Beef Vegetable Soup with Kale and Brown Rice

Beef Vegetable Soup with Kale and Wild Rice: Hye Thyme Cafe

I ended up being on my own for Christmas this year but didn't want to completely bail on the day, so I made myself a little roast beef dinner with lots of veggies and saved a pumpkin bar for dessert from the batch I brought to the office pot-luck. After eating roast beef sandwiches for the next few days, I decided to use the rest of the roast in this soup. I don't think I've ever made a soup with beef in it before, and thinking about that reminded me that I've used pasta, but never rice in a soup, so I decided to try that as well. It's a keeper!

INGREDIENTS :
1 T olive oil
1 lg onion, diced
1 red, yellow, or orange bell pepper, diced
2 pickled hot cherry peppers, diced *
3-4 stalks celery, diced
2 lg carrots, diced
2-3 cloves garlic, minced
2 c corn - fresh, canned, or frozen are fine
1 c brown rice
2 c cooked beef, diced
1 T Worcestershire
8 c + beef broth (or veg broth, water, combo, etc.)
2 c chopped tomatoes (I used a medley of different cherry tomatoes)
2 t dried thyme, or a sprig or two of fresh
4 c chopped kale, packed
small crown of broccoli florets
salt and pepper
Optional - grated Parmesan for topping

* The cherry peppers add flavor, heat, and a bit of acid. If you're not a fan of cherry peppers (they go great in greens and other dishes), you could squeeze in a little lemon juice instead, or maybe drizzle in a bit of white wine or a flavored vinegar.

Start by dicing your beef and letting that sit out while you prep your veggies so it's not going into the pot super cold. Any leftover beef will do - steak, roast, tips, etc. Then chop all of your veggies.
In the 1T of olive oil, saute the onion, pepper(s), celery, carrot, and garlic until the onions are translucent. Stir frequently to prevent the garlic from burning; season with salt and pepper.
Stir in the corn, rice, and beef, then add the Worcestershire, broth (I used all beef broth), tomatoes, and thyme. Let simmer until the rice is almost cooked through.
Add the chopped kale and continue simmering until the rice is done, then add the broccoli during the last minute or two.
Ladle up a bowl and top with grated Parmesan.