Snowy Night Soup in Fall

     I came home from school for fall break today! How I missed my refrigerator at home, filled with a seemingly endless supply of ingredients (especially in comparison to my kitchen at school), my mom's leftovers and a fresh jug of chocolate milk..... not to mention the banana bread wrapped up on the counter.

     And to top off the welcome home my stomach received, I also got the warmest welcome from the sweetest dog in the world, so I had to take her to our favorite walking place, asap.

Vaughn Woods on a beautiful October day, it's pretty perfect if you ask me....(ps - the picture doesn't do the foliage justice)

And Lola had fun to say the least.... She was hard to keep up with!

     As Lola basically laid dead on the floor, my mom and I spent the rest of the day cooking......That recipe is the main purpose of this post, but you know how easy it is to get carried away with puppy love :P
      It's a soup recipe my mom's friend shared with her, and she's been making it ever since. It is so delicious and warm and comforting, and a perfect fall meal (even though its called "snowy night soup"). The red wine and beef broth give it a deep and hearty flavor, and it's loaded with veggies, so it aint half bad for you either! Plus it's wonderfully colorful, which is a characteristic I always love in a soup.

Serve it with a crispy, warm baquette on a beautiful fall day with this backyard view and you might as well just die and go to heaven......but bring the soup with you!

(And I whole-heartedly admit to being obsessed with fall foliage, but I'm a New Englander, that's why we live here, right?)

      So anyways, of all the recipes I post, I highly recommend trying this one. It's simple, super delicious and a great go-to recipe for the fall and winter seasons. I know I plan on making it again!

 

Snowy Night Soup

Ingredients:

2 tbsp oil

3 small onions

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 lb lean ground beef

1 24oz can italian style diced tomatoes

2-3 medium potatoes, peeled and diced

1 cup (or more) chopped carrots

1 cup green beans

1 cup celery

1/2 tsp thyme

1 tsp basil

3 cups beef broth

1 cup dry red wine

salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Heat oil in large pot over stove, and saute onions and garlic until onions are translucent. 

Add ground beef and cook mostly, as it will cook completely while simmering.

Add the remaining ingredients, bring to a boil and reduce to simmer for about 45 minutes or until veggies are tender. (Bigger carrot pieces may need to be added before other veggies as they will take longer)