Beef and Garden Vegetable Soup

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 pounds beef stew meat, cut into bite-size pieces

1 large onion, chopped

2 bay leaves

3 carrots, diced

4 small red potatoes, diced

2 quarts beef stock

½ pound fresh green beans, cut into 1-inch pieces

3 ears fresh corn, kernels cut from cob

½ cup frozen petite peas

1 zucchini, diced

½ head cabbage, chopped

2 (14.5 ounce) cans diced tomatoes

1 teaspoon Italian seasoning blend

¼ teaspoon garlic powder

salt and ground black pepper to taste

⅓ cup uncooked orzo pasta

Heat the olive oil in a stock pot over medium-high heat; cook the beef in the hot oil until completely browned, 7 to 10 minutes. Add the onion and bay leaves, reduce heat to medium, cook until the onion is softened, 5 to 7 minutes. Use a wooden spoon to scrape any bits stuck to the bottom of the pot. Stir the carrots, potatoes, and beef stock into the mixture; bring to a simmer and cook until the vegetables are just barely tender, about 5 minutes.

Stir the green beans, corn, peas, zucchini, cabbage, tomatoes, Italian seasoning blend, garlic powder, salt, and pepper into the beef mixture. Cover the stock pot, reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer the soup until the beef is cooked through and the vegetables are tender, 45 to 50 minutes.

Stir the orzo pasta into the soup; replace the cover to the stock pot and continue cooking until the pasta is tender, about 5 minutes more.