It took me a long time to find a minestrone recipe I liked. See, I am weird and don't like beans. I find their texture gross and sadly, minestrone soup often has a lot of beans included. So, I was excited when I found this recipe on-line years ago. I also love that this recipe makes a LOT of soup - enough to freeze at least five Tupperware containers with two servings a piece in them as well as having enough left over to eat for a week after I make the original batch. I try to make it in November or December and I find I usually eat the last container around the end of March. The soup keeps well in the freezer though I find I need to add some water to each container when I first take it out of the freezer. Otherwise, the soup is almost too thick.
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| See, I have another dish! |
Ingredients:
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 medium onion, chopped (1/2 cup)
2 small zucchini, chopped (2 cups)
2 medium carrots, sliced (1 cup)
1 can (28 oz.) diced tomatoes, undrained
1 carton (32 oz.) chicken broth (4 cups) or 4 cups of water
4 cups tomato juice
1 cup dry red wine or water
1 Tbsp dried basil leaves
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp dried oregano leaves
1/4 tsp pepper
2 cups uncooked rotini, mostaccioli, and shell pasta mixture (I usually just use rotini straight)
Directions:
1) Spray 8-qt. nonstick Dutch oven with cooking spray; heat over medium heat. Cook garlic and onion in Dutch oven about 2 minutes, stirring occasionally, until onion is tender.
2) Stir in remaining ingredients except pasta. Heat to boiling; reduce heat. Cover and simmer 45 minutes.
3) Heat to boiling. Stir in pasta. Heat to boiling; reduce heat. Simmer uncovered 10 to 15 minutes or until pasta is tender.
