Minestrone Soup

When I went out and bought the ingredients for this week's recipe, I was prepared to make "Zesty Minestrone." In fact, all of these ingredients for "Zesty Minestrone" were simple and the recipe less difficult and work intensive than the other 5 minestrone recipes I have in my computer. However, upon arriving home after work and preparing to make "Zesty Minestrone" I discovered that I had not really read the directions very well. You see, "Zesty Minestrone" requires 4 hours of cook time in the crock pot. It was 5:30pm. Dinner needed to be on the table in an hour, not four.

Needless to say, this recipe is not "Zesty Minestrone." It is actually the Olive Garden Minestrone. Or close to it. Since I had the ingredients for the "Zesty" recipe, my choices were kind of limited.

So here instead is the Copy Cat version of Olive Garden's tasty Minestrone Soup.

Ingredients:
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 cup minced white onions (about 1 small onion)
1/2 cup chopped zucchini I didn't have any... so it wasn't in my version
1/2 cup frozen cut italian green beans Same here... I substituted sugar snap peas. Close enough, right?
1/4 cup minced celery (about 1/2 stalk)
4 teaspoons minced garlic (about 4 cloves)
4 cups vegetable broth (*note: Do not use chicken broth!*)
2 (15 ounce) cans red kidney beans, drained
2 (15 ounce) cans small white beans or great northern beans, drained Nope, didn't have these either
1 (14 ounce) can diced tomatoes
1/2 cup carrots, julienned or shredded
2 tablespoons minced fresh parsley
1 1/2 teaspoons dried oregano
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon dried basil
1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
3 cups hot water
4 cups fresh baby spinach The frozen stuff works just as well
1/2 cup small shell pasta


Directions:

Heat three tablespoons of olive oil over medium heat in a large soup pot.

Saute onion, celery, garlic, green beans, and zucchini in the oil for 5 minutes or until onions begin to turn translucent.

Add vegetable broth to pot, plus drained tomatoes, beans, carrot, hot water, and spices.
Bring soup to a boil, then reduce heat and allow to simmer for 20 minutes.

Add spinach leaves and pasta and cook for an additional 20 minutes or until desired consistency.
Makes about eight 1 1/2 cup servings.

Verdict:

Good, but not as much taste as I expected. Not as good as Olive Garden. Close though. And this soup does taste better the next day re-heated.