Ground Beef & Sauerkraut Soup

Total Time: 1 hr 10 mins Preparation Time: 10 mins Cook Time: 1 hr

Ingredients

• Servings: 6
• 1 lb extra lean ground beef (less than 10% fat)
• 2 -3 teaspoons olive oil (depends on your pan)
• 1 cup onion, chopped
• 1 tablespoon garlic, minced
• 2 cups chicken stock (or 1 14 oz. can chicken broth)
• 28 ounces beef broth (2 14-oz cans)
• 14 ounces diced tomatoes with juice, canned
• 14 ounces sauerkraut, undrained
• 1 cup water (optional)
• 1 tablespoon brown sugar (use splenda for south beach diet)
• 1 tablespoon worcestershire sauce
• 3 -4 dried bay leaves
• 3 tablespoons parsley, minced (1-2 t dried parsley)
• 1 teaspoon rubbed sage
• fresh ground black pepper

Recipe

• 1 in heavy frying pan, heat 1 teaspoons olive oil, add ground beef and brown well, breaking into small pieces with turner. this will take as much as ten minutes but don't rush the browning step.
• 2 while ground beef browns, combine chicken stock, beef stock, canned tomatoes, sauerkraut, splenda or brown sugar, worcestershire sauce, bay leaves, parsley and sage in large stock pot. bring to a low simmer.
• 3 when beef is well browned, add to soup in pot. deglaze pan with a bit of the soup liquid, scraping off any browned bits, and add to soup.
• 4 wipe out frying pan and add other 2 teaspoons olive oil. saute onions 2-3 minutes, until starting to soften, then add garlic and saute 1-2 minutes more. add to soup, reduce heat under soup pot and let soup simmer at low heat about one hour. after an hour, taste for seasoning and add water if soup seems too strong. simmer 15 minutes more if adding water. season to taste with fresh-ground black pepper before serving. serve hot, with sour cream if desired.