Carrot Stew

My husband has gotten in the habit of inviting people over for Sunday dinner. This includes local college students without families, women with husbands out to sea, husbands with wives at home whose husbands are out to sea (or at least in training here), in other words, a crowd. One Sunday I served what the kids dubbed Carrot Stew. Which means that at midnight one Saturday I was IMing my mom and her trusty friend who is always online to beg them for recipes. How can I inexpensive feed a crowd with ground beef and NOT running to the grocery store?

Here is how the recipe was first given to me in separate but interdiscussed IMs (we were all three talking to each other but not in a 3 way conversation):
Roseanne: Add whatever ingredients and spices sound good at the moment
Mom: Oh, that soup can be very good or bad depending on what you add and how you season it.
Me: Thanks ladies. I couldn't feel hopeless without your help.

In the end I managed to get a real recipe. Can't promise I followed it exactly but I managed to get lucky with whatever I threw in because this is all that was left of a very large pot:
RoseAnne’s Meaty Soup

Here is the recipe for the soup I made up -

1lb ground turkey

1 cup water

1 onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 can sliced olives, with juice

1 can black beans, with juice

1 can tomatoes, with sauce

4 stalks celery, chopped

8 mushrooms, sliced

3 carrots, sliced

1/2 t. cayenne

1-2 t. cumin

1 t. poultry seasoning

salt & pepper to taste

Put turkey and water into saucepan.

Heat while breaking up turkey in water until turkey is crumbly.

Add onion, garlic, olives beans, and celery.

Steam for about 10 minutes. Then add celery and carrots for about 5-7 minutes.

Season as desired.

I served it with my homemade bread and a great deal of butter.

(If you don't know the "great deal of butter" reference you need to read Mercy Watson. A wonderful little series that you will grow to hate after the 19th reading in two days. Your kids will thank me even if you don't.)