Cooking Louisiana  -  Vegetable Beef Soup
Vegetable Beef Soup is one of my favorite cold weather dishes. I'm sure there are many variations of this, and, it can't be coined "Cajun".

Use a large (12 quart or so) stock pot. (I don't know how to make a small soup!)

1 pack of beef ribs cut in two "lengthways". (your butcher can fix you up with this). You want as much cut bone as you can get; there's flavor there.
You can also add cut up beef chuck roast or steak for added meat.

Group 1:
Beef
1 med. onion chopped
1/2 lg. bell pepper chopped
6 carrots skinned and sliced
1 small head of cabbage, core out, cut in 2" x 2" pieces (roughly)
3 ribs of celery chopped
4 leaves of fresh mustard greens washed and torn
1 can of stewed tomatoes
1 sm. can of tomato sauce or 2 sm. cans V-8 juice
1 - 15 oz. can whole corn
1 - 15 oz. can baby lima beans
1 - 15 oz. can Petit-Pois (small sweet peas)
1 - 15 oz. can green beans
(Same amounts of fresh or frozen canned veggies will do)
Water

Group 2:
3/4" round spaghetti pasta broken in 4
1/4 cup long grain rice
2 med. potatoes peeled and cut into bite sized pieces.
1 tsp. Salt
1/2 tsp Pepper (black and cayenne mixed)
4 cups beef stock

Group 3:
Pinch of Thyme
Handful of fresh parley
Handful or two chopped Green onions

Instruction:

Fill the pot half way with water and put to boil.
Wash and add the ribs and extra meat. Trim as much fat off as you can, Boil for 1/2 hour. Skim any fat off.

Add Group 1 to the pot. Boil for 30 minutes (about). Skim any fat off. (if you use roast or steak you need to boil this at least an hour to tenderize the meat.

Add group 2 and do the same.

Add group 3 and boil for 15 minutes. Lower fire and simmer. Begin tasting and add salt and pepper as you see fit.

The longer you let this simmer the better.

Remove bones.