 cup frozen butter beans
1 cup cut okra, fresh or frozen
1 cup corn kernels, fresh or canned
1 cup diced potatoes
1/2 cup uncooked elbow macaroni
2 teaspoons Accent (optional)

Preparation

  1. If using chuck roast, heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Place the roast in the skillet and cook until browned on both sides, about 5 minutes per side. Remove the roast from the skillet and cut it into 1 1/2 to 2-inch cubes; discard the fat. Place the beef cubes in a large stockpot. (If using short ribs, you can put them right in the pot with no preparation.) Add the water, seasonings, onion, and tomatoes and bring to a boil over high heat. Cover the pot, reduce the heat so that the liquid simmers, and cook for 1 1/2 to 2 hours, or until the meat is very tender. If using short ribs, remove them from the pot and cut the meat from the bones, discard the bones and fat, and return the meat to the pot. Add the remaining vegetables and the macaroni, and return the soup to a boil, stirring to distribute the ingredients. Reduce the heat and simmer for 45 minutes. Add Accent, if desired, and adjust the other seasonings to taste. To remove excess fat from the surface of the soup, swirl a lettuce leaf around the surface—it will pick up a lot of the fat.

The Lady & Sons, Too! by Paula Deen. © 2001 by Paula H. Deen. Published by Random House. All Rights Reserved. Paula H. Deen was born and raised in Albany, Georgia. She later moved to Savannah, where she and her two sons, Bobby and Jamie, started the Bag Lady catering company. The business took off and evolved into The Lady & Sons Restaurant, which is located in Savannah’s historic district and specializes in Southern cooking. Paula is the host of Food Network’s Paula’s Home Cooking and is a regular guest on QVC, where her cookbooks are one of the newtowrk’s biggest sellers.
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