For as long as I can remember, I've been eating vegetable soup with meat added. In fact, when I think of childhood, the smell is that of vegetable soup on the stove; the onion & potato base to begin, then the addition of the tomatoes and other vegetables and the aroma of the mixture filling up my parent’s home in north Mississippi. Daddy, for some reason, would add a splash of milk to his bowl to cool it down along with saltine crackers. Worcestershire sauce was and still is present.

This is the first time I've written the recipe down. The original versions use stew meat, but now I use venison because my brother took up hunting again and I've got a freezer full of deer. Plus, deer is leaner, healthier & not pumped full of who-knows-what hormone at some factory farm.

I will never make this as good as my Mother's version.

Venison* Vegetable Stew

2 cans vegetable broth
4 cups of water
6 moderately sized red potatoes, diced
1 white onion
5 carrots, diced
2 cups celery, diced
2 cans diced tomatoes, blended
2 cups frozen mixed vegetables
3 bay leaves
1 tsp thyme
1 tsp parsley
salt & pepper to taste
1 tsp garlic salt (I like Trader Joe’s variety)
¼ cup worcestershire sauce
1 cup frozen / 1 can yellow corn
1 lb venison tenderloins, diced into 1” pieces (if venison is not available, use stew beef)

Instructions:

In a skillet, brown the venison or stew beef, set aside.

Bring the water and vegetable broth to a boil in a 2 quart pot. Add diced potatoes.

In a skillet, saute the onions, carrots and celery until tender. Add to pot boiling potatoes. Add cooked venison (or beef) to the pot. Add blended tomatoes, mixed vegetables, corn, bay leaves, thyme, parsley, garlic salt, salt & pepper and worcestershire.

Bring to a boil and then reduce heat to low/medium on the stove to simmer for a few hours and allow flavors to blend.