Minestrone Soup

I haven't always liked Minestrone Soup, but I guess when I've tried it, it was a canned soup. Making it from scratch is a game changer. I found this recipe here on the Love and Lemons blog. Minestrone soup is typically a vegetarian soup, but I add a can of Swanson's low-sodium chicken broth because otherwise, there is not a whole lot of broth, once you add all the vegetables and broth. You can add more vegetable broth, beef or chicken broth, or leave it as is. Try to keep all your vegetables cut up about the same size.

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Ingredients

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium yellow onion, diced small

2 medium carrots, chopped small

2 celery ribs, chopped small

1 teaspoon salt, plus more to taste

Black pepper, to taste

3 garlic cloves, minced (I do not add garlic)

1 (28-oz) can diced tomatoes

1 1/2 cups white beans or red kidney beans, cooked, drained, and rinsed 

( I use a can of light red kidney beans, rinsed)

1 cup chopped green beans 

(You can use frozen green beans, or drained canned beans - I have used both, and either works)

4 cups vegetable broth (See my note above in the introduction about adding more broth)

2 bay leaves

1 teaspoon dried oregano

1 teaspoon dried thyme

3/4 cup small pasta, such as elbow macaroni, shells, orecchiette, etc.

Pinch of red pepper flakes, or to taste

1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley 

(I usually don't have fresh on hand, so I use about 1-2 tablespoons of dried parsley)

Freshly grated parmesan cheese for serving on top of soup

Directions

1. Heat oil in a large stockpot over medium het. Add the onions, carrots, celery, salt, and pepper. Cook, stirring frequently for about 8 minutes, until the vegetables begin to soften. 

2. Add the garlic, tomatoes, beans, green beans, bay leaves, oregano and thyme. Cover and simmer over low to medium-low heat for 20 minutes. 

3. Stir in pasta and cook, uncovered, for 10 minutes, or until the pasta is cooked through. This is the time to add additional broth, if that is what you want to do. You can sprinkle in more of the seasonings to adjust for the additional broth. Add the red pepper flakes.  Stir in the parsley flakes.

4. Serve soup with parmesan sprinkled on top and a crusty bread on the side.

Serves 4-6 ... more, if you add additional broth