One of my favorite things in the world is a delicious bowl of soup. After my visit to Campbell’s and a recent article that I read in All You Magazine about soup being a great way to consume less calories during your lunch hour, I was inspired to make a big batch of soup for myself. And when I say myself, I mean only me. No one else in my family likes soup so I am able to eat a batch of this for a week or even freeze it to eat over the course of a couple of weeks.
This soup was in my Slow Cooker Menu Planner, but I wanted to make it a little lighter for the lunch hour. By omitting the ground turkey and using small pasta shells and increasing the liquid a bit, I had the perfect balance for a filling soup that wasn’t too heavy plus it is a great way to get in all those yummy veggies.
The soup did seem to absorb a lot of the broth so if it got too thick, I would just add a little beef or chicken broth to thin it out when reheating it.
This is definitely comfort food at it’s best!
Italian Veggie Pasta Soup
3 carrots – chopped very small
4 stalks celery
2 cans diced tomatoes – do not drain (I used the petite diced)
2 cans red kidney beans – drained
4 cans beef broth
1 jar spaghetti sauce
8 ounces noodles – I used the small past shells
2 tablespoons olive oil
Add two tablespoons of olive oil to the pot and saute vegetables for 15-20 minutes, until the vegetables are softened. Sprinkle these liberally with salt and pepper. While these are cooking, in a separate pot boil water and cook pasta shells until they are just cooked (about 5-6 minutes). Drain the pasta water, but do not rinse the pasta. Set aside. Next add diced tomatoes (do not drain), kidney beans, beef broth, and spaghetti sauce to the pot with the vegetables. Allow this to cook for an hour or so, until the veggies are cooked through and the flavors are incorporated. Add the pasta right before serving to the pot. Dish up and serve with a crusty bread for dipping.