Minestrone Soup

I know soup is a bit more of a winter food, but when you look at a bowl of this minestrone full of fresh vegetables it is easy to see why it is so tempting to make it in the summer when the garden is ready to harvest. And as an added incentive for me to make it Audrey LOVES this stuff and gobbles it up by the bowlful. I made an extra big pot in order to have some leftover to freeze.


Minestrone Soup
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
2 carrots, peeled and diced
3 stalks of celery, diced
5 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup green beans, cut into 1" pieces
2 zucchini, diced 
1 can tomato sauce
1 can diced tomatoes
2 tomatoes, finely chopped
4 cups chicken broth
3 cups water
2 cans cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
1 cup fresh basil, chopped
1.5 cups elbow macaroni
salt and pepper

Heat olive oil in a large heavy bottomed pan over medium heat. Add onion, carrot, celery, and garlic. Season with salt and pepper. Cook for about 5 minutes or until slightly tender.

Add green beans, zucchini, and all the tomatoes.

Add chicken broth, water, beans, and basil.  
Side note: you could easily use vegetable broth instead if you want to keep this vegetarian

Let simmer for 35 minutes and then add in macaroni. Continue to simmer until the macaroni is cooked and the vegetables are tender.  I added another cup of water at this point because it had thickened a little too much.

 My favorite way to enjoy this is topped with a few croutons and a sprinkle of grated parmesan cheese.

Enjoy!