1/2 cup butter or margarine

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

8 cups hot water

2 pounds lean ground beef

2 tablespoons beef bouillon granules

1 cup onions -- chopped

1 cup carrots -- diced

1 cup celery -- sliced

2 cups frozen mixed vegetables

28 ounces canned tomatoes -- diced

1 teaspoon pepper -- or to taste

1 tablespoon Accent? seasoning mix -- (optional)

Melt butter or margarine in a soup pot that holds at least 20 cups. Blend in flour to make a smooth paste. Add hot water a little at a time. Simmer until smooth. Saut? beef in a large skillet and drain off fat (I usually rinse under very hot water which gets some more of the fat off the meat). Add meat, bouillon, all vegetables and seasonings to saucepan. Bring to boil. reduce heat and simmer until vegetables are cooked. Do not add salt.

You can freeze this soup. I added Old Bay Seasoning about 1 tablespoon in place of Accent.

Again this is for a crowd of people coming in out of the cold, it doesn't take time, but you might want to make this the night before, add whatever spices your crowd will like.