Minestrone Soup

I looked at a few different minestrone soup recipes and decided to create my own!

Recipe
1/4 large onion, diced
2 carrots, sliced into coins
3 small stalks celery, diced
1/2 red bell pepper, diced
1 zucchini, sliced into half moons
3/4 package shredded coleslaw mix
1 can Great Northern Beans, drained
1 28 oz can crushed tomatoes
1 15 oz can diced tomatoes
32 oz chicken broth (could use vegetable broth to keep it truly vegetarian)
1 C. cooked elbow macaroni
1 tsp. dried basil
1 tsp. dried oregano
2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. black pepper
1 tsp. garlic salt
2 Tbsp. olive oil

Heat olive oil over medium heat in a large stock pot.  Add onion, carrots and celery and cook until onions are just slightly translucent.  Add red pepper, zucchini and coleslaw mix and cook for about 5 minutes until vegetables are soft.  Add chicken broth, tomatoes, beans and spices.  Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low and simmer for at least 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Add macaroni and stir to combine just before serving.

Comments
 - It's a bit more work but I'm a firm believer in cooking the pasta separately.  Adding uncooked pasta to soup and then boiling it with your soup base will draw out the starch and either cloud up the soup or give it a funny starchy taste.
 - Next time I might add 1 C. of frozen cut green beans
 - If this soup is too thick for your liking, just add some extra chicken broth to thin it out.  The pasta will absorb some of the broth, so if you're planning to keep some for leftovers then I would add at least 1 C. of chicken broth to the recipe.

Rating
4/5

WW PointsPlus
4 (makes 6 servings)