This is one of the meals that was brought to us after the birth of our son, Wyatt.  Our dear friends, the Johnson’s, are among the people in our lives who know and understand safe food handling practices for Elena.  Brie always writes up an information sheet to go along with any meal she brings us.  It usually includes the ingredient labels, details about any food that did not have a label, and any other information regarding preparation.

If you know her, I’m sure you are not surprised by this attention to detail.  One of the side benefits of this is that I can automatically steal the recipe to anything she brings us.  You might be thinking that is an awful way to treat someone who is doing us such a grand favor, but that’s just because you haven’t tasted her minestrone yet.  Make the soup, taste it, and tell me you wouldn’t be stealing the recipe yourself if I hadn’t already done the dirty work for you.

Minestrone:

1 tbsp. olive oil

1 large onion

3-5 stalks celery

3 cloves garlic

2 large zucchini

3 medium potatoes

1 cup diced carrots

2 cans kidney beans

3 cans Italian style tomatoes

2 cans garbonzo beans

2 cans Great Northern beans

1 carton chicken stock

water 

safe pasta of your choice

Saute the onion and garlic in olive oil.  Combine all ingredients in a large pot on the stove and simmer, or in a crock pot and slow cook all day.  You can play with the ingredients too.  Use any veggies you have on hand that you think sound good.  A little spinach goes really well and you can do more or less of any vegetable as needed.  Cook pasta al dente in a separate pot and add desired amount to each bowl.  Ladle soup over pasta and serve.

Along with this recipe comes a tip for all soups with pasta.  Make the soup and cook your pasta separately.  Add it to each bowl, rather than the whole batch.  That way, you can cook fresh pasta to add to the leftovers and it won’t get soggy from reheating.  Not only has Brie improved our lives by being part of them, she has improved our leftovers for life with this little tip.

What would a new baby meal blog be without a little newborn montage?  Meet baby Wyatt…