Zippy Hamburger Soup

I created this recipe 3 days ago when my cupboard was mostly bare and my 11 year old son requested a pot of soup for supper. The A1 sauce happened because I couldn't find my bottle of Worchestershire sauce, and took a chance. I only added it a touch at a time but it turned out to be one of the most flavorful and satisfying soups I've ever made, and the leftovers were even better the next day when the flavors had intensified. I used pre-browned ground beef from my freezer stash and put this soup from conception to table in 45 minutes. The A1 sauce brings a whole new depth of flavor and makes it truly delicious and satisfying. I did not have any kidney beans or I probably would have added a can. I also cannot guarantee the results using a different brand of Steak Sauce, experiment at your own risk! Of course, like any soup, you can use whatever veggies you have around, and can use any combination of fresh, canned, or frozen. This is just what I had on hand. I added the A1 at the end, and just barely allowed it to cook into the soup. You can add it earlier but it loses some of the tang, which is what we liked so much. I would suggest adding it a bit at a time, and tasting until it suits your taste. Season with salt/pepper as needed along the way. Serve this with a green salad and biscuits or your favorite crusty bread and your family will be licking the bowl :)

• Ready In: 45 mins
• Serves: 10-12
• Yields: 6 quarts

Ingredients

• 1 -1 1⁄2 lb ground beef, browned and seasoned to taste (weight after browning- starting with raw, 2 lbs)
• 1 (1 1/8ounce) envelope  Lipton beefy onion soup mix
• 1 (32 ounce) box low sodium beef broth (taste carefully if using salted stock to keep soup from getting too salty) or 1 (32 ounce) box broth (taste carefully if using salted stock to keep soup from getting too salty)
• 1 (28 ounce) can diced tomatoes
• 4  medium potatoes, washed and diced with skins left on
• 1  cup carrot (Chopped, sliced, or diced- I used baby carrots and cut them into thirds)
• 1 (14 ounce) can  sweet corn (or equivalent of frozen)
• 1 (14 ounce) can green beans (or equivalent of frozen)
• 3⁄4 cup  frozen peas
• 1⁄3-1⁄2 cup  A.1. Original Sauce
• 3⁄4 teaspoon  celery salt
•  salt
•  black pepper

Directions

1. Begin with ground beef (either freshly browned/drained/seasoned) or frozen, in soup pot, over medium heat.
2. Add beef stock, onion soup mix, tomatoes (do not drain), Celery Salt, and 1 can of water (use empty tomato can- 28 oz, I guess). Mix well.
3. Add potatoes and carrots and bring to a full simmer, until vegetables are fork tender (about 20 minutes depending on the size you cut them).
4. Add drained beans/corn, and frozen peas.
5. Add steak sauce at the end, allowing to cook just about 5 minutes to bring things together.
6. This could easily be a crockpot recipe by putting the ground beef, onion soup, broth, tomatoes, potatoes and carrots on in the morning, and finishing by adding the other vegetables and A1 at the end.