My love of food and cooking comes from my mother and her mother who loved spending time in the kitchen. My grandmother was an incredible baker and cook. Her bread and rolls were delicious! It is no wonder that my mom and I enjoy baking so much, it is in our genes!
Grandma was a collector of recipes and my mom and I have that in common too. I have a couple of the “notebooks” she kept. One notebook contains recipes, some of them she jotted down as she listened to her favorite radio program called Kitchen Klatter. Her other recipe sources were her local newspaper The Daily Sun, her girlfriends and her daughter Janice (my mom). I keep a notebook by my computer and in the kitchen to jot down notes in, foods to try, kitchen gadgets to look for, a recipe idea and so on. Hence, “notebook” in my blog name.
I have always made notes in my cookbooks and on the hard copies of recipes I have printed from the internet, noting the date, how I’ve tweaked it, and any substitues I’ve made. Sometimes I jot down comments the family made and what I would do differently if I made it again. Not until my mom gave me the notebook of my grandma’s recipes did I discover that she did the same thing! One recipe in her notebook includes instructions to wait for 1 ½ hours before putting it in the oven, and at the bottom she had written “WHY?” I had to chuckle out loud when I read that. We are two peas in a pod.
When I was first married grandma often mailed me recipes that she had tried and liked. This is one of those recipes that she sent to me. No one in the family remembers having this soup at grandma’s house but she had tried it as she noted at the bottom of the hand written recipe (pictured above) “very good.” I have renamed it Grandma’s Vegetable Soup and tweaked it just slightly. I have shared this recipe with many friends over the years. My Mom and I make it all winter long. It is hearty, yet healthy, makes a large amount and freezes well.
Grandma’s Vegetable Soup
- 1 pound raw extra lean ground beef
- 1 large onion diced
- 1 cup celery, diced
- 2 cups carrots, diced
- 4 small cans diced tomatoes
- 4 cups yukon gold potatoes peeled and cubed
- 1 can green beans drained or use fresh
- 1 cup frozen corn
- 2 Tablespoons chopped parsely
- 1 teaspoon dried basil or to taste
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme or to taste
- 2 bay leaves
- 3 cups beef stock
Brown the ground beef with the onion, season with salt and pepper to taste. Drain off the fat. Add all of the ingredients to your crock pot and set on high for 4 hours or low for 6-8 hours. Discard the bay leaves before serving.
If making on the stove top, add the cooked ground beef and onions to your dutch oven or stock pot, bring to a boil, then simmer for 1 ½ hours or until all vegetables are tender. Discard the bay leaves before serving.
I like to serve this hearty soup with cornbread muffins or cornmeal scones hot out of the oven with just a little dab of butter and a drizzle of honey or Agave. You will be warm from the inside out.
Makes: 16 cups Servings Size: 1 cup
Nutritional Information
Per Serving: 112 Calories; 3g Fat (22.7% calories from fat); 8g Protein; 14g Carbohydrate; 2g Dietary Fiber; 18mg Cholesterol; 474mg Sodium.
Old WWP 2 / New WWPP 3
Adapted From My Grandma Gritz
10 comments
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Carol says:
January 22, 2010 at 6:11 pm (UTC -7)
Real comfort food Tami! Love your photos of your food!
Tami says:
January 22, 2010 at 7:58 pm (UTC -7)
It is comfort food Carol. I’m glad you are enjoying the photos.
Wendy says:
January 22, 2010 at 6:48 pm (UTC -7)
Tami, this really touched my heart as I have many recipes and recipe books that my Grandma left me – and I have to say her writing is so similar to your Grandmother’s!! The funniest one I have is a hardcover book, in which Grandma cut out recipes from the newspaper and pasted it over the printed pages in the book. Guess she wasn’t that impressed with what the author had written!!
Tami says:
January 22, 2010 at 8:00 pm (UTC -7)
LOL Wendy that is so funny that she pasted over the book pages. What a treasure you have!
I’m glad you enjoyed this post.
Lisa Beans says:
January 23, 2010 at 2:27 am (UTC -7)
I love this soup! Can’t wait to make it!
Tami says:
January 23, 2010 at 7:07 pm (UTC -7)
I thought about you when I posted this recipe Lisa. It is so point friendly!
Jan-Tami's Mom says:
January 24, 2010 at 8:10 pm (UTC -7)
Your’re so right Tami, this is one our favorite soups, I usually have a soup supper on Christmas eve and the family enjoys this more than any other.
Tami says:
January 25, 2010 at 3:04 am (UTC -7)
This soup is great comfort food mom.
Amy says:
March 14, 2013 at 3:33 pm (UTC -7)
Hi, Tami! Just made this recipe tonight. I’ve made similar soups before, but not for years, and certainly not since we joined WW and became more conscious of what we were eating. Absolutely delicious! Love how low in PPTs it is, how filling, and how tasty. Perfect for a day when the kids and I were outside walking through the partially melted snow in temps barely over freezing. Warmed everyone right up!
Tami says:
March 14, 2013 at 7:58 pm (UTC -7)
Hi Amy! I am so delighted that you enjoyed my Grandmother’s Vegetable Soup recipe! It’s a big hit around here and something I made for my children when they were growing up. It really fits in well with WW. It sounds like winter is still going where you live. I hope spring is right around the corner for you! Thanks so much for taking the time to come back and let me know you enjoyed the recipe. That means a lot to me!
Enjoy.