Pasta e Fagioli Soup

The added ground beef makes for a very satisfying dinner 🙂 I was scrolling and in fact had passed this, when I realized I had to go back up and look at what I’d missed. This is the stuff dreams are made of.

INGREDIENTS:

1 ½ lb. Ground beef

1 Medium onion chopped

1 C. Chopped carrots

1 C. Finely chopped celery

4 C. Chicken broth

3 C. Tomato sauce

1 C. Dry small pasta cooked to your liking, any small pasta will do

1 Can Diced tomatoes undrained

2 tsp. Basil

1 tsp. Oregano

½ tsp. Thyme

2 tsp. Granulated sugar

1 Can Kidney beans drained and rinsed

1 Can Northern beans drained and rinsed

3 tsp. Minced garlic

Parmesan cheese and chopped parsley for garnish if desired

Salt and pepper to taste

DIRECTIONS:

Place the ground beef into a large deep sized pot over medium high heat and begin to brown.

Mix in the onion, carrots and celery, and cook until the meat is browned completely and the vegetables are beginning to soften. Drain any excess grease.

Mix in salt and pepper to taste as well as the basil, oregano and thyme and minced garlic. Saute another 30 seconds.

Reduce heat to simmer, and pour in the chicken broth, tomato sauce, diced tomatoes and sugar. Stir to combine, cover and cook for 20 minutes.

Add the beans and cooked pasta to the pot, stir to combine, cook for 5 minutes longer and serve. Garnish with fresh chopped parsley and parmesan cheese if desired.