Skip to main content

Veggie Minestrone with Pesto


 It's fall. Fall is time for cozy sweaters, scarves, apple crisp, pumpkin spiced everything, and soups! This is a yummy, quick veggie minestrone. Great for a weeknight when you have no time or a weekend after a chilly visit to the pumpkin patch or apple orchard. 


Ingredients:

1 carrot, sliced

2 celery stalks, sliced

1 onion, diced

garlic, minced

14.5 ounce can whole peeled tomatoes, broken apart

15 ounce can kidney beans

1⁄2 cup elbow macaroni 

2 ounces basil pesto

olive oil, salt, pepper


Method:

Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a medium pot over medium-high heat. Add sliced carrots, onion, celery, and a pinch each of salt and pepper . Cook, stirring occasionally, until veggies are softened and lightly browned.

To same pot, add chopped garlic and cook while stirring, until fragrant. Add beans and their liquid, chopped tomatoes, 3 cups water, and 1 teaspoon salt . Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium-low; cover and simmer until veggies are tender. 

Bring soup to a boil over high heat. Add 1⁄2 cup pasta and cook, stirring often, until al dente.

Stir half of the pesto into soup and season to taste with salt and pepper.

Serve minestrone with remaining pesto drizzled over top and a big slice of crusty bread. Enjoy!


Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Peek-a-boo Squares

My grandma, Mimi, taught me this recipe. I used to make this with her and my mother as a child. It is my very favorite dessert. It is incredibly easy to make, and even easier to eat. My favorite part of making this as a child was dusting every bar generously with snowy white powdered sugar.  My favorite version of this dessert uses canned blueberry pie filling; I vastly prefer Libby brand over the store brand. You can make blueberry pie filling from scratch with sugar, cornstarch, bleberries, etc. but using the canned stuff is easy in a pinch and is much for nostalgic for me. Plus, I don’t notice a vast improvement over my homemade blueberry pie filling and the Libby brand; it just takes me longer to put this dessert together.  I have been known to whip up a pan of these Friday night and have them disappear by Saturday afternoon. Be warned, these things are addictive! Ingredients: 3 cups of all-purpose flour 2 cups of granulated sugar 4 eggs 2 ...

Samosas with Yogurt Sauce

I love exploring many kinds of cuisine in my kitchen because I can control the spice level, and in the case of this recipe, the use of cilantro. Cilantro lovers out there- sub it info the parsley here. I have the gene that makes cilantro taste like soap, which limits my ability to enjoy some dishes in restaurants, but is easily rectified in my own kitchen. I hope you enjoy! Ingredients:  3 russet potatoes 2 cloves garlic, minced 1 bunch fresh parsley, chopped 2 teaspoons curry powder 5 ounces peas Six 8 inch flour tortillas 4 ounces Greek yogurt Oil, salt, pepper, vinegar 4 tablespoons butter Method: Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Lightly oil a rimmed baking sheet. Scrub potatoes and cut into 1⁄2-inch pieces. Place in a large saucepan with a generous pinch of salt and enough water to cover by 1 inch. Cover and bring to a boil over high; uncover and cook until tenderDrain potatoes and transfer to a bowl.  Heat 2 tablespoons oil in reserved saucepan over medium. Add chopped garl...

Almond Christmas Cookies

 I have taken quite a long hiatus from this blog- we have been building the barn and bought my two horses, Cowboy and Sven home, and I have passed all my doctoral comps and orals (for my musical arts in vocal performance degree- I am not going to be a medical doctor).... It is my favorite time of the year- that narrow slice between Thanksgiving and Christmas. As a singer, teacher, and student, it is an incredibly busy time of year, but I love making time in the kitchen. Happily, these almond cookies are very easy to make, and even easier to clean up after. And almond is my favorite flavor for a sweet treat, especially paired with a sweet vanilla glaze. Enjoy! Ingredients: Cookies: 8 tablespoons softened butter 3 large eggs, room temp 2 1/4 all-purpose flour 2 teaspoons baking powder 1/2 cup granulated sugar 1/2 teaspoon salt 2 teaspoons almond extract Glaze: 1 1/3 cup powdered sugar 3 tablespoons whole milk 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract 2 tablespoons nonpareils Method: Cream togethe...