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

Raspberry Pomegranate Jam

Tis the season to be making homemade gifts! Pomegranates are in season and their juice is a festive deep ruby red color. I knew I had to make them into a jam to give away. Straight pomegranate flavor is a little tart for me; I added raspberries for the texture of their seeds and their sweetness. This is a very simple recipe to make and will yield 6 to 7 8 ounces jars of jam or 12 to 14 4 ounce jars, if you like to give away sample sizes during the holidays. Enjoy! Ingredients: 3 1/2 cups pomegranate juice 1 cup mashed raspberries 7 cups sugar 1 tablespoon butter 1 1/75 ounce package Sure Jell Method: Sterilize your jars and lids. Set aside. In a heavy bottomed large stock pot, add the pomegranate juice, raspberries and butter. Mix well. Add in the sugar. Bring to a full rolling boil then stir in the Sure Jell. Allow to boil hard for 1 minutes. Remove from the heat and skim off any foam. Ladle into the sterile jars, twist on the lids and pr

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 sticks of

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 garlic and al

Watership Down Kitchen

Search This Blog