Easy Minestrone Soup

1 md. onion, chopped
4 to 5 stalks celery, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 cup water
2 cans beef broth
1 can mixed vegetables
1 can red kidney beans
1 can tomato sauce
1 zucchini, sliced
3 cups medium shell pasta
1 pinch red pepper
1 tbsp. oregano
1 tbsp. basil
1 tsp. parsley flakes
Salt and pepper, to taste

Directions:

Add water to soup pot and add onions, celery, and garlic. Cook until onions and celery are translucent. Add remaining ingredients to the pot except the pasta and zucchini. Reduce heat and simmer this for about 30 minutes. Add pasta shells and zucchini and cook until pasta is done to taste. Sprinkle each bowl with freshly grated parmesan cheese and serve with garlic bread.

Comments from Stacey Floyd :

You can really play with the spices adding more or less to taste. The red pepper controls the hot bite, so be cautious. Also, add more or less pasta shells to taste remembering the more you add, the thicker your soup will be-and a bit longer cooking time. If you want to go fancy, leave out the water and sauté onions, celery and garlic in olive oil, it adds more fat but doesn\'t really change the taste.

User Reviews:

this soup is To Good the only thing i found wrong is that there is hardly any broth left after cooking!!will adjust next time.

submitted by almarzano on December 01, 2007

I would only add 1 cup of macaroni. 3 cups is to much and absorbs all the broth

Submitted by carol on November 02, 2001

this is really good recipe I maded at my friends dinner party and I was a big hit. Everyine want to know where i got I from and if I could make it for there party. This was just what i needed.

Submitted by monna moore on December 02, 2000

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