Grandma's Vegetable Beef Soup

I grew up not caring for any soup, but this is the one soup I would always eat.  Now I love all kinds of soup, but this one is still a favorite.  I can't believe I have never posted the recipe.  I took a picture of it the last time I made it (without potatoes and added peas)... but still never got around to posting it.  I figured since I am making it overnight tonight for a family gathering tomorrow after church, I would post it.  This time, I made my beef broth a couple of weeks ago and froze it, just to save some prep time this weekend.  I will not be adding the cabbage or butter this time, though, due to Bristol's sensitivity.  I generally always add homemade tomato soup, but the stuff I have in the freezer right now has milk in it, so I bought some organic soup with the fewest ingredients I could find.  This is such a delicious soup.  Let me know if you try it sometime!

Grandma's Vegetable Beef Soup

1 small beef roast (or 1-2 pounds stew meat)
1 onion, chopped
1 bay leaf
salt and pepper
1 cup celery, chopped
2 cups carrots, chopped
1 1/2 cups potatoes, peeled and chopped
1 cup shredded cabbage
2 Tablespoons butter
1-2 cans tomato soup

Place roast with onion, bay leaf, salt and pepper in a large soup pot.  Cover with water by a couple of inches, bring to a boil.  Boil until beef is cooked through.  Remove roast and set aside to cool.  Cut up into chunks when cool enough to handle.

Strain broth.  Discard bay leaf and onion.  Return broth to soup pot.

Add chopped beef, celery, carrots, potatoes, cabbage, butter, and tomato soup to the soup pot.  Simmer until vegetables are cooked and beef is very tender. 

You can also dump everything into a crockpot and cook on low all day, if you prefer.