Great Meals Don't Have to be Expensive!

Great Meals Don't Have to be Expensive!

With this Covid-19 virus closing everything down, including restaurants, we are having to isolate and social distance ourselves and eat at home.  This is so important for our cities, towns, states and our country during this pandemic, the likes of which none of us have seen in our lifetime.  

We've been to the stores.  We are stocking up.  So I wanted to offer you a homemade meal recipe every now and then that will help get us through and help keep us healthy!

Today's recipe is my easy minestone soup recipe.  It is hearty and very filling.  Pair that with a nice salad and you are set for a couple of days, depending on the size of your family.  Because we are vegetarian here, we use a vegetable broth and it is really quite delicious.  You can find a variety of vegetable broths in the soup aisle of your store.  If you wanted to go a step further, make your own broth and I know there are recipes for that online.  

Sue's ArtiSun Vegetable Minestrone Soup

1 32-oz container of vegetable broth
1 medium zucchini cut in half and sliced thin
3 garlic cloves, diced
2 medium potatoes, chopped
3 medium carrots, pared and sliced
3 stalks of celery, sliced
1 cup kale, chopped and stalks removed
1/4 c. olive oil
2 tablespoons dried thyme leaves
1 tsp. chili powder
1/2 tsp. cumin powder
1 28 oz can seasoned chopped tomatoes
1 16 oz can kidney beans, drained
1 16 oz can green beans (or corn or peas or all three!), drained
1 cup water
1 cup cooked tubetti (or other small pasta noodle)

Instructions:

1.   Put the following vegetables into your soup pot:  Zucchini, potatoes, carrots, celery.  Drizzle with the olive oil and stir.  Add the thyme, chili powder, cumin powder and blend well.  Turn heat on to medium high and saute' the veggies for about 2 minutes, stirring often.  Add the onions and garlic and stir.  Turn down to low heat and simmer for about 5 minutes, stirring off and on.  

2.  Add the broth and the water and blend well.  Bring the soup to a boil and then turn heat down to simmer for about 20 minutes.  

3.  The last five minutes, add the kale, can of chopped tomatoes, can of kidney beans and can of green beans (or corn or peas or all three!). Stir.

4.  Add the cooked tubetti and stir.  You may want or need to add an additional 1-2 cups of tomato sauce or V-8 to add more broth.  Your call.

5.  Salt and pepper to taste. It's soooooo good!

Serve this delicious soup with french bread and a salad.  Or eat it alone.  It really is very filling.


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