The weather outside is... well, mild and pleasant. Thick banks of fog this morning, but highs in the 70s and 80s. Very nice. And even for Dallas, this is a little crazy. But last week was totally different.

Which would explain why I made a huge batch of soup. Delicious, hearty minestrone soup from scratch (well, except for the canned food bits). Minestrone soup which was supposed to warm our bellies and chase off the chills. But there are no chills.

Good thing our souls need a little comfort.

I found this recipe on allrecipes.com, and tweaked it a bit. I like my minestrone to be soupy so that I can sop it up with a good crusty bread. Make it too thick, and there's not enough broth for the soup and the sop.

Don't let the massive list of ingredients throw you off. Get all your veggies cut up prior and then it's just a matter of sautéing, boiling, and simmering (= time). To be honest, I started and stopped this soup three times before it was done. (I didn't heed my own advice about prepping, mis-estimated my clean up time, and then it was simply too late to eat soup.) Lesson? This soup can take abuse and still taste incredible!

Hearty Minestrone

• 2 Tb olive oil
• 4 cloves garlic, chopped
• 2 onions, chopped
• 2 c. chopped celery
• 5 carrots, sliced
• 4 c. chicken broth
• 3 c. water
• 4 c. tomato sauce
• 1 can diced tomatoes
• 1 c. red wine (optional)
• 1 (15 oz) can green beans
• 2 c. baby spinach, rinsed
• 3 zucchinis, quartered and sliced
• 1 Tb chopped fresh oregano
• 2 Tb chopped fresh basil
• 1 (15 oz) can kidney beans, drained
• salt and pepper to taste
• seashell pasta (or favorite small shape)
• grated Parmesan cheese for topping
• and don't forget the crusty bread!

1. In a large stock pan, heat olive oil and sauté garlic for 2 to 3 minutes. Add onion and sauté for 4 to 5 minutes. Add celery and carrots; sauté for 1 to 2 minutes.
2. Add chicken broth, water, tomato sauce, and tomatoes; bring to boil, stirring frequently. If desired, add red wine at this point (or more water). Reduce heat to low and add green beans, spinach, zucchini, oregano, basil, salt and pepper. Simmer for 30 to 40 minutes, the longer the better. Add kidney beans during last 15 – 20 minutes of cooking.
3. If freezing leftover soup, cook the pasta separately. If you’re not expecting any leftovers, you can cook the pasta directly in the soup.
4. Once pasta is cooked and soup is heated through place 2 tablespoons cooked pasta into individual serving bowls. Ladle soup on top of pasta and sprinkle Parmesan cheese on top.

So funny side note: This was the second time using my food processor that Matt got my last year for Christmas! Can you believe it? (The first use was making some awesome hummus one day prior to the soup.) And just in case nobody knows, you can totally liquify an onion if you're not careful!

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