Brown Ground beef in a heavy skillet on Med-High heat until browned.
Remove meat from pan and put in crock pot.
Add a Tablespoon of butter and sauté the onion, celery and carrots until tender.
Add garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds.
Turn off burner add ½ C beef broth and deglaze pan.
Add to the crock pot.
Add all the remaining ingredients to the crock pot and stir together.
Cook on low for 4 hours or cook on stove top for about 30 minutes.
Chef's notes: Tomatoes are optional. You also may want to add a can of green beans to this soup as well. Original recipe credited to Della Garretson Hoover.