Minestrone

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Minestrone

September 28, 2013 by pictureperfectcooking

This recipe has a funny story behind it. My mother-in-law, J, had successful open heart surgery in July and was unfortunately subjected to hospital food for a couple of weeks. The one meal she actually enjoyed was a vegetable soup and she asked the dietary worker what it was. I then asked J what it was so I could try to duplicate it for her and she said the worker told her it was “minstrun”. What? I wracked my brain for hours trying to figure out what it was and it finally hit me that it was MINESTRONE and we just had a little communication/pronunciation problem. We all had a good laugh out of it and I went on the hunt for a recipe to try.

I found this Elie Krieger recipe on the Food Network’s website and used that as my starting point. This is a fairly simple and really healthy dinner idea and the taste was great!

minestrone

2 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil

1 cup diced onion

2 stalks celery, diced

1 large carrot, diced

1 1/2 cups cut green beans

Freshly ground black pepper

2 tsp. Italian season

1 tsp. minced garlic

1 28-ounce can no-salt-added diced tomatoes (I used some home frozen diced tomatoes.)
1 14-ounce can tomato sauce
6 cups low-sodium vegetable broth
1 15-ounce can low-sodium kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1 cup rotini pasta

Heat the olive oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Add the onion and cook until translucent, about 4 minutes.

Add the celery and carrot and cook until they begin to soften, about 5 minutes. Stir in the green beans, Italian seasoning, minced garlic and black pepper; cook 3 more minutes.

Add the diced tomatoes, tomato sauce and the vegetable broth to the pot and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium low and simmer 10 minutes. Stir in the kidney beans and pasta and cook until the pasta and vegetables are tender, about 10 minutes.

11 Responses

on October 4, 2013 at 3:55 pm | Reply Easy Life Meal & Party Planning

I love how you used all no or low sodium products – what a great recipe to help people watch their sodium intake! Thank you for sharing on the Four Seasons Blog Hop.
- on October 5, 2013 at 9:01 am | Reply pictureperfectcooking
  
  I really tried to keep it low sodium and as healthy as possible for my mother-in-law. Thanks for hosting every week!
on October 4, 2013 at 6:34 pm | Reply Sara Howe

This looks so good!!! Thanks for linking up over at Feed Me Friday, can’t wait to see what you link up next week 🙂
on October 5, 2013 at 5:44 am | Reply Hani Bacova (@Hanielas)

Thanks for the recipe.
- on October 5, 2013 at 9:00 am | Reply pictureperfectcooking
  
  You are welcome! Thanks for stopping by and commenting.
on October 6, 2013 at 3:43 pm | Reply Miz Helen

There is nothing like a great bowl of Minestrone, this looks like a delicious recipe for Minestrone. Thank you so much for sharing with Full Plate Thursday, and have a great weekend.
Miz Helen
on October 6, 2013 at 8:05 pm | Reply Tumbleweed Contessa

This is a perfect fall recipe however you say it. Thanks for sharing at What’d You Do This Weekend.
on January 4, 2014 at 11:52 am | Reply dianeroark

Thanks for the great soup recipe! I Pinned it!!
Thank you also for linking up at Saturday Dishes.
Blessings!
Diane Roark
http://www.recipesforourdailybread.com
I will make sure I am following your social medias.
on January 7, 2014 at 10:06 pm | Reply Lucy T

I love minestrone soup!! Thanks for linking this up to Saturday Dishes! Pinning. See you next week!
- on January 10, 2014 at 2:22 pm | Reply pictureperfectcooking
  
  You are so welcome! Thanks so much for highlighting my post. It means a lot!
on January 10, 2014 at 7:06 am | Reply 25 Healthy Dinners - Coffee With Us 3

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