Snow day, round 3...my Momma's vegetable beef soup

As I write this, my children are being forced to enjoy my mother's vegetable beef soup.  Mother Nature saw fit to dump yet another winter storm on us...8 inches this time.  So in between shoveling and playing in the snow, I was working on this soup.  It is super simple and remarkably delicious.  And if you pour off all of the broth, a three year old will eat it.  Only if you feed it to her like a baby.  And she will chew the beef for five minutes like it is a piece of bubble gum, even though it is possibly the tenderest piece of meat I've made in awhile.

 FYI--this recipe is also featured in my book Only the Good Kids Get Broccoli.  Check it out here

Gather ingredients...let the meat stand at room temperature for a bit before cooking so it warms up.

Get the oil rippling hot.  Salt the beef and sear...

About 5 minutes each side--you are looking for a good crust on it.  Add beef broth, bring to a boil and reduce heat to low.  Simmer until the meat is fall-apart tender, 2-3 hours.

I like to slice the cabbage into thin strips.  It ends up being like noodles in the finished soup.

Remove meat to a plate and cool until you can handle it.  Pour vegetable juice into pot.  Add tomatoes, soup mix and cabbage.  Bring to boil, reduce heat to low and simmer at least 20 minutes.  Shred the meat or cut into bite sized pieces and add back to the pot.

Nannie Norma's Vegetable Beef Soup
2-3 lb boneless beef chuck roast
3-4 cups beef broth
32 oz vegetable juice (like V-8)
15 oz can diced tomatoes with green chilies
16 oz package of "soup mix" vegetables
1/3 head cabbage, sliced into thin ribbons

Season the beef on both sides with salt.  In a heavy bottomed pot (dutch oven) sear the beef in 3 Tbs vegetable oil over medium-high heat, about 5 minutes per side.  Add beef broth to pot, enough to come up about 3/4 the way up the side of the beef.  Bring to a boil and reduce heat to low.  Simmer until beef is fall-apart tender.  (My 2.8 lb piece took 2 hours, 45 minutes)  Remove beef to a plate and allow to cool enough to handle.  Meanwhile, add to pot the vegetable juice, tomatoes, soup mix and cabbage.  Bring to a boil and reduce to low.  Simmer at least 20 minutes until the cabbage is softened, but you can let it go longer if you wish.  Shred or cut the beef into bite sized pieces.  At some point during the simmering, add the beef back to the pot.  Serve while hot, or it's even better the next day.  After the soup has refrigerated a bit, you can remove the hardened fat.  This soup freezes beautifully, so don't be overwhelmed by the vat of soup on your stove right now.