Not Quite a Proverbs 31 Woman Cooks Minestrone Soup

The lions and the lambs really seemed to be duking it out this March. The constant fluctuation of temperature resulted in me heading into April not feeling too good. The old wives keep telling tales of soup having medicinal qualities, so I decided maybe some steamy broth would, indeed, make me feel better.

Generally I'd open a can of Progresso soup, but at more than $2 a can, I thought maybe I could save some money by making a huge pot I could gorge on for the entire week. I spent about $18 buying ingredients. Yikes. But, about four bowels were eaten in the first sitting -- hey, there were two of us! -- and it looks like I've got enough to last for at least seven more bowels. So, that means I saved at least $4.

And, by using fresh ingredients, it was probably 10x more healthy than something that had been sitting in a can on a shelf for who knows how long. Yay, health!

If I could do this while I was sick, surely anyone could make a fanastic minestrone soup.

First, filled a large pot about 1/3 full of water and added some Greek olive oil to it, along with a pinch of sea salt. While waiting for the water to boil, I chopped onions, garlic, potatoes, and cauliflower. Added it to the pot before it was actually boiling. Impatience is not a virtue. Chopped pre-cut carrots and added it to the water. Tossed in two vegetable bullion cubes. Stirred mixture. Hoped it would boil, as I put a lid on the pot and turned down the intensity of the fire.


When the potatoes seemed soft enough (used a fork to test), added pasta. Stirred in one can of crushed tomatoes. Added garlic powder, black pepper, and red-pepper flakes. Soon after, added frozen peas and carrots, and canned kidney beans and white beans. Tasted. Added even more garlic powder and pepper -- garlic promotes good health!


When the soup was done, I added some shredded cheddar cheese.

The whole thing took maybe half an hour or so to make, especially since I had some help cleaning the veggies. It was incredibly easy for something that tasted so good.

leftovers!