Soups On!

This is my spin on Minestrone Soup, a vegetarian soup packed with loads of veggies, beans and pasta!

Ingredients
Onion
Carrot
Broccoli
Spinach
Bell Peppers
1 can Diced Tomatoes with juice
1 can White Beans drained and rinsed
1 can Black Beans drained and rinsed
2 cups cooked pasta
4-6 cups veggie stock
Olive Oil
Salt, Pepper and Italian seasoning to taste

Directions
Saute onion and carrot in a bit of olive oil until soft and caramelized add in our diced tomatoes with the juice from the can, beans and veggie stock.  Heat to a simmer and then toss in all of your remaining chopped veggies reserving the spinach, season to taste.

At this point if you want to freeze any of this soup now is the time to grab a ladle and scoop it out into freezer safe containers, or a bowl until cool enough for freezer bags.  To cook this once frozen you can microwave it or put it in a stock pot and heat through, you can add pasta and spinach if desired.  I find that pasta in this soup just doesn't freeze well and I love the fresh taste of the spinach that gets lost after freezing and recooking.

Next toss in your cooked pasta and fresh chopped spinach and heat just until hot, taste and season more if necessary  Serve with parmesan cheese and croutons!

Today I made enough to eat for lunch and freeze for 4 single servings.  I love taking individual frozen soup packages on the road when we travel to visit family and friends.  It makes eating nutritions vegetarian meals on the go quick and easy.  It also makes finding and cooking meals easier on non vegetarian hosts when I bring a few quick things like this with me!