Nana's Beef Soup...or Slop

My friend Pam lived across the street during our high school years and we spent a lot of time at each others houses.  Her mom often made this beefy vegetable soup which they called "Slop"and so whenever I could, I would wrangle an invite (or maybe I invited myself) for a bowl. This was actually Pam's grandmother's recipe. Nana Brewster was one of the sharpest most independent women I had ever known.  When Pam married, Nana sent her the "Slop" recipe, of which a copy of the original is pictured above. Pam also sent me a  translation which I'm posting word for word.  Please contact me under the comments section if you have any questions.  I think the most important part of this recipe is the long cooking of the beef, bones, or short ribs ( or a combination) and is key to the process. So here goes:

1 1/2# stewing beef wash and put in stew pot cover with water, add salt and pepper simmer for 2 hours then add prepared vegetable, 3 carrots sliced, 2 onions, 2 stocks of celery, 2 or 3 potatoes cut into small pieces, 1 pkg. frozen mixed vegetables, 1/2 cup barley, rice or noodles, stirring often so rice don't stick cook until veg and rice or noodles are well done.
You can use short ribs, nice lean ones, as a rule short ribs are fat, but you can find lean ones sometimes, usually 3 in a pkg.
If you use stewing beef it is good to get a soup bone which gives the slop better flavor. Most butchers will give you a soup bone if you ask him for one or maby chg 10 or 20 cents if there is a little bit of meat.
(Pam - thaw the frozen veg and add them after the other veg has cooked for a while.)
                               Love & Good Luck Nana
                                        8-16-68                                                                                                                                                         


Pam noted that she paid $3.50 for a soup bone with no meat on it, but the slop had good flavor.  She also told me that the spots on the original are probably.....Slop

NOTE: Pam also said that although it's not listed as an ingredient, Nana Brewster added a can of tomatoes to the soup.