Minestrone Soup

Since fall is upon us, I have been in the mood for soup! Yay! I love soup, but for some reason I enjoy them more in the cooler temperatures. With that said, I wanted to make some soup for my husband as the girls and I were not going to be home that evening. I didn't want him to be without supper, so I knew that soup would be a great option to place in the crock-pot and could remain warm until he got home. I wanted to try something new so I checked out Pinterest for some recipes on Minestrone soup. There are a ton of them. I found a recipe that was simple enough to have my girls help me. Its from the blog, My Life in Food. I made it just like it says. I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as we did.

Minestrone Soup

Ingredients:

3 tablespoons olive oil

1 medium yellow onion, minced

1/2 cup chopped zucchini (about 1 small)

1 cup fresh green beans, cut into 1/2 inch pieces

1 stalk celery, minced

4 teaspoons minced garlic (about 4 cloves)

4 cups vegetable stock (do not use chicken broth)

2 (15 ounce) cans red kidney beans, drained

2 (15 ounce) cans white beans (great northern or cannelini), drained

1 (14 ounce) can diced tomatoes, left un-drained

1 medium carrot, chopped finely

1/2 a small can of tomato paste

1 teaspoon dried oregano

1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

1/2 teaspoon dried basil

1/4 teaspoon dried thyme

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

1 teaspoon onion salt

1/4 teaspoon celery salt

3 cups hot water 

4 cups fresh baby spinach

3/4 cup small or medium shell pasta

Method:

1) Heat three tablespoons olive oil over medium heat in a large soup pot. Saute onion, celery, green beans, zucchini, and carrots in the oil for 5 minutes or until onions are translucent. Add garlic and cook another minute, stirring.

2) Add the 1/2 can of tomato paste and stir in with the vegetables. Add the vegetable stock to the pot, then add hot water, tomatoes, beans, spices and Parmesan cheese rind if using. Bring the soup to a boil, then reduce heat and allow to simmer with the top on for 30 minutes.

3) Add spinach leaves and pasta and cook for an additional 20 minutes or until desired consistency. Taste and adjust seasonings accordingly. It may need more salt or herbs depending on your preferences.

NOTE: This can be made gluten free by getting GF vegetable broth and GF pasta shells. 

I also needed to keep it heated for awhile, so I completed steps 1 and 2 but did not let it simmer. I poured it into a crock-pot and put the uncooked pasta in it to cook. It turned out perfectly. If the water starts to go down, you can always add more to meet your desired consistency.