minestrone

So my life doesn't soley consist of monitoring my son's sleep, I promise. Maybe I am just now recovering from a zombie-like state. Who knows?

As I type this, I am enjoying a bit of leftover minestrone soup that I made last week. It was good when I first made it, but now I am reminded that it's blog-worthy good. We're awaiting the a whopper of a storm tonight, so it's actually perfect timing. (As an aside, do pray that we're spared too terrible a storm. Two years ago a doozy hit us. We don't want that again!)

This came out of my new crockpot recipe cookbook.

Olive oil
one onion, chopped
2 carrots, diced
2 ribs of celery, chopped
2 zucchini, cubed

(I don't like it when recipes put limits on veggies, the more the merrier. This particular recipe specified "small onion," "small zuchinni." Psha!)

Sautee the above until soft.

15 oz. can of kidney beans, drained and rinsed. Then smash half of them (if you want...they'll thicken up the soup a wee bit)
1 tsp salt
1 bay leaf
1/4 cup packed fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves, chopped
28 can whole tomatoes, mashed with their juice
10 oz. package lima beans (the package I purchased was 16 oz. I used them all. FABULOUS!)
2 1/2 cups chicken broth

Dump all this AND the sauteed veggies in the crock pot, set on low for 5 hours.

5 leaves Swiss chard or 1/2 of a small head of  Napa cabbage chopped (I used Napa cabbage...and I am going to make spring rolls if I can ever find the wrappers!)
1/2 cup dry red wine

Add the Swiss chard/Napa cabbage and the wine and continue to cook for another 2-3 hours. Remove the bay leaf (I didn't do this?!).

1/2 cup elbow macaroni or little shells (I used orzo?)

Stir in the pasta, cover, cook on high for about 30 more minutes. Serve with a sprinkle/shaving of your favorite hard cheese.

This is like the ultimate, guilt-free meal. And it's really filling. I love simple and yummy, and this achieves both!