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We eat soup year-round at our house.  We’re just soup lovers.  This one has always been a favorite, but it has made it BIG with the toddler at the table!  Originally, I started with a recipe from an old Betty Crocker cookbook, but I can’t find it in the newer cookbooks, nor can I find the recipe online anymore. I’ll just give credit to “Betty” for its origins though I have done my own tweaks over the years and so have had to do very little to make it Trim Healthy Mama plan-friendly.

The name?  Well, when my Lil’ Snookie, who is here for lunch almost every day, graduated to solid foods and could manage it, I was sure to chop the veggies small in this soup so I could feed it to him.  He was one to talk early and often and as soon as he figured out how, he was calling out “Soup!” and we all knew exactly which soup he meant.  Even on his way home at night, when Pookie would tell him they were going home to have some supper, he would shout from the carseat, “Make soup!” and this was the one he wanted.

So, as these autumn days march on and prepare to turn into winter ones, I thought I’d share the soup with you. 

Personally, I feel that my “Creamy Leek Soup with Chicken and Sweet Potatoes”, found here, is the best soup ever invented by me or anyone else (and it’s a repeat contest winner), but I’m not going to start an argument with Lil’ Snookie over it.

I’m offering you a free printable recipe so that you can jump right in and make the soup and beside it, you’ll find some encouraging thoughts you may also want to include as a page in your recipe binder to lift you up on “those days” when you are blessed to be cooking for your family.  Just click on the banner below and both will print on one sheet.

Lil’ Snookie’s Favorite Autumn Soup       “E”

1 pound 96% lean ground beef or venison  (see notes)

1 cup chopped onion

4 cups water

1 cup chopped carrots

1 cup chopped celery (make these small)

1 cup cubed to 1/2″ Yukon Gold or purple potatoes

2-3 teaspoons applewood smoked sea salt or mineral salt and add a dash of liquid smoke  (see notes)

1 teaspoon bottled brown bouquet sauce

1 bay leaf

1/4 teaspoon dried basil

6 tomatoes (peeled fresh and chopped, frozen from your garden or two 14 ounce cans diced tomatoes)

Instructions

1. In a large saucepan or Dutch oven, cook and stir meat until brown.  Drain off any fat and if you did not use the super lean meat, place in a strainer and pour hot water over it.
2. Add onions.  Cook and stir with meat until they’re  tender, about 5 minutes.  Add remaining ingredients except for the tomatoes.  Heat to boiling and reduce heat.  Cover and simmer for 20 minutes.  
3. Add tomatoes.  Cover and simmer 5-10 minutes longer.  Remove the bay leaf and serve.  

NOTES:  You could also try using lean ground turkey.  Salt the soup to taste, remembering that canned tomatoes already have salt and your garden ones will need more seasoning.  Don’t be tempted to use more veggies in this soup.  I tried and this not only raises the carbs too much but also just doesn’t taste right.  If you prep meat by browning ahead of time, this recipe goes fast.  Double or triple to have in the freezer or pressure can it!

YIELD:  6 servings.

Don’t forget to round out your meal with a nice green salad with a “FP” or “E” dressing and then maybe even sip on a nice collagen trimmy. Enjoy!

If you need support in your journey to better health and weight loss, head to the Contact page and let me know.  I’ll give you all the info on group sessions which I conduct locally in person on a weekly basis.  Private coaching can be done in person or by phone.  Share with friends and let’s see how many are ready to get Trim & Healthy!

The Trim Healthy Mama Plan is a great way to boost your immune system and we all need that right now, don’t we?  Leave a comment and let me know how you like the soup and tell me what your “go to” soup is for the fall and winter months.

It’s a joyous season ahead, and we can all enjoy it in a healthier way if we are willing to learn and try new and better things.