Chris and I worked on this for months to get it just right. He loves Olive Garden's minestrone soup and swears this is even better. I calculated this to be around 2 WW points per 8 oz serving (less if you skip the romano cheese) without the pasta and 3 points with pasta. Note: this is not low sodium but low everything else but flavor. It also freezes great but, if you plan on freezing it - do not add pasta (you can always add when you serve it later).
Minestrone - Makes about 18 cups with pasta included, 15 cups without.
1 cup diced onion
1 cup shredded carrots
1 cup sliced celery
1 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 medium zucchini, diced
2 medium yellow squash, diced
½ cup chopped green pepper
1 14 oz can red kidney beans, drained & rinsed
1 14 oz can white kidney beans, drained & rinsed
1 14 oz can garbanzo beans, drained
1 14 oz can Italian green beans, drained
2 14 oz cans Italian seasoned diced tomatoes (Kroger makes a good one)
2 15 oz cans vegetable broth
1 15 oz can chicken broth (can use all vegetable broth if desired)
8 oz pasta shells ? cooked aldente
2 teaspoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon kosher salt
2 teaspoons garlic powder
Ground pepper to taste
1 bay leaf
1 teaspoon basil
1 teaspoon oregano
Melt butter & olive oil in large soup pot. Sauté onions, celery & carrots until soft. Add broth, tomatoes, bay leaf, basil, oregano & garbanzo beans. Cook for ½ hour at a heavy simmer. Add zucchini, squash, pepper, kidney beans and remaining seasoning. Cook for ½ hour. Add green beans and white kidney beans. Cook for ½ hour, check seasoning. Remove bay leaf. Add pasta, heat for 15 minutes.
If you want more liquid, add equal amounts of broth and canned tomatoes until desired consistency.
Serve with freshly grated Romano cheese if desired.
