My Minestrone

I've been trying really hard to stick to my grocery budget. One of my secrets is to plan 2 meatless meals a week. I usually make soup and salad or soup and panini sandwiches for one of those meals. Today, it was minestrone soup with my homemade french bread topped with oilve oil, mozzarella, tomato and basil and broiled until bubbly. I had the hardest time finding just the right minestrone soup recipe, so I decided to combine a few of them to make my own. It came out so good! I think my secret is the can of beef broth. It gave the soup a rich flavor that probably would be missing if only chicken broth or vegetable broth was used. I used orzo pasta that I had on hand, but you can really use any type of pasta that you have left over in your pantry. Spaghetti can be broken into little pieces and works great in a soup like this. This is a healthy, satisfying fall or winter soup that your family will love (even my 1 1/2 year old loved it!)

2 tbsp olive oil
2 medium onions, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 c. carrots, diced
1 c. celery, diced (2 stalks)
2 zucchini, diced
3 small yellow squash, diced
1/2 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp dried basil
1/2 tsp dried thyme
1 1/2 tsp salt (use less if your broth isn't reduced sodium)
dash of red pepper flakes
1/2 tsp black pepper
3 c. kale, pulled off the stem and chopped
1 can great northern beans rinsed and drained
1 can red kidney beans, rinsed and drained
1 28 oz can whole tomatos, crushed between your fingers when adding to the pot
3 tbsp tomato paste
1 14 oz can beef broth
1 box reduced sodium chicken broth
1/2 c. uncooked orzo, ditalini tube pasta, elbow macaron, vermicelli or spaghetti broken spaghetti (whatever you have on hand!)
Parmesan cheese for topping

Heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add onion and sautee until just beginning to brown. Add the celery, carrots and garlic. Sautee until celery is tender. Add the squash and zucchini and the herbs, salt, pepper and red pepper flakes. Sautee about 5 minutes, until tender. Add the rest of the ingredients, except the pasta. Simmer 20 minutes. Add the pasta and simmer about 10 more minutes, or until the pasta is al dente. Serve with parmesan cheese and my multi-grain french bread. Yummy!!