MAMA'S HEARTY MINESTRONE

Mama's Hearty Minestrone image

I concocted this dish using my family's recipe and another recipe I found online as guidelines, while also putting my own spin on it. What it turned into was the best minestrone my family has had yet! My husband likes his soups with hardly any broth; thus, 'hearty minestrone!' Enjoy!

Provided by jessispeer

Categories Soups, Stews and Chili Recipes Soup Recipes Vegetable Soup Recipes Minestrone

Time 1h

Yield 8

Number Of Ingredients 18

Ingredients

1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 pound ground beef
1 (14.5 ounce) can low-sodium chicken broth
2 (14.5 ounce) cans diced tomatoes
2 cups tomato sauce
½ cup water, more if needed
2 cups diced carrots
1 zucchini, sliced and quartered
1 green bell pepper, diced
1 tablespoon dried basil
1 ½ teaspoons dried oregano
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon ground black pepper
1 cup finely chopped broccoli
½ cup elbow macaroni
¼ cup shredded Parmesan cheese, or more to taste

Steps:

Heat vegetable oil in a large frying pan over medium heat; cook and stir onion and garlic until fragrant, about 2 minutes. Add ground beef; cook and stir until beef is crumbly, evenly browned, and no longer pink, about 10 minutes. Drain excess grease.
Transfer ground beef mixture to an 8-quart stockpot; add chicken broth, diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, water, and carrots. Bring to a boil; reduce heat and simmer until carrots are partially cooked, 10 minutes. Add zucchini, bell pepper, basil, oregano, salt, and black pepper; simmer until carrots are tender, about 10 more minutes.
Stir broccoli and macaroni into soup; simmer until macaroni is cooked through but firm to the bite, about 10 minutes. Garnish with Parmesan cheese to serve.

Nutrition Facts : Calories 237.2 calories, Carbohydrate 19.5 g, Cholesterol 37.9 mg, Fat 11.9 g, Fiber 4.2 g, Protein 14.7 g, SaturatedFat 4.3 g, Sodium 735.8 mg, Sugar 8.1 g