Hearty Minestrone Soup

Wow, I can't belive it's been over a month since my last recipe posting! I haven't stopped cooking, I have just been very busy with the holidays and too tired at night to post anything. And honestly, a little too hungry to wait to take a picture before my dish doesn't look pretty anymore! : )

Adam and I took a four day cruise to Mexico 2 weeks ago and as expected, ate way too much on the ship as well (you have to eat your money's worth they say!). So after a month of eating too much which is usually inevitable with me during the holidays, I was in the mood for something healthy and full of vegetables. I miss them! Veggies are my favorite things to eat surprisingly, and I just haven't had enough of them lately...or at least not without some sort of rich sauce they have been drowned in.

One of Owen's favorite things to eat is soup, and I love to make it, so tonight I made a minestrone that used zero (additional) salt and was full of flavor! This was probably the best minestrone I have ever had, and will be making it again and again. Here is the recipe:

Hearty Minestrone Soup

Recipe by, Whole Foods Market

2 Tb Olive Oil

4 garlic cloves, finely chopped

1 medium onion, chopped

8 cups organic chicken broth, or Vegetable broth

2 cups shredded cabbage

1/4 cup tomato paste

1/4 cup parsley, chopped

1 Tb. basil, chopped (I used dried)

4 celery stalks, chopped

4 medium carrots, peeled and chopped

1 bay leaf

1 can (28 oz) of chopped tomatoes

1 can, 15 oz chickpeas

1 can white canelli beans

1 cup fusilli pasta, dried

Grated Parmesean for serving (optional)

Heat oil in a large stock pot on medium high heat. Add onions and garlic and sautee until onions are translucent. Add the rest of the ingredients up to the tomatoes and simmer for 30-40 minutes. Then add chickpeas, canelli beans and pasta. Simmer for another 20 minutes until vegetables are soft. Serve with freshly grated parmesean cheese on top. Enjoy!

I took lots of cute pictures of Owen scarfing this down, only to find out that I forgot to put a memory card in the camera...duh! He was looking so cute too! Oh well.