Soup's on!

I have classes tonight, so I have soup in the crockpot. This way I can eat before I leave for class and then mom can come home from work and still have a hot meal without much work on her part. Tonight is Minestrone Soup with fresh bread that I picked up at Earth Fare the other day.

Soup is actually pretty difficult for me to get recipes for. So many of them have a ton of tomatoes and I just can't have that much tomato (due to medical issues). This recipe only contains one small can of tomato paste for the whole thing, which is a lot less then I normally find for Minestrone or Vegetable Soups.

Minestrone Soup (based off of a recipe from Fix-It and Forget-It)

Ingredients

• 1 large onion, chopped
  
• 4 carrots, sliced
  
• 3 ribs celery, cliced
  
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
  
• olive oil
  
• 1 (6 oz) can of tomato paste
  
• 4 cups chicken broth (can use vegetable broth to make a vegetarian version)
  
• 1 (24 oz) can pinto beans, drained
  
• 1(10 oz) bag frozen green beans
• 2-3 cups chopped cabbage
• 1 medium zucchini, sliced
• 2 Tbsp parsley
• 2 Tbsp italian seasoning
• Water to fill
  
• Salt and Pepper to taste
• 3/4 cup small pasta
• Grated Parmesan Cheese
  

Preparation

-Use a 4-6 qt slow cooker

-Saute onion, carrots, celery, and garlic in oil until tender

-Combine all ingredients, except pasta and cheese, in slow cooker

-Cover and cook 4-5 hours on High (or 8-9 hours on Low)

-Add pasta 1 hour before cooking is complete

-Top individual servings with cheese