Hearty Vegetable Soup

I'm a pretty lucky woman because My Husband not only enjoys looking for new recipes for us to try, but also enjoys cooking up some really good food for us, too!

Last week, he found a few recipes for soup that sounded good.  Since I had to take the boys out to do a few things, he went to the grocery store and picked up everything needed to make the soup.  The soup started out as a recipe for pasta fagioli, but ended up morphing into more of a really thick and hearty vegetable soup. 

I must say that he has a knack for adapting recipes as he cooks.  The only downfall is getting the exact instructions from him afterward!  I did manage to do that, so that I can share the recipe with you. 

The soup was everything a thick tomato-based soup should be... full of flavor, which was perfect for sopping up with the slices of bread he thought to pick up, full of veggies and some bits of chicken and cannellini beans for protein.

This soup reheated so well that we ate it for lunch for a couple of days and even had it for leftovers one night for dinner.  Yep, I'll be asking him to repeat this recipe again and again this winter.

It was such a treat to have this soup for lunch last week!  It reheated so nicely and I knew it was filled with such healthy ingredients that I couldn't help feeling good about enjoying it again and again!

Hearty Vegetable Soup

Source:  Hubby of Patsyk

Ingredients

• 32 ounces chicken broth
• 4 tablespoons olive oil
• 3 ounces pancetta, minced
• 1 large onion, coarsely chopped
• 2 tablespoons crushed garlic
• 28 ounce can crushed tomatoes
• 1 tablespoon finely chopped sage
• 2 teaspoons red pepper flakes
• 15 ounce can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 cup dried pasta
• ½ cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
• 2 large carrots sliced
• 2 chicken breasts – diced
• 8 ounce package of fresh spinach
• salt and pepper to taste

Directions

1.  Heat olive oil in a large pot over medium heat.  Add the onions, carrots, pancetta, garlic and chicken.  Allow to cook about 10 minutes; stirring frequently.
2. Add tomatoes, chicken broth, sage, red pepper flakes, spinach and salt and pepper.  Cook over medium-low heat for about 30 minutes.
3. Add the beans, pasta and Parmesan cheese.  Cook for an additional 10 minutes. 

Please note that all photos and content belong to Patsy Kreitman, unless otherwise noted. If you want to use something please ask first.