Print the recipe card!  easy hamburger soup

A simple to prepare yet hearty soup that easily adapts with food storage ingredients.  As an everyday meal it’s a great “catch-all” for whatever extra veggies you have in the refrigerator to use up!  I like making this recipe in a large batch because we like the leftovers the next day but if it’s too large a recipe for your group you can easily cut it down by half.  Also, remember, you can replace the soup back into your wonder oven after serving if you’re wanting to keep it hot!

Although it simmers for 45 minutes I’ve categorized it as a pantry meal for how simple the preparation is (plus, it easily “packs” as one).  Ten minutes –fifteen if you’re using freeze dried ingredients– and it’s on it’s way!

Serves 10-12

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Ingredients:

*today I made it with ground beef from the freezer and fresh veggies I needed to use up rather than long term storage items, but I’ve pictured the ingredients  I’d have used if I were making it using 100% food storage.

4 cups cooked hamburger –or– either 2 pints home bottled ground beef or 3 3/4 cups fd ground beef (with an extra 3 cups water for rehydrating)

1 medium onion chopped –or– 3/4 cup fd onion (with 1/3 cup water for rehydrating)

5 carrots chopped — or– 2 cups fd carrots (with 1 cup water for rehydrating)

4 ribs celery, sliced — or– 1 1/2 cups fd celery (with 3/4 cup water for rehydrating)

2 (11.5 oz) cans V-8 juice

2 (14.5 oz) cans diced tomatoes, undrained

3 (14.5 oz) cans beef broth

3/4 cup pearled barley

1 1/2 tsp. thyme

1 tsp. salt, or to taste

15 whole peppercorns

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Other:

Make a spice bag by wrapping the peppercorns in a double thickness of cheesecloth.  Bring the corners of the cloth up around and tie with kitchen string (or a small clip of cheesecloth) to form a bag.

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Instructions:

If using freeze dried ingredients, rehydrate separately (using warm water) before adding to soup.

Add all ingredients to the pot and bring to a boil.  Once boiling, heat with the lid on until the lid is also hot.  Transfer to the wonder oven to simmer for 45 minutes.  (If you’re making this without a wonder oven, simmer on the stove top 45 minutes.)  Remove spice bag and serve.

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Be sure your lid is good and hot before moving it to the wonder oven.

Enjoy!

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Notes:

• I suggest rehydrating the freeze dried ingredients first because they’ll soak up the flavored soup and off set the consistency if thrown in with everything else.  At that point, to fix the consistency, adding the extra water (meant to rehydrate them) would end up watering down the flavor.

• Packed as a pantry meal I’d have the peppercorns already wrapped and ready to go to save time.