Vegetable Minestrone

I never really knew or ever had (to my knowledge) minestrone until one Sunday night dinner with my in-laws. My wonderful mother-in-law made it and it was incredible. I decided I needed to try it but I didn't have a recipe. Then one night looking through my handy-dandy crockpot cookbook, I found one. I tried it out today and it turned out amazing! By the way, the artisan bread goes perfect with it. Anyways, it is such a hearty soup and warms you and fills you up. It is delicious and is full of healthy vegetables, bonus. Got my vegetables for the day! What is also great about minestrone is that you can leave out or add almost anything you want. It's up to you!

Here is the recipe:

Ingredients:

• 1/2 - 1 lb. ground beef (or however much you want; this wasn't in the recipe but I like meat and I felt like it needed it)
• 2 cans (14 1/2 oz. each) beef broth OR 4 cubes of bouillon and 4 c. water
• 1 can (16 oz.) kidney beans, rinsed and drained
• 1 can (15 oz.) great northern beans, rinsed and drained
• 1 can (14 1/2 oz.) Italian-style stewed tomatoes
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 1 medium zucchini, thinly sliced
• 1 medium carrot, shredded or thinly sliced
• 3/4 c. tomato juice
• 1 tsp. dried basil
• 3/4 tsp. dried oregano
• 1/4 tsp. garlic powder
• 1 can cut green beans, thawed
• 1/2 c. chopped spinach (if frozen, thaw before)
• 1/2 c. small shell pasta (or really any pasta you want)
• 1/2 c. shredded Parmesan cheese

Directions:

1. In a 4 or 5 qt. slow cooker, combine the first 12 ingredients. Cover and cook on low for 6-7 hours or until the vegetables are tender.
2. Stir in green beans, spinach, and pasta. Cover and cook for 30 minutes or until heated all the way through. Sprinkle and serve with cheese.

This was such a good dinner! I got home from school, threw it all in the crockpot and left for most of the day shopping with my sister and nieces. I got home later that night, added the last few things, Greg got home and dinner was ready. Perfect.