Monday, September 13, 2010

Pasta Fagioli

Wow was this good soup!!!!!  I am so impressed with myself right now!  Not only did I throw together a soup that tasted like it came out of a restaurant, but it also tasted SOOOO good, I didn't want to stop eating it!  I haven't had something that tasty for dinner in 10 weeks (since my good aversions started!!  LOL)  If you like Olive Garden's Pasta Fagioli, you'll love this one!  If you're vegetarian, leave the ground beef out....I wouldn't have missed it in this soup at all!

This recipe makes A LOT of delicious soup, so you'll have plenty to freeze and have again later.  If you have a Slow Cooker that's smaller than 7 Quarts, you will need to cut down all of the ingredients or you will have MAJOR overflowage!!!  Mine is 7 Quarts and it was filled to the brim!

On to the good stuff:

Pasta Fagioli

Ingredients:
1 lb. ground beef, seasoned with salt and pepper and cooked.
4 cups beef broth (I used 4 beef bouillon cubes and 4 cups water instead)
3 (14.5 oz.) cans Garlic and Onion diced tomatos
2 cups water
1 (29 oz) can tomato sauce
3/4 cups dry red kidney beans, soaked overnight, drained and rinsed
3/4 cups dry Northern beans, soaked overnight, drained and rinsed
1 tsp. garlic powder
1 tsp. onion powder
2 tsp. Italian Seasoning
salt and pepper to taste
1 1/2 cups chopped carrots
2 cups chopped zucchini, peeled too
1 red onion, chopped
1 1/2 cups pasta (I used shells)
Parmesan cheese for garnish

Directions:
If you're low on time like me, the night before, add all ingredients to the Slow Cooker insert except for the beans (which are soaking) and pasta and stir.  Place it in the fridge.
The next morning, add the beans, stir and cook on LOW for 8-10 hours.  If you have extra time in the mornings, assemble all the ingredients then.....just make sure your beans soaked overnight!

About 45 minutes before serving, add the pasta.  (I ran out of time after errands, boiled the pasta on the stove and added it.  It didn't soak up the flavor, so they just tasted like noodles.  But, in a pinch, it will work!)

Serve with a sprinkle of Parmesan Cheese!

TIPS:  As mentioned above, this makes a TON of soup.  If you're using a smaller Slow Cooker, cut everything in half.  If you're vegetarian, don't add the meat.  I've been using the bouillon cubes in the Slow Cooker a lot and they're MUCH cheaper than buying beef or chicken broth!  Great money saving tip!

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14 comments:

  1. Hi Hope...I made the soup and it was really good! So glad I learned about your site! I'm working a lot mroe hours this year and plan to crock pot cook hopefully twice a week. Just saw the recipe for the Pork Loin and Pot Roast. Going to try those too! Yum! Thanks!!!
    Marie

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  2. Hi Marie!

    So glad you liked the soup! Also glad you're trying out a couple more recipes next week! I'm telling you, the Crock Pot becomes addicting and it will make your life SOOOO much easier!!! Good luck to you!

    Hope

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  3. Just wondering...for the beans, could I use canned? I have a ton of canned beans and trying to find a way to use them up!

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    1. i know this is a crock pot site but i make this with 3 different cans of your choice beans , chicken broth , tomato sauce, diced or whatever you prefer. first saute some onion, garlic and a bit of carrot then add wet ingredients and oregano and ,parsley then pasta [ i use the small barrel like pasta] and the beans and its done in about 30 minutes. this is an easy and fast meal.

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  4. Just wondering...for the beans, could I use canned? I have a ton of canned beans and trying to find a way to use them up!

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  5. Yes, you can used canned beans. Use any beans you like! Maybe 2-3 cans?

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  6. I made this over the weekend, minus the zucchini because the store didn't have any and it was great!! I shared it with two friends, one of which is extrememly picky and they loved it!! Thanks!!

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  7. I also used canned beans and it turned out great! By the way, Hope, you were my son's music teacher at Higgins and they were VERY sad to hear you were not coming back this year!! Best of luck to you with your pregnancy!! I really love your site and have been telling lots of people about it!!
    Marie Lamberson

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  8. Marie,

    So glad you're enjoying the recipes! Keep spreading the word! The more the merrier!

    Thank you for the well-wishes. I'm just laying low...literally! I miss the kids terribly already, but I know this is for the best.

    Tell Joshua I said hi! It's gonna be a long year!

    Thanks again!
    Hope

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  9. I made the soup again tonight. My variations were that I used ground turkey instead of beef, I added chopped celery, and even though I cut the recipe in half for my smaller size crock pot, I still used 4 cups of beef broth...and I could have even added more! I just never seem to have enough broth when I am done. I also used canned beans (1 can kidney and 1 can northern). We really love it!!!

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  10. Marie,

    Wow! I'm glad you love it that much!!! I've been thinking about it often since I made it! (Especially since the leftover got left out all night :( That was VERY sad to wake up to!!!)

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  11. Here is my Pasta e Fagioli soup recipe. It is a bit more labor intensive and NOT for vegetarians, but it's so AWESOME!!!


    Meat:

    1/2 lb. of bacon cooked till done, but not crispy

    1 lb. of hamburger crumbled

    1/4 lb. of sliced and halved peperoni

    3 It. sweet sausage links taken out of casings and crumbled



    Veg/ Spices

    2 carrots chopped finely

    2 celery stocks chopped finely

    2 sm. white/yellow onion chopped finely (or one med/ lg.)

    2 hand fulls of flat leaf It. parsley

    3 teaspoons of oregano (from spice rack)

    2 teaspoons of black pepper



    Canned stuff:

    2- 15 oz. cans of diced Italian tomatoes w/ basil, etc already in the can

    1 - 15 oz. can of stewed tomatoes

    1- 20 oz jar of spaghetti sauce

    8 cups of beef broth (you can buy cans or just add beef cubes to water like I did--cheaper!!)

    1- 15. oz. can of garbanzo beans

    1- 15 oz. can of kidney beans

    1- 15. oz can of white beans (like a northern)



    Pasta: Ditalini or whatever style you like :)



    I crumbled my ground beef fine like you were making tacos, drained fat. Throw it in the crock pot. I lightly cooked a half lb. of bacon (still very bendable bacon---not firm or crispy). Throw it in the crock pot. It. sausage (see above) and throw it in there. I cooked the pasta firm/ al dente, added a little margarine so it wouldn't stick together and put it in a gallon size freezer bag. Throw it in the fridge. Keep pasta separate!! I cut up my onion, carrots, and celery put in a micro safe boil and nuked it for about 20-25 mins until tender b/c I did my crock pot for 4 hours vs. 8-10 hrs. Drained water and threw that in the crock pot too. Added all my beans, tomatoes, spaghetti sauce, beef broth, chopped up parsley, cut up pepperoni, etc. Then I left it alone for four hours until it was really hot!



    This was the best soup I've ever made and def a contender for Olive Garden's Pasta e Fagioli recipe like the recipe I used said, although I added the garbanzo beans myself and the peperoni.

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  12. I've never had pasta fagioli before. This looks delish!

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