I use 5 carrots. It normally takes 7 medium sized potatoes to make 4
cups.

CROCKPOT: Put hamburger in crock and place in microwave and cook on
full power for about 4 minutes. Take crock out and mash up hamburger
with potato masher (the old fashioned kind, not the newer round kind);
put back in microwave and nuke for another 4 minutes, take out and
repeat mashing process; return to microwave for another 2 minutes. I
used hamburger that was 90% lean so there was really no fat to drain
off. Put crock into the crockpot. Add carrots and potatoes. Put
some of the water from the 4 cups in the blender and put the onion in
there and chop it up; pour into crockpot. Pour in tomato sauce; use
some of the remaining 4 cups of water to rinse out the cans and pour
into soup. Add salt, pepper, and hot pepper sauce (I used 1 teaspoon
of Louisiana Hot Sauce). Stir well. Turn crockpot on high and cook
for about 3 hours on high. Reduce setting to low and cook for another
5 hours. Stir the soup often. IT IS WONDERFUL WITH CORNBREAD AND A
GLASS OF MILK.

TOP OF STOVE: In a Dutch oven or large kettle, brown ground beef.
Drain. Add potatoes, carrots, onion and tomato sauce. Stir in water,
salt, pepper and hot pepper sauce; bring to a boil. Reduce heat and
simmer for 1 hour (Barbara said she let it cook for more than 1 hour)
or until the potatoes are tender and the soup has thickened.