Hearty Minestrone

By cwyorkiex3

This soup was a great catchall for just about any vegetable Grandma felt inspired to add. For a different flavor, she substituted a 10-ounce package of frozen chopped spinach for the cabbage and celery, added a chopped clove of garlic and used a can of tomato paste instead of the tomatoes.

Ingredients

• 1 pound lean ground beef
• 6 cups water
• 1 (28-ounce) can tomatoes
• 1 cup each chopped onion, celery and bell pepper
• 1 cup sliced carrot
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 1 teaspoon Worcestershire
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 (14-ounce) can red kidney beans
• 1 cup shredded cabbage
• 1/2 cup macaroni
• 1 3/4 cups freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Details

Servings 14
Adapted from mygreatrecipes.com

Preparation

Step 1

1.Heat a stockpot over medium-high heat. Place ground beef in hot stockpot. Cook until browned and crumbly.

2.Place the ground beef in a colander and drain well. Return the ground beef to the stockpot.

3.Add the water, undrained tomatoes, onion, celery, bell pepper, carrot, salt, Worcestershire, black pepper and bay leaves to the ground beef in the stockpot and mix well. Bring to a boil; reduce the heat.

4.Simmer, covered, stirring occasionally, for about 1 hour.

5.Drain the beans. Add beans, cabbage and macaroni to the ground beef mixture and mix well; cover. Simmer over low heat, stirring occasionally, for 30 minutes. Discard bay leaves. Ladle into soup bowls. Sprinkle with Parmesan. Serve with crackers or crusty bread, if desired.