Minestrone Soup

I have been looking for a good Minestrone recipe. Finally I tried this knockoff of Olive Garden soup and it turned out great even though I did a lot of substitutions. The kids liked it!

From this blog

Olive Garden Minestrone Soup

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 3/4 cup onion diced
• 1/2 cup celery sliced
• 1/2 cup carrots peeled, quartered and sliced
• 1 zucchini halved and sliced (I didn't have this so omitted)
• 2 teaspoons minced garlic
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 14 ounce can diced tomatoes (my kid asked for smaller chunks, maybe try cut up tomatoes or crushed next time)
• 4 cups vegetable broth (I would up this to 6 cups next time)
• 1/4 cup tomato paste (I used 2 T. concentrate, would increase with more water)
• 2 teaspoons Italian seasoning
• 1 15 ounce can small white beans drained and rinsed (Instead of this I used an equivalent amount of fresh cooked garbanzo beans because we had some on hand)
• 1 15 ounce can kidney beans drained and rinsed
• 1/2 cup frozen cut green beans
• 1/2 cup small shell pasta (if soup is to be eaten later, it would be better to cook pasta seperately and add as it is served)
• 2 cups baby spinach leaves (I substituted 1 cup cut up cabbage for this, earlier in the cooking)
• 2 tablespoons chopped parsley

Instructions

• Heat the olive oil in a large pot over medium high heat. Add the onion, celery, carrots and zucchini to the pot.
• Cook until the vegetables are tender, 3-5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for 30 seconds. Season the vegetables with salt and pepper to taste.
• Add the tomatoes, vegetable broth, tomato paste and Italian seasoning to the pot. Bring to a simmer.
• Add the white beans, kidney beans, green beans and pasta to the pot. Simmer for 10-15 minutes or until pasta and vegetables are tender.
• Season the soup with salt and pepper to taste. Stir in the spinach leaves and cook for 2-3 minutes or until wilted.
• Sprinkle the parsley over the soup and serve.