Posted by Dana

Growing up, I remember my Grandmother whipping up massive pots of soup for the farmhands, who, let’s be honest, were mostly just our family pretending to work hard enough to deserve a second helping!

My grandparents on my dad’s side managed to raise five boys and an impressive amount of tobacco, proving they could handle both chaos and crops with equal skill.

I remember gazing at those endless tobacco fields, convinced they stretched so far they might either fall off the planet or lead to some secret cow utopia. As a kid, everything seemed gigantic—like those fields that felt like they went on forever. Now I drive by, and they barely look big enough to host a decent game of tag. And the tobacco rows? Gone, replaced by houses sprouting up faster than weeds in a garden.

I can still picture my grandparents, parents, aunts, and uncles stripping tobacco in a rickety little house insulated with old newspapers, huddled around a pot-bellied stove that chugged along on a steady diet of coal.

My grandmother often had a pot of soup “warming up” on that ancient stove. Us kids ran wild in the back rooms of that creaky old house, while the adults wrestled with tobacco leaves. Naturally, as soon as we kids hit the “responsible age,” the fun vanished, and we were swiftly drafted into the workforce!

Things have really changed over the past umpteen years, but these memories are stuck with me like soup simmering on a pot-bellied stove. I hope you whip up this soup and stir up some unforgettable family memories of your own.

Ingredients

1 1/2 pounds ground chuck

1 small can tomato sauce

1 quart tomato juice

1 quart diced tomatoes

3-4 medium potatoes, peeled and cubed into bite size pieces

1 medium onion, chopped

1 cup sliced carrots

1 can whole kernel corn, drained

1 can green peas or green beans, drained

1 can light red kidney beans, or red beans, or pinto beans, drained

Directions

Brown and drain ground chuck.  In a large stock pot combine all ingredients and cover with enough water to make soup.

Bring to a boil over high heat.  Reduce heat to low and simmer for about 2 hours, stirring occasionally.

Whip up a big ol’ pone of cornbread to go with this, and you’re talking about some downright delicious southern eating!