Minestrone Soup

Total Time: 3 hrs 30 mins Preparation Time: 2 hrs Cook Time: 1 hr 30 mins

Ingredients

• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 lb lean ground beef
• 1 lb italian sausage
• 4 slices smoked bacon
• 2 chorizo sausages
• 2 sweet onions, diced
• 2 -4 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 (28 ounce) cans diced tomatoes
• 2 teaspoons sugar
• 4 cups beef broth
• 4 carrots, sliced
• 4 stalks celery, chopped
• 1 small rutabaga, peeled and cubed in 1-inch pieces
• 6 cups savoy cabbage, chopped
• 1/2 cup frozen italian cut green beans
• 1 green zucchini, chopped
• 1 yellow zucchini, chopped
• 2 (15 ounce) cans red kidney beans, drained
• 2 (15 ounce) cans small beans or 2 (15 ounce) cans great northern beans
• 1 (15 ounce) can chickpeas
• 2 tablespoons fresh parsley, minced (or 1 tablespoon dried)
• 1 1/2 teaspoons dried oregano
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt (optional)
• 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon dried basil
• 1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1 teaspoon italian seasoning
• 1 -2 bay leaf
• 1/2 cup parmesan cheese (and more for topping the soup bowls)

Recipe

• 1 sauté bacon, ground beef, & sausage (remove from casing and break up) in large deep fry pan.
• 2 add onion when the meat starst to brown.
• 3 continue cooking until onion softens then add garlic and stir for 2 minutes to take the raw edge off.
• 4 while meat is browning, get out your biggest pot and start adding the tomatoes, carrots, rutabaga, broth, celery, spices.
• 5 bring to a boil, add browned meat. simmer for 10 minutes then add everything else, pushing down the cabbage. add a bit of water to make sure the cabbage is covered.
• 6 one year i was trying to hurry this along and cooked the cabbage in another pot then mixed it inches worked okay.
• 7 it will look like too much but the cabbage shrinks a lot! simmer until all veggies are almost soft. add your drained beans and the cheese. stir, taste and add more of what you feel it needs.
• 8 if your soup pot looks ridiculously thick add some water but not too much. the point of this soup is to freeze thick and dilute later.
• 9 this is why i add water (or broth) when it is thawed out. takes less space in the freezer this way.
• 10 add half a cup of fresh parmesan to the soup while cooking for a 'wow' flavour boost. taste and adjust seasoning. cool and transfer to containers.
• 11 it does need to sit overnight to taste the best. if cold enough the pot can sit out on the deck.
• 12 this makes a very thick soup. we freeze it in yogurt containers.
• 13 if you want noodles, cook a handful then add to the soup before serving. this is wonderful with garlic bread and lots of parmesan cheese!.
• 14 i call this my 'campbell's condensed' version of minestrone. i figured why add all the extra water (taking up freezer space) when i can do that later.
• 15 i don't add salt to this soup because the bacon, cheese and tinned products have enough of the stuff.