My Minestrone soup

I say my Minestrone soup as I have added ingredients I like and made the soup. I always liked big pots of soup boiling and this was just that. Hearty chunky soup with protein, vegetables and lots of tomato. I couldn't resist adding a spoonful of cream to round of the flavor but you can omit it if you want. There were some leftovers and the next day it was even yummier. I made this a while ago and as I was going through the drafts, I remembered the last time I had this and thought of Jagruti's event. It was sub zero temperature in Vail, Colorado and we saw this pizza shop. This soup and pizza there was like manna from heaven. It warmed us up and saved us from the biting cold! Needless to say this soup goes to her event. Here is a picture of Vail village, close to where the pizza shop was located.

Ingredients:

1 jar (28 oz) crushed tomato

1 cup cooked kidney beans

1/2 cup chopped carrots

1/2 cup green peas

1/2 cup washed chopped spinach

1/2 cup small pasta, mini penne or broken spaghetti

1 medium onion chopped

2-3 cloves garlic minced 

1 teaspoon Italian seasoning

1/2 teaspoon red pepper

1/2 teaspoon sugar

2 tablespoons cream (optional)

2 tablespoons olive oil

2-3 tablespoons grated Parmesan

Salt 

Pepper

Heat oil in a large pot and add the onions and garlic and saute till they are soft. Add the vegetables and saute for a few minutes. Add the tomatoes, spices, pasta, salt and about 3 cups of water and boil till the pasta is done. Add cream and most of the Parmesan. Boil for a minute more and serve hot garnished with some Parmesan.

I am sending this to MLLA # 21 hosted by Manju and here is the host lineup for future events.