Happy Veteran’s Day!

I can’t help but think of my daddy on Veteran’s Day.  Not only was he a veteran, his birthday is/was also on Veteran’s Day.  Normally, I would have a big piece of his favorite birthday cake…three layer butter cake with pineapple filling, meringue frosting, covered with coconut.  For some reason, my thoughts fell to his favorite soup…Vegetable Beef.

Momma would start the process by browning beef short ribs, then simmering them for several hours until they fell off the bone.  She’d use the stock, along with crushed tomatoes, to create the base.  This would simmer until she added the vegetables, simmering away until it was just about done, before adding the noodles(spaghetti).  In the meantime, she would have picked the meat from the fat, to finally add back to the soup.  She finish by serving it with hot buttered cornbread.  Only being interested in the short ribs, we didn’t care about the soup.  Daddy loved this soup and looked forward to using the leftovers for his daily lunch.

So, I made the soup and the soup was good…real good

I love you Daddy but, I still just want to eat the short ribs!

 

The flavor is all about these browned short ribs & onions!

Vegetable Beef Soup
Makes a whole lot! (about 2 1/2 quarts)

1 1/2 pounds beef short ribs
1 large onion, peeled and sliced into 1/2 inch rings
2 tablespoons cooking oil
1 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon seasoned salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
2 cloves garlic, chopped
4 cups vegetable stock, divided
2-15oz cans crushed tomatoes
1-16oz bag frozen vegetables
1 medium potato diced
2 cups cooked spaghetti or fine egg noodles(optional)
salt
pepper

Rinse short ribs and pat dry.  Trim and discard excess fat before seasoning with onion powder, seasoned salt, and pepper.  Set aside until ready to brown.  Heat cooking oil in a large lidded pot/dutch oven, on medium-high heat.  Add onions and saute until onions are softened and caramelized, about 8 minutes.  Transfer cooked onions to a dish, reserving for later use.  Place short ribs in the pot, turning to brown on all sides, about 2-3 minutes per side.  Pour 3 cups of stock into pot with short ribs, add cooked onions and chopped garlic.  When mixture comes to a boil, cover and reduce heat to very low.  Simmer for 3 hours, until meat is tender and falling off the bone.  At this point, you can allow mixture to cool and then transfer to a covered container and refrigerate until ready to use. (This is exactly what I did.)

Remove short ribs and bones from mixture, and allow them to cool before handling.  Add tomatoes and 1 cup of stock to remaining mixture, cooking on medium heat until boiling.  Reduce heat to low and cover, allowing mixture to simmer for 30 minutes.  Stir in vegetables and when mixture returns to a simmer, cover and cook for 10 minutes.  Pick meat from bones and fat, and transfer meat to soup along with potatoes.  Cover and cook for 15 minutes.  Stir in cooked spaghetti or fine egg noodles.  Add additional salt and pepper to taste and serve.