Bison and Vegetable Soup

It's soup season now that the snow is flying, and I've been trying to come up with some new recipes to add to the collection, since I live somewhere it's frigid 5-8 months of the year. Soup is my boyfriend's favorite food, and it used to be my least favorite thing to make on earth. I used to watch the cooks/chefs make mirepoix and smell the lovely aroma, and beg for first taste-tests, but if it came time for me to help out with a big batch of soup, I would make myself scarce. Making soup has grown on me after many a request from the man, and after learning the fundamentals of building a good basic recipe, it's one of my favorite things to make now. 

I have a philosophy for food that nothing should go to waste (unless it's furry or otherwise spoiled) and that's how I came up with this comforting recipe out of random soup ingredients in my kitchen when it was too cold to run to the store.

Bison and Vegetable Soup

-1 lb. ground bison

-1 medium yellow onion

-1 cup chopped carrots

-2 cups potatoes, chopped into cubes

-1 cup chopped celery

-1/2 cup corn

-1/2 cup green beans

-2 bay leaves

-2 cups vegetable, chicken or beef stock

-1 T. olive oil

- 1 T. oregano

-1/4 cup parsley

-1 T. basil

-1 t. salt and pepper

-1 t. garlic powder

Directions: In medium pot brown bison, adding bay leaves, onions, celery and carrots and simmering until tender. Add potatoes and stock and bring to a boil. Add spices and corn and beans, simmer 20 minutes.

Simple as can be and as cozy as a soft sweater on a cold Minnesota evening. Bison is leaner and sweeter than beef, and I almost always use it instead.

We served it with crackers, but crusty bread would make this a filling meal. Perfect after a day of skiing or snowshoeing!