Minestrone

Every week we have produce delivered from a little store up the street.  We shall call her Connies because that's the name of the little store.

Every Monday is like Christmas around here.  Natalie and I anxiously await the arrival of the produce delivery truck.  What will be in our little box this week?  What glorious meals will we discover with our week's ingredients?

We could always go and sneak a peek at the website to find out what they will lovingly package up for us but, I mean really, that's no fun.  We like the element of surprise.  Yes, we lead pretty lame lives here in Missouri and there's often not much to look forward to.  But, we will always have our Monday produce delivery.

Our ears perk up as we here him round the corner and truck up the hill towards our house.  We rush to meet him at the door with big smiles and grab the box from his hands and rush to the kitchen.  We pull out the scissors and tear in to the box to discover our glorious organic fruits and vegetables.

We are often met with broccoli, cauliflower, eggplant, oranges, apples, bananas, the list goes on and on.  We giggle with excitement as we lovingly lay each item out on to the kitchen island.  Ideas pop into our head and sometimes the ingredients are eaten at that very moment.  Others are lovingly packaged away in to the fridge where they will soon be thrown in to a new recipe.

This evenings dish was chock full of fresh veges just the way I like it.

Minestrone
Yields: 12 servings

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Ingredients:

• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 3 cloves garlic, chopped
• 2 onions, chopped
• 2 cups chopped celery
• 5 carrots, sliced
• 2 cups chicken broth (vegetable broth if you're making it vegetarian)
• 2 cups water
• 1 (8-ounce) can tomato sauce
• 1 (24-ounce) can crushed tomatoes with basil
• 1 (24-ounce) can whole tomatoes
• 1/2 cup red wine (optional)
• 1 (15-ounce) can kidney beans, drained
• 1 pound fresh green beans
• 2 cups baby spinach, rinsed
• 3 zucchinis, quartered and sliced
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh oregano
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 (24-ounce) box rotini pasta
• 2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese for topping

Instructions:

1. In a large stock pot, over medium-low heat, heat olive oil and saute garlic for 2 to 3 minutes. Add onion and saute for 4 to 5 minutes. Add celery and carrots, saute for 1 to 2 minutes.
2. Add chicken broth, water and canned tomatoes, bring to boil, stirring frequently. If desired add red wine at this point. Reduce heat to low and add kidney beans, green beans, spinach leaves, zucchini, oregano, salt and pepper. Simmer for 30 to 40 minutes, the longer the better.
3. Fill a medium saucepan with water and bring to a boil. Add rotini and cook until tender. Drain water and set aside.
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.

Cooks Note: 

1. This recipe makes a shit ton of soup!  We had it for dinner two nights and I froze the rest. 
2. Serve with French bread to sop up the left-over soup.

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Servings: 1 bowl

Calories:   445

Total Fat:  5.3 g

Cholesterol:  1 mg.

Sodium:  293 mg.

Protein:  20.2 g.

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