Slow down and have a bowl of hearty minestrone soup!
Wow, life is just flying by these days! It’s been hard to keep up with everything, especially cooking! We are so excited the house is almost done, but as all home owner know…it’s a lot of work! Most spare time has been spent working on projects! Never. Ending. Projects. One way I like to get our healthy eating habits back on track during busy times is to make soup! Soup heals all!
This is a hearty soup, hearty enough to fill up even the hungriest members of the family! Chock full with veggies, beans and flavor! I added gluten free elbow macaroni, but if you’re grain free simply omit it and add more beans! If you’re a meat eater, you can add crumbled organic chicken sausage when sautéing the onions, carrots and celery! It’s a soup that can meet everyone’s needs! This recipe makes a large portion, perfect for packing the next day for lunch!
- a few gluggs of extra virgin olive oil
- 1 yellow onion, diced
- 3 carrots, chopped
- 3 celery stalks, chopped
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 26 ounce can of organic diced tomatoes
- 6 cups vegetable broth
- 1 bay leaf
- sea salt and pepper to taste
- ½ tablespoon Italian seasoning
- 1 can kidney beans, rinsed and drained
- 1 cup pasta, GF elbow macaroni
- 1 cup green beans, trimmed and cut into bite-sized pieces
- 2 large handfuls of baby spinach
- dash crushed red pepper flakes (optional)
- In a large soup pot, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add onion, carrots and celery. Saute for 6-8 minutes. Add garlic and sauté until fragrant. Add canned tomatoes, broth, bay leaf, sea salt, pepper and Italian seasoning. Bring to a light boil, lower heat and simmer for 30 minutes. Add beans, pasta, green beans and spinach. Simmer until pasta is cooked. Remove bay leaf, adjust salt and pepper as needed and enjoy warm! For extra warmth, add a dash of crushed red pepper flakes!
