Minestrone Soup

Cooking for one has become my new "adventure."  All the recipes I see usually make servings for 4 or more.  Of course, that is why they invented the freezer!!    Also, my son and his girlfriend have enjoyed "the extras."

With Bobby being gone, I am not that motivated to do much cooking and baking anymore.  He loved to eat and I loved baking and cooking for him.

I have been making a lot of soups.  Soups cover a lot of ground - you have your veggies, rice or pasta, and sometimes meat or chicken.  So it has to be healthy.  And soup usually freezes well!!

I made this soup a couple of months ago before he died and he loved it.  It is so easy to make and I had most of the ingredients.  The hardest part is chopping all the veggies.   So soup it was for dinner last night!!

I watch alot of the PBS CreateTV  shows(I do not have cable) and I found Ellie Krieger.  She was demonstrating this soup and it looked good.   As I said I had most of the ingredients, I will ** where I substituted.

Ellie Krieger's Homemade Minestrone Soup

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons olive oil 
1 large onion, diced 
2 ribs celery, diced 
1 large carrot, scrubbed well, then diced 
1 medium red bell pepper, seeded and diced**I didn't have a pepper, so I omitted 
1 medium zucchini (about 8 ounces), diced 
4 cloves garlic, minced 
1 teaspoon dried oregano 
1 teaspoon dried basil 
1 teaspoon kosher salt ** I omitted because I am pre-diabetic 
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper 
28 ounces canned, no-salt-added crushed tomatoes 
48 ounces (6 cups) no-salt-added vegetable broth or chicken broth 
15 ounces canned, no-salt-added small red beans, drained and rinsed** I didn't have red beans, so I used Great Northern Beans 
1/2 cup dried, whole-grain elbow pasta 
1/3 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, for garnish** I just had plain ole Parmesan Cheese

Directions

Heat the oil in a large soup pot over medium heats, add the onion, celery, carrot and bell pepper; cook for about 6 minutes, stirring occasionally, until they begin to soften.

Add the zucchini, garlic, oregano, basil, salt and pepper; cook, stirring, for 2 minutes. 

Add the tomatoes and broth; bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to medium-low. 
Partially cover and cook for 10 minutes, stirring once or twice, then add the beans and pasta.

Uncover; increase the heat to medium-high just long enough to return the soup to a boil, then reduce the heat to medium-low and cook uncovered for 10 to 15 minutes, until the pasta and vegetables are tender.

Ladle the soup into individual bowls and sprinkle the cheese on top!

ENJOY!!!