Reviewed: Feb. 27, 2012

What a great soup on a cold winter evening. I put the tomatoes, zucchini and added half of an anahiem peper into a food processor and put that into the soup. It's the only way to get my kids to eat the zucchini or and tomatos. I don't care for garbanzo beans so I put in a can of white beans (drained) and a can of white Kidney beans (drained). I also put in italian sausage instead of ground beef. I will absolutely make this again.

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Reviewer:

Mrs. K

Reviewed: Jan. 23, 2012

I made this soup the other day and thought it was very good. My only problem is when I make soup, it turns into a stew instead. I used 1 lb. sweet Italian sausage as that is what I had on hand. I used cut spaghetti and white kidney beans. I also used baby spinach. When I cook with a red sauce I generally add a pinch of sugar to take away some of the acidity. Will be making this dish again.

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Cora

Reviewed: Jan. 20, 2012

The best Minestrone

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Anita

Reviewed: Nov. 30, 2011

My family has a very unusual Thanksgiving dinner. We all make soup and I have made this soup for the last 3 years and they love it. My family is very large, about 30 immediate members, and I only have to double the recipe because it makes so much. And my kids love to help me make it too!

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Reviewer:

cflickrun

Reviewed: Nov. 21, 2011

This was really peculiar, had an "off" taste to it. I'm guessing it was the onion soup, as all the other ingredients seemedOK. It was edible, but barely.

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knmlee@mac.com

Reviewed: Nov. 11, 2011

Wow! Very delish!! Best Minestrone ever!! I don't think That I would search for other recipe on this soup!! I adjusted some on this recipe. I used some EVOO instead of bacon s drIpping. I didn't use bacon and celery. I used 1 lb. of ground beef and 1/2 cup of chopped onion. I cooked onion first for few minutes, then added beef. At last minute, I added garlic. Speak of seasonings, I only used dried oregano, kosher salt, & fresh black pepper. I added 1/2 tsp. of Zesty Seasoning Blend and 1/2 tsp. of Tastefully Simple Onion Onion. Instead of french onion soup, i used half packet of onion dip powder. Red wine was a key to this soup. I didn't use spinach, spinach pasta, zucchini, and parsley at all. I used julienne cut carrots, chickpea, and dried macaroni at last 20 minutes. I increased the heat bit and let it boil gently in the cover. So, the pasta was cooked perfectly. We sprinkled the soup with Romano cheese. It even tasted better on next day!! Less liquid due to the absorbing by the pasta, they turned into a stew. Perfect soup for cold days!!

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Reviewer:

Chef Robin

Cooking Level: Expert

Home Town: Danville, Kentucky, USA

Reviewed: Oct. 19, 2011

I made this soup and changed a few items because I did not have them. It was soooooooo.......good. The bacon gave it a great flavor. I added baby portabella mushrooms and small shell noodles. My kids loved it! I did not have garbanzo beans, but I think the shell noodles made a good substitute.

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vharmer

Reviewed: Aug. 20, 2011

Excellent recipe It is also great for using as a reference as far as seasonings are concerned for messing around with and creating your own recipe.

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pianokittens

Reviewed: Jun. 13, 2011

This is a great base recipe that is very versatile. I made several changes based on what I had on hand, and it was delicious! I needed to use up a 48 0z container of tomato juice, so that was most of my soup base, along with 1 can of whole tomatoes in puree (crushed), about 2 cups of water with beef soup base, and more like 1/2C red wine. I just had a farm club delivery with zucchini and kale, so I used those with celery, carrots, and lots of fresh thyme, oregano, basil and parsley, and a bay leaf. I used some bacon lardons and kept the bacon fat in and used about 4 oz. of ground turkey. I used kidney beans. I cooked small shell pasta separately about half way through, and just add some of that to each bowl. Topped with some pecorino romano, this is a thick, hearty, nutrtitious meal!

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Reviewer:

mckellygirl

Reviewed: Apr. 17, 2011

delicious! i loved this recipe because it is tasty, makes a full soup pot, and is so flexible you can throw in just about anything. i used marinara sauce instead of the puree, diced tomatoes with green chiles, no bacon, ground turkey, radishes, doubled the onions and the zucchini. simple and a great way to clean out the fridge!

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