Italian Tomato Soup

This is one of my favorite soup creations. It is great as a Vegan soup, but is easily converted to a Vegetarian soup or meat lovers soup. It’s made from easy to find ingredients and is quite simple. You can serve it as a meal or just a nice bowl of soup as a starter. If you are lucky enough to have a large Italian Basil plant or two you will love this soup as a way to highlight your lovely basil.

1/2 cup diced yellow onion

1 clove fresh garlic minced, or 1 teaspoon granulated garlic

1 14.5 oz can of kidney beans

1 15.5 oz can of diced tomatoes

1 5.5 oz can of V-8 vegetable juice

1 vegetable or chicken cube,(bullion)

4 cups water

1 teaspoon dried oregano

2 teaspoons basil

1/2 teaspoon dried thyme

1/2 cup of small shell pasta, uncooked

2 cups fresh broccoli florets

1 cup fresh spinach

1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley

Optional,1 teaspoon hot red pepper flakes

In a 4-5 quart pot add enough of the water to cover the bottom about a quarter inch and heat to simmering. Add onion and garlic and cook on medium low for 5 minutes stirring occasionally. Add canned tomatoes, beans,red pepper flakes, rest of the water, V-8, bullion cube, and dried herbs. Cook at a simmer for 20 minutes covered stirring twice. Remove cover, turn heat up to a boil, and add pasta, stirring every 30 seconds for three minutes to keep the pasta from sticking to the bottom. Cook for 8 minutes uncovered keeping it at a slow boil. Stir in broccoli and cook for 3 minutes simmering. Stir in spinach and cook for 3 minutes. Stir in parsley and serve.
Serves 4-8 depending on if serving as a main dish,(4) or if serving as a soup (8).

Note: This is a thick soup, but you can add an additional cup water if you want it thinner.
Green beans can be substituted for broccoli. Cheese tortalini can be added about 10 minutes before serving for a nice vegetarian main dish, but you will probably want to add an extra cup of stock or water.

nutrition analysis by
www.greennapkinnutrition.com