Recipe Source: Alicia Ross / desperationdinners.com
From Alicia:
When I came home from the publicity tour, I didn’t have a clue what was in my pantry, refrigerator or freezer. So I took stock. What I found was a bunch of half-used and nearly-used bags of everything in the freezer and not much of anything anywhere else. Time for Clean the Freezer Soup.
Cook’s Notes:
How fast you can make this soup depends on how fast you can clean your freezer, but assembly should take no more than 10 minutes of actual effort. Anything goes in this soup, except do not use broccoli, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts or frozen spinach.
Ingredients:
8 ounces frozen extra-lean meat, such as round steak, hamburger or chicken
6 cups assorted frozen vegetables, such as corn, peas, beans, potatoes, carrots
3 cups water
1 can (14 1/2 ounces) nonfat chicken broth
1 1/2 cups bottled spaghetti sauce or tomato sauce
1 can (14 1/2 ounces) crushed or stewed tomatoes, optional
1 cup (1 large) onion, peeled and coarsely chopped
2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon each salt and pepper
1/2 teaspoon dried basil
1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
1 teaspoon reduced-sodium chicken-flavor bouillon crystals (or 1 cube), optional
Directions:
Put all ingredients in an electric slow-cooker (3-quart or larger). (If freezer vegetables do not include potatoes, you can add 1 1/2 cups fresh potato cubes.)
Cook on low heat overnight or for 8 to 10 hours. When the soup is cooked, remove any large pieces of meat and shred them. Return meat to pot and stir. Soup keeps refrigerated for several days.
Makes 8 servings (1 1/2 cups each).
