Thick and Hearty Minestrone Soup

All Vegetables for those meatless days!

Thick and Hearty Minestrone Soup

Prep: 15 Mins Cook: 60 Mins Yield: Serves 10

Ingredients:

1 TBS. Olive Oil	1 Cup Diced Yellow Onion
1 Cup Diced Carrots	1 Cup Diced Celery
1 Diced Yellow Squash	6 Cloves Minced Garlic
2 Sprigs Fresh Basil	1 TBS Parsley, Oregano & Thyme
1 tsp. Salt	tsp. Fresh Ground Pepper
2 Containers Vegetable Stock	2 Cups Water
2 TBS Red Wine Vinegar	1 Bay Leaf
1 Can Red Kidney Beans, Drained	1 Can Chickpeas, Drained
1 Can Green beans, Drained	1 Can Diced Tomatoes, Undrained
2 TBS Tomato Paste

Instructions:

1. Chop onion, carrots, celery squash, and garlic. More than a cup is fine.

2. Heat olive oil in a large stock pot, add chopped vegetables, salt, pepper, and herbs.

3. Cook, stirring occasionally, until vegetables soften and begin to let out juice.

4. Add broth, water, vinegar, bay leaf, diced tomatoes, all beans, and tomato paste.

5. Bring to a boil and simmer for 35 minutes, longer if you want tenderer vegetables.

Notes:

You can if you wish add 3 Cups of Chopped Fresh Spinach at the last five minutes of cooking.

You can also add 11/3 Cups of uncooked rice or pasta (orzo). I usually add rice or pasta only to the portion I'm heating for the meal. Pre-cook the ice or pasta, then serve the soup over it. This stops the pasta from soaking up the soup.

Serve with parmesan cheese (opt) and a warm, crusty bread.

Leftover soup can be kept in a cover container for up to a week. According to directions on line it can be kept frozen for up to three months. I will be trying that with one meals worth.