Minestrone Soup

One thing that's really appreciated in our home is good cooking.  We all love soup, so tonight I tried out a new minestrone recipe.  I really liked it, and wanted to share it here.  We ate this with french bread, and found it to be filling and delicious.

The photo above shows it with parmesan cheese sprinkled generously on top, before cooking, cooked on the stove and ready to be eaten, and in a bowl before the garnish of cheese.


Skinny Minestrone

1 lb. ground beef
18 ozs. tomato juice
2 cups of beef broth
1 - 16 oz package of frozen italian vegetables
1 large onion, chopped
1 1/2 cups chopped celery
1 zucchini, chopped (or another vegetable you like)
3 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
2 tsps. italian seasoning
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper

Saute ground beef and drain off fat.  Heat tomato juice and broth in a large pot; add vegetables, garlic, and spices.  Cook until tender.  (about 20 minutes or so) Add meat and simmer 30 minutes more.  Top with grated parmesan cheese.  This yields six servings.

This recipe can be halved, doubled, or tripled.  This old recipe indicates that if you'd like, you can use any leftover meat.  If you use chicken, substitute chicken broth.

Enjoy!