A low-rent vegetable soup "recipe"

Preface: Unless we're talking about something that has to bake or otherwise "set up", I view recipes as meal ideas. My pizza recipe had a baking element to it (the crust). This soup is neither baked not should it set up, so use it as a guideline.

I took home-ec back in high school, and we had a cooking unit every year. Mind you, this was no culinary course but, rather, a lesson on basic kitchen skills. I learned a lot though, including stuff my mother and stepmother never taught me, such as which measuring cups were for dry and liquid ingredients. Mrs. Allard's home-ec class and my extensive viewing of cooking programs have made me a pretty good cook. This is one of the most ghetto meal ideas I can think of, but the fact remains it is easy and damned if it doesn't taste good.

Low Rent Vegetable Soup (I named it that)

1 pound lean-ish ground beef

1 small onion, chopped

1 package mixed vegetables (the kind with the diced carrots, corn, green beans and peas)

6 cups water (or broth or stock if you want to get fancy)

1 cup small cut pasta like ditalini or elbows

salt and pepper

optional -- I think a can of crushed tomatoes could work wonders here

Break up and brown the beef until the pinkness is gone, saute the onion until tender in the beef, salt and pepper the beef and onion. Add the vegetables and briefly saute with the beef and onions, season again (season after every step). Add the water or broth (and tomatoes, if using) and season again. Bring to a boil and then add the pasta and boil until pasta is al dente. Taste. Season one more time if needed. Simmer if you feel the flavors need to develop more or, otherwise, serve.

Tips: I would personally use the broth or stock. If you plan to simmer this soup for a while, why not try adding a bay leaf, which you will remove prior to serving. You could add a clove of minced garlic at the point when you add the onion. Remember, do not brown onion or garlic -- simply soften it. You could also start this soup by sauteeing onion and garlic in a bit of olive oil before browning the meat if it makes you feel more like you're doing it the right way.