When the Weather Channel announces the first tropical storm headed our way has just been upgraded to a Category 1 Hurricane, it’s time to make ‘Hurricane’ Beef Vegetable Soup.
The Gulf of Mexico has been unusually calm this year. Here it is, early September and the first big storm of the year is headed towards Louisiana/Mississippi Gulf Coast.
After 10 years of living in the New Orleans area, we’ve evacuated once and hunkered down countless times.
Although a Category 1 in the past rarely raised an eyebrow, after the disaster in Houston last year, we’d be crazy not to take precautions.
Personally, I like to start by cleaning out my fridge and creating a big pot of Beef Soup that’s chocked full of vegetables. Then I rearrange the fridge so IF the power goes out, we can quickly get in and out of the fridge to retrieve what’s needed.
Since we have well water, which requires electricity, I’ll fill the bathtub just to be sure (learned that lesson the hard way).
We’ve got a couple cases of water, flashlights were located, little bit of cash on hand and the car is full of gas just to be sure.
Tomorrow I’ll do laundry, tidy the house and then pray it fizzles out like so many have before.
Meanwhile our house smells scrumptious and will be clean for the coming week!

Servings | Prep Time |
16 servings | 15 minutes |
Cook Time |
30 minutes |
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When a hurricane is brewing in the Gulf and Mark has a cold, it seems appropriate to make a big pot of flavorful soup to clean out the fridge. Tomorrow I'll fill the crock pot and send it to work with Mark so he can share with the guys,
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- 1 Tbsp olive oil
- 2 lbs Cube Steak Or Ground Beef, Cut into pieces
- 1 large onion cut into 1/2" pcs
- 4 stocks celery sliced
- 4 large Carrots, sliced
- 1 Tbsp garlic minced
- 2 Tbsp Parsley, dried
- 2 tsp Basil, dried
- 1 tsp Thyme, dried
- 28 oz can Petite diced tomatoes
- 2 medium Potatoes, peeled, cubed
- 2 zucchini diced
- 1 bag Shredded Coleslaw Mix
- 8 cups beef stock
- Salt/Pepper
- 2 cups Frozen Mixed Veggies optional
- In a large stock pot heat olive oil.
- Add beef and cook until slightly pink.
- Add onions, celery, carrots, parsley,garlic, basil and thyme and cook 5 minutes.
- Add canned tomatoes, beef stock, zucchini, shredded cabbage, potatoes. Cook approx 25 minutes.
- Add frozen mixed veggies.
- Season with salt & pepper to taste.
Soup is always best next day after flavors have had a chance to meld together.