Slow Cooker Vegetable Beef Soup

The basic recipe for this soup was shared with me by a dear church lady many years ago. I've adapted it to my tastes and have reworked it slightly to perform well in my slow cooker. I can remember her saying when she handed me the recipe, "The original recipe called for Elbow macaroni, but Charles (her husband) claims he doesn't like Elbow macaroni, so I use Alphabet macaroni!" I remember giggling at how her eyes squinted and her nose crinkled up when she said the word "claims". Life is so wonderfully full of lovely people and shining examples of joy. The soup is easy, quick to put into the slow cooker and will be ready for a great, light supper when you get home from work. I promise!! Enjoy!!

Ingredients:

1 lb. Ground Beef (I use either ground round 85/15 or ground brisket 80/20 (lean/fat))
1 large Onion, chopped
2 Celery ribs, sliced on the bias
1, 16 oz. package Frozen Mixed Vegetables (I prefer a mix that has some sliced okra...gives body)
1, 8 oz. can Tomato Sauce
1, 14 oz. can Fire Roasted Diced Tomatoes
2, 1 oz. packages of Dry Onion Soup Mix (2 packages come in 1 box, so use 1 box)
1/2 teaspoon or to taste, Dry Crushed Red Pepper Flakes
1 teaspoon Beef Stock Base (or you can use bouillon)
1 teaspoon Chicken Stock Base (or you can use bouillon)
3 Garlic cloves, crushed
1 cup Elbow macaroni (or if you're like Charles, Alphabet macaroni, just reduce the amount)
Water

Brown the ground beef in a skillet until all pink has dissipated. Transfer the browned beef to a strainer; allowing the fat to drain away. While the beef is draining,  to the slow cooker add the onion, celery, mixed vegetables, tomato sauce, tomatoes, onion soup mix, crushed red pepper, stock bases and garlic (I use 4.5 quart oval slow cooker). Add the drained beef to the slow cooker and pour on water to cover everything. (I fill a kettle, bring it to a boil and use the boiling water to help the slow cooker come to temperature faster.) Cover and set the temperature to high or low depending on how quickly you'd like to serve the soup (low=9 hours/high=5 hours).  About 1 to 2 hours before serving, stir in the macaroni. The longer the macaroni is in the soup, the softer it will become. So, adjust the timing of the macaroni to your taste! I find this soup is really wonderful served with cornbread.

This makes about 8 hearty servings and the cost per serving varies based on the cost of ingredients, but my current estimate is $1.10 per serving. When ground beef is on special, stock the freezer and make this soup and other great slow cooker dishes on the cheap!  Soup's on!!