Hamburger Vegetable Soup

It really got chilly over the weekend, so it's time for soup. I did some googling because I wanted a vegetable soup that also contained meat (trying to make my husband happy here, because I personally adore all meat-free soups). I landed on a recipe from Pioneer Woman, but I took a lot of liberties with the recipe to make it suit our needs and what we had in the fridge (I had just made a huge Farmer's Market trip). I basically used the broth/seasonings suggested in the recipe as a guide and then just had some fun. The soup was fantastic, and even better today for lunch. It's both hearty and healthy, and that's a tough combo to achieve where soups are concerned. I'll be making another batch soon for the freezer.

Hamburger Vegetable Soup
-adapted from pioneerwoman.com

• 2 lbs lean hamburger
• 1 whole large onion, diced
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 can (14.5 Ounce) can diced tomatoes
• 4  cups beef broth
• 1 yellow bell pepper, seeded and diced
• 1 red bell pepper, seeded and diced
• 4  carrots, peeled and sliced
• 2 cups fresh green beans, cut into 2" pieces
• 4 Tablespoons tomato paste
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt (more To Taste)
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 2 teaspoons dried parsley flakes
• 3/4 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1 bunch fresh spinach
• parmesan cheese for serving.

Brown hamburger with onion and garlic in large soup pot. Drain any grease. Add all remaining ingredients except spinach and parmesan, bring to boil, reduce heat, and simmer until vegetables are crisp-tender (20-30 minutes). Taste and adjust for seasonings (mine needed quite a bit more salt, and I always add season salt to my vegetable soup). Stir in spinach and let it wilt (about 3 minutes), and serve topped with a sprinkling of parmesan cheese.