5 lb German peppered beef * 2 lg Yellow onions diced large 1 c Crushed RED BELL peppers ** 2 lb Red potatoes 2 lg Carrots 2 Celery stocks (not bunches) 1/4 c Oregeno 1/4 c Sweet basil 1 tb Celery seed 1/8 c Carroway seed 1/2 c Dill weed * this may be obtained from all of the german deli's I have ever been in (which may not be many)... and is basically a rather tough cut of beef which has been covered (and I do mean covered) with very large chunks of black pepper corns (some are even whole) ** if you can not find red bell peppers dried and crushed you will want to do it your self for the flavor needed... cut three or four red bell peppers into small pieces and spread out on paper towels to dry (or put it in your food drier if you have one) seeds and all! FIRST: cut the meat into 1 inch chunks (leaving the precious pepper on it!), sear by your favorite method... I prefer a small amount of sesame oil in a wok. CROCK POT METHOD: chop everything up into 1 inch chunks throw in the pot, set on medium (200 degrees), cover with water plus 1 inch (for the pan as my mentor said), cook covered (with a lid) stirring every 2 hours or so from the bottom for 4 hours, turn to low, cook covered for 6 hours. PAN METHOD: chop everything into 1 inch chunks, place carrots, celery, and meat into pan, cook 1 hour at med/low (150 to 160 degrees), add the rest of the goodies, cook 1 hour. Ahh a bug found... covered in water both times, better go change it plus 1 inch for the pan LAST: refrigerate for at least 6 hours, warm only as much as you will be eating. NOTES: you are correct, this method looks a little "ugly", but having been taught to make this soup by a german grandmother, and her scottish husband (my grand father, who also was a chef by trade)... I learned at a very young age that what they said usualy worked the best, even though it took more time.