Minestrone Soup- Slow Cooker Recipe

Hello Sweeties!!! If you are an soup lover and especially love Olive Garden specialty minestrone soup, hang on, I have this recipe that was passed by a very special friend. But if you know me, you very well know I cannot simply stick to the recipe, I have to deviate and wander off to make it my own, some are big hits some are flops. This is a sure shot big hit, maybe because I did not let go of the basic recipe and simply added my own additions. Or maybe because it was cooked in a slow cooker and used stock to enhance flavors and make it more earthy. It is full of good nutrition and zero oil except if you used re-fried beans like me, you would not call it zero oil. Feel free to replace the re-fried beans with any beans of your choice to make it truly a zero oil soup recipe.

You will need;

2 carrots chopped in semi circles

1 stick celery chopped fine

2 sprigs Green onion

1/2 cup spinach

2-3 big florets of broccoli

2-3 cloves garlic-crushed

1 tbspn Italian Seasoning

1 Qt box of vegetable stock

1 cup Pasta-I used elbows

1 can re-fried beans--(Had to use them)-Use any beans you prefer

1 can diced tomatoes or use fresh

1 tsbpn fresh rosemary

6-8 leaves of fresh basil torn

Salt to taste

In a slow cooker insert, add all the above ingredients and let it to cook for 8 hrs on low or 6 hrs high. Enjoy the soup after the slow cooker has done its job well.