Recipe: Minestrone soup

Soup will for sure make your home smell amazing! When people walk in, they will be curious about what is cooking. I love to teach my grandkids how to cook and prepare food. Soup is one of my favorite things to put together.

You take a bunch of raw ingredients; wash, scrub, chop, dice, sauté, season and magically make a unique creation every time. I don’t always follow recipes exactly when I make a pot of soup. A lot of times ingredients come from what’s in my pantry, what’s in my veggie bin, and what’s in my fridge or freezer.

This soup was created by myself and two of my granddaughters. They both are picky eaters, but they liked a minestrone that they had at a restaurant. I asked them if they wanted to re-create it and they did! Quite a few years ago we made a batch of minestrone.

Elaine Marriott

 

It was a hit! We actually made it a few weeks ago. My son-in-law, who is Italian, said, “This is the best minestrone I’ve ever had!”

With that recommendation, I’d like to share this home-crafted recipe with you. My granddaughters have been making this soup since they were about 8 and 10 years old. They are now 13 and 15. I hope you enjoy it as much as we do.

I usually make a really large batch and then save some in the freezer, in small single serving containers. I will take one out of the freezer in the morning to work. It’s almost completely defrosted by lunch and the microwave will defrost it the rest of the way.

So, make a nice bowl of hearty, warm minestrone soup that you and your family can enjoy this chilly Nevada weekend. Enjoy!

Ingredients

2 pounds ground Italian sausage, mild or hot (your choice)

5 slices of diced bacon

1/2 of a yellow onion, diced

2 tablespoons minced garlic

Directions

Sauté these first four ingredients

Add the following:

2 celery ribs, diced

1.5 tablespoons oregano

A pinch of red pepper chili flakes

2 tablespoons pesto or basil (you can use prepared pesto or just basil)

Sauté 2-5 minutes

Drain, do not rinse, but try to get most of the fat out

Add the following:

3 sliced carrots

2 diced potatoes

3 or 4 cut up zucchini

1 quart chicken broth (more if you want)

1 large can of diced or crushed tomatoes

1 can of rinsed garbanzo beans (any beans you like will do) ex: kidney, white, pinto

2 cups of chopped kale or spinach

2 cups of chopped cabbage

Cook in your instant pot on high pressure for 8 minutes. You can also cook it on the stove or in a crockpot for 4 hours.

Serve with pasta (optional) and parmesan (I cook pasta on the side)

Add salt and pepper to taste