Besides opening a can, there can hardly be an easier homemade soup than this simple, tasty hamburger soup. Depending on the contents of your fridge and spice rack you can tweak this one to add vegetables or beans, grains or pasta; or to change the flavor from plain to Tex-Mex or Italian.
One pound of ground chuck, onion, garlic, water, some canned tomatoes and a handful of rice is all that is required. Really.
Brown the burger with chopped onion and garlic, add half a can or so of tomatoes whole or chopped, water to cover and simmer away for half hour to an hour. Add salt and pepper, then for additional flavor oregano and basil, or chili powder and red pepper flakes.
That is all that is required for a basic hamburger soup. Add as much tomato as you like or have. Its job is to add color and flavor, but you don’t necessarily want tomato soup with hamburger in it when you are done. It might not be a bad idea to do as I and Leslie Lavendar in Stockton Springs do, and check the fridge or freezer for bits and pieces of leftovers too good to toss or compost.
Leslie wrote to say she tries to work down the house supply in January and February. Here’s what she found recently that was too good to throw away but too small a supply to make a whole serving by itself: “I had about 1 1/2 cups of a leftover zucchini, onion, pepper, tomato mix I had made earlier in the week. I found a scant pound of stew meat in the freezer along with some small amounts of frozen peas and lima beans and about a dozen frozen spinach/cheese ravioli (not enough for an entree).” If she had had this recipe for hamburger soup, she could have used the vegetables in it; instead, she wrote, “I used a quart of my homemade zesty tomato sauce and a can of chickpeas to create a sort of Italian-inspired vegetable soup. It’s making a lovely, thick hearty soup that I’ll serve with some crusty bread and a salad.” Click here to continue reading.
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