Pumpkin Beef Vegetable Soup

Friends, I'm so glad that it is now officially "soup season". Yes, I know that you can make soups in summer, but it's just too hot for me. Summer here in the northwest seemed to just high tail it out of here last Sunday. We went from 80+ degree weather to rain and colder temps for the last 3 days. It feels like fall.

The other day I just felt like soup. It had been cold, rainy, windy and feeling like "soup" weather and yet I really didn't want to run to the store so it would require only what I had in the house (and my kitchen isn't like The Pioneer Woman who always seems to have a stocked pantry and fridge even when she hasn't been to the store in ages). I had some frozen ground beef, a variety of veggies and thought okay....a veggie beef soup would work great. Oh, I don't have any tomato sauce or diced tomatoes...but I do have some frozen tomatoes from my containers that I had run through my food processor and froze, and I have about a cup of frozen pumpkin that could work to replace the tomato sauce. As I was pulling things out of the fridge, freezer and cupboards I kept finding things to add. The end result.....a hearty, flavorful soup that will definitely satisfy. 

Ingredients:

1 lb. ground beef
1 c. chopped onion
1 lb. Potatoes, diced
3 lg. stalks celery, sliced
1 c. sliced carrots
2 c. crushed tomatoes 
2 c. beef broth
1 c. lentils
1 tsp. onion powder
2 cloves garlic, chopped, sliced, crushed...whatever you want
1 tsp. oregano
1/2 tsp. basil
1 can cannelini beans, drained
1 c. canned pumpkin
salt and pepper to taste

Instructions:

1. In a large soup pan, brown the ground beef. Drain.
2. Add crushed tomatoes, broth, water and pumpkin. Stir to combine.
3. Add remaining ingredients except for beans. Cook until vegetables are tender. 
4. Add beans. Heat through. Serve. I love it topped with a bit of parmesan cheese. Yum!

Super simple, super easy. Hearty, full of flavor and great the next day. 

With Joy Unquenchable,