Minestrone Soup

I love minestrone soup, and I have tried a couple of times to "get it right". I have finally done it with this Olive Garden knock off recipe. Hearty, flavorful, and healthy. I doesn't get any better than that.

Minestrone Soup

3 Tbs olive oil
1 cup minced white onion (about 1 small onion)
1/2 cup chopped zucchini
1/2 cup frozen cut Italian green beans
1/2 cup minced celery
1/2 cup carrot, julienned or shredded
4 tsp minced garlic (about 4 cloves)
4 cups Swanson vegetable broth (not chicken broth)
2 (15 oz) cans red kidney beans, drained
2 (15 oz) cans small white beans or great northern beans, drained
1 (14 oz) can diced tomatoes
2 Tbs minced fresh parsley
1 1/2 tsp dried oregano
1 1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
1/2 tsp dried basil
1/4 tsp dried thyme
3 cups hot water
4 cups fresh baby spinach
1/2 cup (uncooked) small shell pasta (whole wheat was good)

1. Heat 3 Tbs olive oil over medium heat in a large soup pot.
2. Saute onion, celery, garlic, green beans, and zucchini in the oil for 5 minutes or until onions begin to turn translucent.
3. Add vegetable broth to pot, plus drained tomatoes, beans, carrots, hot water, and spices.
4. Bring soup to a boil, then reduce heat and allow to simmer for 20 minutes.
5. Add spinach leaves and pasta and cook for an additional 20 minutes or until desired consistency.
6. Makes about eight 1 1/2 cup servings.

Note: I don't really care for green beans, especially in my soup, so I substituted yellow squash instead and added more zucchini. I also added more carrots and celery and only used one can each of the red and great northern beans. It was perfectly beany in my opinion. :) Enjoy.