Minestrone Soup!

Alex was feeling a little sickly on Sunday and requested soup for dinner. I gave him a choice between sausage and lentil or a vegetable minestrone, and he opted for the veggie soup. (I think this may be the first time ever he picked the non sausage option. :-) )

I googled around a bit, but couldn’t find a recipe I liked so decided to make something up. Minestrone is basically veggies, beans and pasta in a tomato-y broth right? Close enough.

This turned out REALLY good! YUM. Soothing and filling, and super healthy I might add. Perfect for a chilly evening and sick husband.

Minestrone Soup
1 yellow onion
1 large carrot
1 stalk of celery
4 cloves of garlic
½ can of black beans drained and rinsed
1 15oz can of diced tomatoes
1 small zucchini
1 small yellow squash
1/3-1/2 Cup corn kernals
1 box of vegetable broth (about 5 cups)
¼ Cup or so quinoa
About 1 cup of small pasta
Olive oil
Spices: parsley, basil, oregano, Marjoram , sea salt, black pepper, bay leaf

Finely chop all of the raw vegetables and garlic. Saute onions, garlic, carrot, and celery in olive oil in a large pot until the onions soften. Add diced tomatoes, zucchini, squash, and black beans. Stir. Add the veggie broth, quinoa and corn. Add spices, to taste. I ended up with probably 2 TBS of parsley, 1 TBS of Oregano, 1 TBS of basil, 1TSP of marjoram, a few grinds of pepper, salt to taste and a few shakes of crushed bay leaf. Add what looks right and smells good!

Bring to a boil, cover and let simmer about 15-20 minutes. While this is cooking, cook the pasta to package directions. When it’s al dente, strain and add to the soup. Enjoy!


I forgot to take a picture at the table, but this works just as well!