Hamburger Soup

Hamburger Soup

I was humored by an article which appeared in the San Diego Tribune Food Section which included the recipe for this soup. The notation was that plenty of parents and grandparents remember ways they penny-pinched in tough times with frugal dinners like this Hamburger Soup. I hope none of our children read this posting and get the idea that the soup they so enjoyed as a comfort food was a penny-pinching dish and was served because of tough times. It amazes me the difference in meal preparation of forty years ago and today when most foods are prepared from a box, mix, or a combination of both, or with a telephone number for the delivery of their dinner or a drive thru for the pick-up. Forty years ago a convenience food was left-overs.

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Ingredients: 
1 1/2 pounds ground beef, 
1 large onion, diced, 
 1 green bell pepper, diced, 
 2 stalks celery, diced, 
 1 garlic clove, minced, 
 1 (28 ounce can) diced tomatoes, 
 1 (8 ounce) can tomato sauce, 
 2 (15 ounce) cans kidney beans, 
 1 cup grated or chopped green cabbage, 
 1 tablespoon chili powder, 
 2 handfuls raw macaroni, 
 5 cups water, 
 2 Tablespoons vegetable oil,

Salt, to taste.

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Directions:

Brown meat in skillet, discard fat. In a large pot, saute onion, bell pepper, celery and garlic in oil. Add meat tomatoes and tomato sauce, beans, cabbage, chili powder, macaroni and water to pot and combine. Simmer for 45 minutes and salt to taste.