I haven't been taking any pics...

So, I suppose it makes it harder to blog, at least for me...

Fall is in the air, it's getting chilly and soup is on the menu!!

I suppose I could just link it...but I thought I'd add my modifications...

My kids ate it...the only issues were the zucchini, but I love zucchini, and I knew it wouldn't kill them, so, they ate it. Mikenna did fine once Michael had her close her eyes and she couldn't see the seeds (which he told her were bugs...that freaked her out.)

CrockPot Pasta Fagioli Recipe

Day 305.

Happy Halloween! If you're looking for a hearty meal to fill the belly of your little ghost or goblin before they eat their weight in chocolate, you've come to the right place. This is some good soup.

It's based upon Olive Garden's Pasta E. Fagioli which, quite frankly, I've never had, but it sounded good. So I made it. In the crockpot.

This is a crowd-pleasing soup. There's nothing weird in it, and it has a fun kick that isn't spicy as much as it is noticeable.

The Ingredients.

--1 pound lean ground beef, browned and drained (I did 1 lb sausage, low fat)
--1/2 large red onion, chopped (1/2 of walla2 sweet)
--1 cup carrots, chopped
--2 celery stalks, sliced (I only had zucchini, so 1 of those)
--2 cans (14.5 oz) diced tomatoes (and juice) (used 3 c. tomatoes from my garden)
--1 can kidney beans, drained and rinsed (didn't rinse them...either can)
--1 can white beans, drained and rinsed (see above)
--4 cups beef broth (check label for gluten!) (with the this and the sauce, I had tomato juice, low sodium, leftover, so I did 6 cups of that, with 4 tsp of beef boullin)
--1 jar (16.5 oz) pasta sauce (see above)
--2 tsp oregano
--1 T Tabasco sauce (didn't try this)
--1/2 tsp salt
--1/4 tsp black pepper
--1/2 cup dry pasta, to add at end of cooking time (I used TJ's brown rice fusilli) (definitly would cook the noodles beforehand and then add to the soup...otherwise it soaked up way too much of my soup...but we added ice cubes, so that was fine...)

The Directions.

Use a 6 quart or larger crockpot, or cut the recipe in half. This makes a lot.

Brown the meat on the stovetop, and drain well. Let it cool a bit.

Chop up the carrots, onion, and celery. Add it to the empty crockpot.
Drain and rinse the beans, and add them. Add the whole cans of tomatoes, and the pasta sauce. Add the beef broth. Add the salt, pepper, oregano, and Tobasco sauce. Stir in your meat.

Cover and cook on low for 8 hours, or high for 4. When the vegetables are tender, stir in the 1/2 cup of dry pasta.

Cover and cook for another hour on low, or until the pasta is tender. It will swell quite a bit.

Serve with a bit of parmesan cheese if you have it. (our parmesan had mold in it...grrr...)