Every year as summer draws to a close I find myself looking ahead to heating up the kitchen and filling the house with the wonderful aromas of hearty soups and stews.

It is enjoyable to change our meal planning from lighter summer menus to traditional autumn foods. Eating seasonally means enjoying certain foods when they are at their ripest and freshest. Autumn is the height of harvest time for many fruits and vegetables.

At the end of summer, the gardens are loaded with ingredients for creating tasty, one-pot meals such as Garden Patch Soup.

This soup is full of nutritious and flavorful vegetables. It has been a restaurant customer favorite soup for well over twenty years. That's right. For over 20 years my restaurant customers have counted on this soup being featured every fall. The restaurant never quits serving customers favorite recipes.

The soup recipe calls for beef, but you can use chicken or pork or you can leave out the meat altogether, adding more beans and veggies. Left-over chili can be substituted for the beans.

So as you can see, this soup recipe is wonderfully flexible. The recipe has as many variations as there are cooks but regardless of how you choose to tweak the recipe, it will be delicious.

The soup you make from this successful restaurant recipe will keep you and your family warm, healthy, full, happy and thankful for the Fall bounty as the weather turns cool.

Enjoy your restaurant soup recipe and the company of those you share it with!

Garden Patch Soup

Preparation time: 30 minutes. Serves 8-10.

Ingredients:

1 pound lean ground beef

1 onion, chopped

2 quarts water

2 1/2 tablespoons Au jus seasoning mix (or to taste)

2 1/2 tablespoons taco seasoning mix

2 1/4 teaspoons chili powder

14 ounce can of tomatoes, chopped

7 ounce can tomato sauce

8 ounces whole kernel corn or 8 ounce can with liquid 3 cups of veggies (broccoli, cauliflower, green beans, zucchini, peppers, celery or whatever you like and have available)

1/3 head cabbage (1 1/2 cups), coarsely chopped

8 ounce can kidney beans, drained and rinsed (or left-over chili)

Instructions:

Heat water to boiling in a soup pot

While water is heating, brown the ground beef and onion in a skillet

When water comes to a boil, add all the seasonings, tomato, tomato sauce, corn with liquid, beans and your vegetable choice

Drain meat mixture and add the meat to the soup pot

Bring back to a boil and simmer until vegetables are crisp tender

Add the cabbage and remove the soup from the heat

Let sit for a few minutes to cook the cabbage

Correct the seasoning

Enjoy your soup and the great fall season.