Hearty Beef and Potato Soup

This is a hearty autumn and winter soup that will warm your family from the inside out. This beef and potato soup is richly flavored, nutritious but it is also light on calories. I prepared a large pot of this and freeze some of it up so we can have a warm bowl of soup anytime we want it.

Ingredients:

1 pound beef (stew meat) – cut into small cubes
3 carrots – cut into small cubes
3 stalk celery – cut into small cubes
3 potatoes – peel and cut into cubes
1 large onion – finely chopped
2 cloves garlic – chopped
2 bay leaves
1 can of 14 oz chopped tomato
½ cup elbow pasta
6 cups low sodium beef stock
Enough water
Salt and pepper to taste

1. In a large pot, heat up 2 tbsp of olive oil over medium heat. Add in the beef, cook and stirring frequently until well brown. Remove the beef with a slotted spoon and set it aside (you might need to do this in two batch)
2. Add in another tbsp of olive oil if needed; add in onion, garlic, stirring occasionally until translucent. This will take 5 minutes. Add in celery, carrot and stir well. Add in some beef stock. Bring to boil, scraping the bottom of the pot to dislodge any brown Add in the rest of the stock, browned beef, bay leaves, chopped tomatoes and enough water to cover all the ingredients.
3. Bring it up to boil, lower down the heat and let it simmer for 25 minutes. Add in the potatoes and continue to cook, stir occasionally until beef and potatoes are tender. Put in the elbow pasta and add in more water if needed.

Note: You can replace the beef with chicken meat.