Evangeline Parish Corn & Beef Soup

Total Time: 1 hr 10 mins Preparation Time: 25 mins Cook Time: 45 mins

Ingredients

• Servings: 4
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1/2 medium onion, chopped
• 3 1/2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 lb ground beef (i use sirloin because it's less fatty)
• 2 cups beef broth or 2 cups vegetable broth
• 2 cups water
• 1 (15 ounce) can no-salt-added corn, with liquid
• 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1 bay leaf
• 1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1 small green bell pepper, chopped

Recipe

• 1 in a large saucepan, combine broth, water, corn, oregano, bay leaf, thyme, tomato paste, salt, cayenne pepper and green bell pepper.
• 2 bring mixture to a boil, then simmer on low heat for about 30 minutes.
• 3 meanwhile, in a medium saucepan, combine olive oil, onion, and garlic; saute on low heat for 10 minutes or until onion is transparent and garlic is golden but not brown.
• 4 add the ground beef and cook with onion-garlic mixture on medium heat until beef is well-browned, stirring frequently.
• 5 add beef-onion mixture to broth-water mixture.
• 6 simmer on low for another 20 minutes.
• 7 taste for saltiness; add a little more water if necessary.
• 8 leftover soup thickens slightly overnight (and tastes great the next day).
• 9 thin with a little more water if you wish.