Hamburger Soup Recipe

I grew up in a big family with three brothers, so my mother was always trying to stretch a buck when it came to meal planning. Our family did a lot of camping, so making a dish that we all actually liked and would eat for more than one meal was a challenge. We all agreed upon and LOVED hamburger soup! It tasted good, was easy and cheap to make and it pairs nicely with PB and J sandwiches!

Ingredients
• 1 pound ground beef
• 1 cup diced yellow onion
• 2 stalks celery, diced
• 2 large carrots, diced
• 1 can (14.5 ounces) diced tomatoes
• 1/3 c. ketchup or 2 T. tomato paste
• 2 T. Italian spices
• 1 t. garlic powder
• 2 bay leaves
• 4 c. beef broth
• 4 c. water
• 1 cup elbow macaroni
• Salt and pepper to taste

Brown hamburger in large pot. Drain most of the grease and set aside hamburger in a separate bowl.
Add onions, carrots, celery to grease left in bottom of pot and sauté for 5 min or so. Add spices, diced tomato, ketchup or tomato paste and liquids and give it a stir before adding cooked ground beef. Bring to a boil, cover and lower heat to simmer for 20 minutes. Add the elbow macaroni at about 10 minutes. Take a bite to check taste and add more salt if needed. Our family likes things a little spicy, so adding a teaspoon or more of red pepper flakes gives this soup a lil zing!