Carrot Chowder

This recipe is a favorite from my Mother-in-law. The original recipe calls for 1 lb ground beef and no beans, but as you may have noticed, we like to add beans to things around here.

1/2 lb. ground beef or ground turkey

1 can white beans, with liquid

1 med onion, chopped

1 green pepper, chopped (or 1/4 c dried bell peppers)

3 stalks celery, chopped

3-4 cloves garlic, finely minced

1 quart tomato juice

1 1/2 c. water

2 1/2 c. grated carrots

1/2 tsp marjoram

2 cans cream of celery soup

olive oil

salt and pepper to taste

Place ground meat, onions, celery, garlic, and peppers in a soup pot with a splash of olive oil. Cook over medium-high heat until meat is cooked thoroughly and vegetables are soft. Drain fat if using ground beef. Add water, tomato juice, marjoram, and carrots and simmer over medium heat until carrots are tender, about 20 minutes. Add cream soup and beans and heat through over low heat - do not boil. Serve with bread.

Jules adds: Whenever I use ground beef I like to add cooked quinoa to it first. I cook quinoa and mix it into the raw beef and saute like normal. I use about 1/4 the amount of beef so it is 4 parts beef and 1 part quinoa.