Cabbage soup

This was an adapted form of a soup my mom made when I was little. Super filling and nutritious.

-1 head green cabbage

-3 celery stalks

-1 small onion

-3 small carrots or 2 large

-2 big cans chopped tomatoes

-1 small can tomato paste (you can use just 1/2 a can)

-2 boxes Trader Joe's beef stock (the only brand I like)

-1 package oxtails or other stock-making bones

-2-3 bayleaves

-salt and pepper to taste

optional

To make it heartier, and far more caloric, you can add stew meat to the oxtails. So brown oxtails and stew meat, and then put stew meat in at start of process. I've done it both ways, but realized it was hearty and meaty enough without the actual meat.

1. brown oxtails
2. while oxtails are browning chop up all veggies, cabbage can be in big 1 inch chunks but carrot, celery and onion should be smaller.
3. drain off most of fat, saute onion, carrot, celery in small amount of oxtail fat. (very bad I know)
4. put bayleaves, browned oxtail, canned stuff, stock in pot. bring to boil, turn down heat, let simmer for about 30 min.
5. put in cabbage and browned veggies, let simmer another 20-30 min, until soup looks done and cabbage is really tender.
6. add salt as needed, but there is a lot in the broth already so be conservative. Add pepper if you like it.

that's it! pull out oxtails and bayleaves.

• This is a GREAT soup to make a huge batch of and freeze.
• I put it in a plastic thermos for work and eat BEFORE lunch, then have a smaller lunch, like 1/2 sandwich. It's a very low-cal and filling soup. Also good for an afternoon snack. Will really keep you until dinner.
• Great with a crusty bread.
• Note that it really only needs half a can of tomato paste but since I always end up throwing away the other half of moldy tomato paste a few weeks later I just started putting in the whole thing. It makes it very tomato-y though.
• The traditional recipe has vinegar and sugar in it but I stopped adding both of them after I forgot one time and still liked it.