Slow Cooker Beef Vegetable Soup

So, I made up a new soup recipe.  I wanted a beef vegetable soup that I could just throw the ingredients in the crockpot and let it all cook together.  Most of the beef vegetable soups I’ve seen involve cooking the beef first and then adding it to the soup.  I was feeling too lazy for that.  Here’s what I came up with.  Substitute as needed.

• 1-1 1/2 lbs. lean, boneless chuck steaks or other cut of beef, cut into small bite-size pieces
• 4 potatoes, peeled and cubed
• 3 carrots, sliced
• 1 stalk celery, diced
• 1 can corn, drained
• 1 can diced tomatoes, undrained
• 1 cup frozen peas
• 1 clove garlic, minced or crushed
• 1 onion, chopped
• 2 qts. beef broth
• 1 bay leaf
• 1/2 tsp. thyme
• salt and pepper to taste

I decided to saute the onions and garlic, just to add extra sweetness.  I’m pretty sure you can skip that step and the soup will still be good.  You can also use different veggies, if you like.  Throw everything in the crockpot and cook it on high for 7-8 hours.  This much food filled up my 6 qt. slow cooker.

As for how many servings this makes, I’ll guess about 10-12.  I fed 5 of us twice and there were still leftovers.