Hamburger Soup

Halloween is over :(. Last night I took my almost 3 month old son trick or treating. He had a great time, well a great nap. By the time I got to the next candy stop (we went to the mall) my mouth was full of candy. It was great to be a kid again. After filling myself full of candy we went out for dinner. I couldn't help sit and savor the Halloween night we were having. Only a couple more years and we will be the parents standing at the end of the driveway, travel mug in hand, watching our overly excited son run up and down driveways filling his bucket with candy. But last night we enjoyed a nice dinner and polished off mini chocolate bars for dessert.

Now it's November and winter is lurking right around the corner. Time to get cooking the comfort foods. After last nights feast on candy I chose a lighter fare for dinner.Hamburger soup it is. The best way to describe this soup is it's beef barleys cousin. It has all the similar ingredients but takes the slicing of beef out by using ground beef. Much faster in prep time. You can also prepare this soup for the freezer and save it for a later day. Serve with fresh crusty bread or buns.

Enjoy!

Hamburger Soup

Adapted from: Best of Bridge

• 1 1/2 pound groud beef (I use extra lean)
• 1 medium onion, finely chopped
• 1 can (28 oz/796 ml) tomatoes
• 2 cups water
• 3 cans (each 10 oz/284 ml) consomme
• 1 can tomato soup (10 oz/284 ml)
• 4 carrots, chopped
• 1 bay leaf
• 3 celery stalks, chopped
• parsley
• 1/2 tsp thyme
• pepper to taste
• 1/2 cup barley
  
• There is a little prep work

• Brown meat and onions, drain well
• Combine all ingredients in large pot
• Simmer covered for a minimum of 2 hours.

I didn't have time to bake bread or rolls so my soup was a little lonely. I topped it off with sour cream and cheddar cheese, very good.