Beef and Garden Vegetable Soup

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 pounds beef stew meat, cut into bite-size pieces
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 2 bay leaves
• 3 carrots, diced
• 4 small red potatoes, diced
• 2 quarts beef stock
• 1/2 pound fresh green beans, cut into 1-inch pieces
• 3 ears fresh corn, kernels cut from cob
• 1/2 cup frozen petite peas
• 1 zucchini, diced
• 1/2 head cabbage, chopped
• 2 (14.5 ounce) cans diced tomatoes
• 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning blend
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
• Salt and ground black pepper to taste
• 1/3 cup uncooked orzo pasta

Directions

Heat the olive oil in a stock pot over medium-high heat; cook the beef in the hot oil until completely browned, 7 to 10 minutes. Add the onion and bay leaves, reduce heat to medium, cook until the onion is softened, 5 to 7 minutes. Use a wooden spoon to scrape any bits stuck to the bottom of the pot. Stir the carrots, potatoes, and beef stock into the mixture; bring to a simmer and cook until the vegetables are just barely tender, about 5 minutes.

Stir the green beans, corn, peas, zucchini, cabbage, tomatoes, Italian seasoning blend, garlic powder, salt, and pepper into the beef mixture. Cover the stock pot, reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer the soup until the beef is cooked through and the vegetables are tender, 45 to 50 minutes.

Stir the orzo pasta into the soup; replace the cover to the stock pot and continue cooking until the pasta is tender, about 5 minutes more.