Beef and Rice Soup

Beef soup is something that makes a pretty frequent appearance on our supper menu. Usually it is made out of leftovers, but sometimes I do use a steak or two (as in the recipe below) slow cooked and added to a soup. As with the previous post Mexican Casserole Recipe there are several different ways to make this dish. I am just giving you a basic idea of what to do, or use and you can build to your own taste and ingredients you have on hand.

What you will need:

Beef, leftover roast, a steak or two.. ect..
Cooked Rice. I use one or two boxes Rice a Roni Wild Rice  
Beef bullion cubes

Optional: 
Vegetables
2-4 tablespoons of flour
Butter/margarine
Kitchen Bouquet


When I use steak(s) I will usually put them into a slow cooker with about a quarter to half a cup of water and a couple bullion cubes. Sometimes I will use my small cooker and just do the meat in there and use a pot on the stove for the rest of the soup. This time I used the big one and cooked the meat for a few hours on low.

If you're using a slow cooker to cook the entire soup you want to start your rice about two to three hours before you plan to serve the soup, so you can have it done and added to the slow cooker in order to give it time to mingle with the flavors.

Before adding the soup, take the steak out and shred it up.

Put the steak back into the pot and add water. This can really depend on how much soup you want to make, and how dense. You can always add more water, but once it's in there it's difficult to get it back out, so it's best to start with the minimal you think you will need.

I like to add a little flour to my soups to make it a little thicker. I do this by taking a couple tablespoons of flour and mixing it with about a half a cup of water, then pouring it into the soup broth before adding any rice or veggies.

I usually add more beef cubes at this point. The general rule is one cube per cup of water you added. I usually melt them in the microwave in a cup or even less of water to make sure they have fully dissolved before adding to any soups, or gravies.

Now add the rice and any vegetables (besides potatoes) you want to add.  I used baby carrots that I cooked before adding them to the soup.

I also like to use Kitchen Bouquet, because it adds a lot of flavor and depth to soups and gravies. Just a splash goes a long way.

This is where you're kinda on your own. I make these soups different almost every time, depending on what is available, so the  flavors are always different. I taste it at this time and then I know if I should add some butter, more beef cubes, or kitchen Bouquet. I add and then let simmer.

If you're adding potatoes you will want to do that about 30 minutes or so before serving, because they will get mushy really fast. I usually cube some up and add them, but this time I had a can, so I just added that a few minutes before serving. Sometimes I will add leftover mashed potatoes and gravy. It adds a lot of flavor and texture to the soup.

And, that is pretty much it! This is a very cheap, customizable recipe that can work on so many levels. I hope it left you with some good ideas!