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Thursday, January 19, 2012

Cabbage Soup

You know, you've never seen a recipe appear on this blog before because...well...this blogger doesn't cook much. But, lately, you haven't seen much of anything appear on this blog, so maybe a recipe would be better than nothing.

Years ago, there was a restaurant in town that featured a soup and salad bar; and on most days, the soup and salad bar featured a cabbage soup that was just delicious. The wife of a co-worker came up with a recipe that was intended to duplicate that of the restaurant, and it was pretty close. Over the years, I've tweaked it a bit until it's become a favorite cold-weather comfort food for Doug and me.

We're currently in the midst of a cold snap, which prompted us to get a container of this soup out of the freezer and enjoy some for lunch today.

Here's the recipe. If you try it, I'd love to hear whether you liked it.

Cabbage Soup

1-1/2 pounds lean ground beef
1 large onion, coarsely chopped
4 ribs celery, coarsely chopped
1 large green pepper, coarsely chopped
1 medium head cabbage, coarsely chopped (about like you would chop it for coleslaw)
1 28-ounce can petite-cut diced tomatoes
2 15-ounce cans red beans or kidney beans, drained
1 48-ounce can tomato juice or V8
1 quart chicken stock or broth (If the pot is too full, you can reserve this and add it when dividing the soup into storage containers.)
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon coarse black pepper
2 scant teaspoons white pepper (adds spiciness that doesn't burn your stomach, just your tongue)
1/2 teaspoon oregano
1 scant teaspoon garlic powder
3 rounded tablespoons brown sugar

Brown ground beef and onion together. Drain off fat. Mix all ingredients in large pot. I use a 6-quart slow cooker and let it simmer for 4-5 hours on low. I've also used a 6-quart stock pot, in which case I bring it to a boil, then lower the heat and let it simmer for an hour or two. I know you'd be more tempted if I had taken a picture of the finished product. You'll just have to trust me on this. This is a delicious soup. As the old TV commercial used to say: "Try it; you'll like it."

14 comments:

  1. Sounds wonderful, Linda... I would love that soup... May just have to try it -on one of our cold, winter nights.
    Hugs,
    Betsy

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  2. Sounds like a recipe for good comfort food on a cold night. I wouldn't hesitate to try this. Thanks for sharing.

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  3. Sounds delicious, perfect for the weather at the moment. Being a vegetarian I could just swap the beef for quorn ... mmm :o)

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  4. Betsy - Thanks. I hope you do try it. It's better than it sounds. :)

    Stephen - It's good any time, but especially on those cold days.

    Deborah - I'm not familiar with quorn. Will have to check that out. We HAVE tried it with ground turkey, but we prefer the beef.

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  5. I think I'll try it. JUST like it's written! :)

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  6. Sandra - Hmmm. Forgive me, but I just can't see you following this recipe exactly. For one thing, it has green peppers in it, and you know how your Hubby feels about that. I suppose you could substitute mushrooms, since that what he does with his sloppy joes. :)

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  7. I would try it but I am way to lazy. I will come and help eat it though. Does that count?

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  8. I've never heard of it before. I don't cook much either, but I'd love to try it. :)

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  9. A perfect treat for cold weather. The beans are an interesting addition.

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  10. GQ - It's not that much work, really. If it were, I'd probably not make it, either. But it IS good.

    Elizabeth - The restaurant where I first had this soup was Shoney's. If you have one of those in your area, you could sample theirs to see if you like it. I actually think ours is better, after experimenting with it over a period of time.

    Steve - Thanks. I should have known you'd already have a similar recipe. :)

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  11. That does sound yummy, Linda. I may just give it a shot at some point. I just made a huge pot of chicken soup yesterday so that's what's going in my bowl next.

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  12. Hilary - I just printed out a recipe for chicken soup that I found on Pioneer Woman's blog. It looked really good, but I haven't made it yet. It's really cold and snowy here right now. Maybe it's a good time. Enjoy yours!

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  13. Dear Linda,

    I copied the recipe and can't wait to try it. Soup tastes so good and have come to enjoy it the older we get. I know your recipes are so delicious.

    Just a tip that I did watch "Pioneer Woman" on a day that she had so many good recipes that I haven't deleted it yet. She makes it look so easy.

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    Replies
    1. I hope you enjoy it, Kay. It's one of our favorites. I ought to make another batch myself.

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