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."