If it’s Sunday late afternoon, I don’t have dinner going and don’t feel like going out, this is what I’ll make.  Or a weeknight and I’m running out of time in the late afternoon, it’s Pasta e Fagioli Soup.  It’s good along, with a nice slice of bread or with a grilled Mozzarella cheese sandwich with basil & sliced tomatoes.  This is a good soup to take over if you are taking a meal, just take along some good bread and a fruit or vegetable salad .Most ingredients, I have on hand all the time.  It’s easy, quick & delicious.  Give it a try or keep it in your arsenal of “GO TOS.”

This is a quick, easy & flavorful recipe, you’ll have some extra time to dance around the kitchen before dinner time 🕺

-1 Tablespoon olive oil

-1/2 Tablespoon unsalted butter

-3/4 cup chopped onion

-3 cloves minced garlic

-1/2 cup finely chopped carrot

-1/2 cup finely chopped celery

-3 sprigs fresh thyme (leaves only & finely chopped)

-1 sprig fresh rosemary  (no stalk, ‘leaves only’ chopped)

-1 Bay leaf

-3 ounces finely chopped Canadian bacon

-2 (14.5 ounce) cans dark red kidney beans drained and rinsed

-6 cups chicken stock (I add “Better Than Bouillon” to hot water)

-1 cup elbow macaroni

-1/2 freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Freshly ground black pepper to taste 

  1.  Heat olive oil and unsalted butter in a stock pot.
  2. Add onions and sauté until onions are translucent.  Add celery, carrots and Canadian bacon, sauté until carrots and celery are soft, about 4-5 minutes.
  3. Add garlic and cook an additional minute.
  4. Add chicken stock, drained red kidney beans,  bay leaf, rosemary & thyme, bring to a boil.
  5. Decrease heat to simmer and cook an additional 8 minutes.
  6. Scoop out about 1 1/2 cups of soup mixture and blend in a blender or in a bowl with an immersion blender.  Return blended mixture to soup pot.  
  7. Return soup to a boil and add elbow macaroni.  Cover and boil stirring occasionally until the macaroni is soft, about 8 minutes. 
  8. Season soup with some freshly ground black pepper.
  9. Ladle soup into bowls and top with Parmesan cheese.
  10. For more great recipes, checkout my book, It’s a Great Day To...Gather Around a Table, available on amazon.com or barnesandnoble.com or signed through my website...It’s a Great Day 🌻



Mary Yana’s Marvelous Monday Mystery Manja...


🥣 Pasta e Fagioli Soup 


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