Italian Ground Beef Soup

I'm loving this Italian Ground Beef Soup!  It's a fairly simple and basic soup, but the way it all comes together with the spices is wonderful.  It reheats well and the leftovers get fought over.  And who fights over leftovers?!?

1 1/2 pounds ground beef
1 large onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon pepper
1 1/2 cups carrots, sliced
1 1/2 cups celery, sliced
1 (28 ounce) can diced tomatoes
3 cups beef broth
1 (6 ounce) can tomato paste
1 teaspoon basil
1 teaspoon oregano
1 teaspoon thyme 

1/4 teaspoon red chili pepper flakes
1 1/2 tablespoons parsley

Combine ground beef, onion and garlic in a large pot and cook over medium heat until the ground beef is cooked through (If you like to cook your meat with oil, feel free to add a couple tablespoons of oil.  I never use oil when I cook ground beef).  Once the ground beef is cooked, add remaining ingredients and stir to combine.  Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer until the vegetables are tender, about 40 minutes.

Recipe adapted from Art and the Kitchen.