The Best (Mock) Steak Soup

A friend made this mock steak soup recipe for me and ever since then I just can't get enough of it.  It's one that we almost always have all of the ingredients on hand (and I mean, actually we have almost all of the ingredients, not like all those other blogs claim 'you have all of these ingredients on hand' and then they call for things like coconut oil, quinoa, and the blood of a virgin...yeah). 

It's so very easy to double and triple (for your especially large crowds).  It's also so very easy to substitute other things in place of what the actual recipe calls for.  Please enjoy this recipe.  I have to give props to my friend Lisa (mom of 6, all of whom love this soup). 



Soup Ingredients
2 cups water
1 medium chopped onion
2 stalked chopped celery
1/2 cup chopped carrots
1 lb. can diced tomatoes
1 teaspoon pepper
1 tsp salt
10 oz package frozen veggies
1 lb ground chuck, browned
4 tablespoons beef base granules or 2 of the bouillon cubes

Sauce Ingredients
1 stick melted butter, plus 1/2 c flour. 

Directions
Cook soup ingredients on low in crock pot for 8 hours. Then make the "sauce" and stir into soup to thicken.  Cook another 30 min-1 hour on high.

Suggestions for substitutions

2 cups water (part broth?) 
1 medium chopped onion (frozen onion?)
2 stalked chopped celery
1/2 cup chopped carrots
1 lb. can diced tomatoes (rotel?  stewed tomatoes?)
1 teaspoon pepper
1 tsp salt (garlic salt?  seasoning salt?  celery salt?) 
10 oz package frozen veggies (I especially like half frozen corn, half frozen green beans)
1 lb ground chuck, browned (ground turkey?  our favorite is ground pork!) 
4 tablespoons beef base granules or 2 of the bouillon cubes (only have chicken bouillon?  give it a shot!)  

Photo from livingwaterhealthandwellness.com.  Recipe from the kitchen of Lisa Loewen.