Hamburger-Vegetable Soup

When I got up this morning, it was cold out and drizzling. Not a good day for the summer soup and salad I had planned - and since I was still needing to go tot he market, I changed my menu for this evening to a warm soup and some hearty bread. Go figure Colorado weather was against my meal planning and it was almost 70 when we sat down to our hot bowls of soup! Well, I love soup. It's in a bowl, you eat it with a spoon (something Scot loves!), and most times, it's hearty enough that I don't have to worry about a side dish! So I went on a hunt for a new soup and I found this in my Better Homes and Garden cookbook. It's so easy and very filling, also it's healthy and freezes well! But there were a few things I tweaked. Here is my version with my tweaks in italics:

Hamburger-Vegetable Soup

• 1 lb lean ground beef
• 1 cup chopped yellow onion
• 1 cup chopped orange bell pepper -I'm not a huge green pepper fan and I like color in my meals!
• 4 cups low sodium beef broth (bullion cubes/base work great)
• 1 14.5 oz can Italian diced tomatoes
• 1 cup frozen corn
• 1 cup frozen lima beans
• 1 cup chopped potato
• 1 cup chopped carrot - I don't have time to make those skinny slices, so I just chop them.
• 1 t dried basil leaves
• 1 t BBQ sauce - I wasn't about to buy a whole bottle of Worcestershire sauce when I never use it!
• 1/8 t pepper

--In large sauce pan, brown meat, onion, and pepper until vegetables are soft and meat is no longer pink. Drain.
--Stir in remaining ingredients.
--Bring to boil and then reduce heat. Let simmer covered for 15 minutes!

Check the link I provided for the crockpot version!