Minestrone Soup

For the shower yesterday, we had a buffet of soup, salad, sandwiches, fruit, chips, spinach-cheese phyllo cups, sausage-cheese phyllo cups, figs wrapped with bacon (for the gluten-free guests), cheese and crackers. Everything was so yummy! I made the soup, a vegetarian minestrone, which I found on RecipeZaar. It was quite good. I made two versions of it, with and without pasta (for our gluten-free guests). Everyone seemed to like it. I wish I would have pre-cooked it a little longer, I just think soups taste even better the longer they cook, but it was still very good. I didn't really measure any of the ingredients, since I was making a larger quantity, so I just eyeballed everything. Whatever looked good to me, I threw that amount in. I've posted the recipe with its suggested quantities below, though. I also used my crockpots, so I didn't saute the veggies or anything, just dumped everything in and cooked on high for a few hours.

Vegetarian Minestrone

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
3/4 cup chopped onion
3 cups water
2 cups diced zucchini
1 cup diced carrot, peeled
1 cup canned cannellini beans or you may use other white beans
3/4 cup diced celery
1 teaspoon dried basil or 2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh basil
1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon fresh coarse ground black pepper
28 fluid ounces canned plum tomatoes, dice and include liquid
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 cup uncooked ditalini or elbow macaroni

Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add chopped onion and saute for 4 minutes or until just lightly browned. Add water, zucchini, carrots, canellini beans, celery, basil, oregano salt, pepper, tomatoes and garlic. (I also added green beans from the freezer). Bring to boil; reduce heat, cover and simmer on medium-low heat for 25 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add macaroni, cover and cook an additional 10 minutes. Serve hot.