Minestrone Soup

Ingredients

4 cups low-sodium vegetable stock
2 cups water
2 (14.5 oz) cans diced tomatoes
1 cup diced celery (3 stalks)
1 cup diced carrots (2 carrots)
1 cup diced yellow onion (1 small)
2 Tbsp chopped fresh parsley (or 2 tsp dried)
2 tsp dried basil
1 tsp dried oregano
3/4 tsp dried rosemary, crushed
1/2 tsp dried thyme
2 bay leaves
1/2 tsp sugar
Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
1 1/3 cups diced zucchini (1 small)
1 1/3 cups shell pasta
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 (15 oz) can dark red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1 (15 oz) can white navy beans or cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
1 (14.5 oz) can Italian green beans, drained
2 cups packed chopped fresh spinach
Finely shredded Romano cheese, for serving (Parmesan works too)

Directions

Add vegetable stock, water, tomatoes, celery, carrots, onion, parsley, basil, oregano, thyme, rosemary, bay leaves and sugar to a 6 or 7-quart slow cooker. Season with salt and pepper to taste and cook on low heat 6 – 8 hours or high 3 – 4 hours.

Add in zucchini, pasta, garlic, kidney beans and white beans and cook on high heat and additional 30 – 40 minutes until pasta is tender. Stir in spinach and Italian green beans and cook several minutes until heated through. Stir in more vegetable broth or water to thin if desired. Serve warm topped with Romano cheese.